7 Unbelievably Useful iPad Apps Every Learner Needs
Every single person is a learner.
No matter who you are, what you do, or how you do it, you constantly learn.
And given that you clicked on this article, there’s a good chance you also use an iPad.
As a learner who is addicted to his iPad, here’s a list of 7 solid iPad apps every learner needs.
I’ve added as much variety as possible, covering household names and little-known gems. I’ve also made sure to include as many different types of apps I could.
Here’s a quick list of the apps so that you can skip the ones you’re already familiar with: Notion, GoodNotes, Obsidian, Concepts, SmartCards+, Feyn, Amplenote.
Notion (free with subscriptions starting at $5/mo)
I can say with confidence that Notion is one of two apps that changed me as a student (the second one is next on the list).
I use Notion for literally everything — my typed notes, productivity list, college applications, typed debate speeches, and even this blog (any guesses as to where I’m writing this article?).
One of the downsides I personally had with Notion was the learning curve to getting accustomed to the different tools.
Here are a few guides from other Notion users to help you learn more about the fantastic app:
- How to Use Notion: Day One by Darryl Brooks
- The writer’s ultimate guide to Notion by Owen Williams
- How To Organize Your Life With Notion by Theo Sheppard
You can also check out these videos by Ali Abdaal and the Thomas Frank Explains YouTube channel.
Don’t let the subscription scare you — Notion’s free plan is good enough for the vast majority of users.
And even if you do feel the need to upgrade, students/educators with a school email address are eligible for a free Personal Pro plan.
GoodNotes (free with $7.99 one-time in-app purchase)
As I mentioned above, GoodNotes is one of the apps that changed the way I study. I spent a year taking a look at alternatives, but I finally gathered enough Apple gift cards from CollegeBoard surveys to buy GoodNotes.
It was the best purchase of my life.
GoodNotes has been incredibly useful.
Like Notion, I use GoodNotes for many things on top of just note-taking. I use it for handwritten debate speeches, my nonprofit marketing agency, Boy Scouts, and I even used it to create NFTs at one point.
I never had a chance to use the free version as GoodNotes previously used to only have a paid option, but I would upgrade if you can afford it, especially if you’re someone who takes notes on a consistent basis.
Obsidian (free with subscriptions starting at $8/month and one-time purchases)
Obsidian is a new app for me. I recently discovered it from this post by David Chong.
My initial experience with it has been positive thus far and can be a fantastic note-taking app. I’ve also seen Obsidian used as an app for Building a Second Brain and the Zettelkasten note-taking method.
It has a great file organization system, and writing in the app is simple and mostly intuitive.
The app was a little intimidating at first, but I quickly got used to it.
One thing I love about Obsidian is the amount of customization. I can customize the font, theme, hotkeys, etc. I can even add plugins.
While I don’t think Obsidian will replace Notion for me, it’s definitely a powerful tool and I’ve seen many posts about people leaving Notion for Obsidian.
Concepts (free with subscriptions and one-time purchases)
Concepts is one of my favorite note-taking apps.
I used it extensively in the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school, when I took US History.
The infinite canvas and the unlimited projects/drawings in the free plan were all I needed as a student. Since the course I was taking was about history, I had to focus on the connection between different historical events, and the infinite canvas in Concepts was perfect for doing so.
As school transitioned back to in-person learning, I slowly phased out of Concepts, using either pen and paper or GoodNotes instead.
I still think Concepts is a fantastic app, however, and I wish I had discovered it sooner during the distance learning phase of high school.
Like most other apps on this list, the free plan should be enough for most learners.
SmartCards+ (free, with $9.99/yr subscription)
SmartCards+ is probably my favorite flashcard app.
It’s the app that carried me through vocabulary quizzes and AP Environmental Science tests.
One of my favorite features about SmartCards+ is that you can import flashcard decks from Quizlet — that instantly made it one of my favorite flashcard apps, since I wouldn’t have to waste time creating flashcard decks.
This was super helpful whenever I was cramming for a test last-minute.
SmartCards+ makes use of active recall and spaced repetition, two powerful study techniques for high-achieving students.
The subscription for SmartCards+ has probably been the only study app subscription I’ve genuinely considered purchasing — it removes adds and adds dark mode functionality.
I used a free trial, and I found that those features were nice to have, but not really needed.
Then again, the subscription is less than a dollar per month.
Feyn (free)
I used Feyn extensively in my sophomore year of high school.
I specifically used it for AP Calculus, where I had to memorize hundreds of derivative rules, integral rules, trig rules, definitions, and theorems.
That made Feyn perfect for me, because Feyn is a handwritten flashcard app.
The problem with using SmartCards+ or Quizlet is that I can’t use handwritten flashcards, which would’ve made it difficult to read math symbols.
Feyn genuinely helped me throughout the year, and is one of the main reasons I did great on the AP test.
Amplenote (free with subscription starting at $7.99/month)
Like Obsidian, Amplenote is an app I’m pretty new to.
It seems like a pretty cool app — it’s a to-do list app, a note-taking app, and a calendar app.
For some in-depth content, you can check out Shu Omi’s channel, which features a few videos on Amplenote.
To get started, you can check out this one.
I still have to explore Amplenote, but I’m definitely going to test it out when school starts again in August.
Final Thoughts
And there are the 7 iPad apps I’d recommend to every learner. I tried to cover as many bases as possible, but if there’s an app you think I missed, please let me know.
If you’re interested in some honorable mentions, you can also check out Todoist, Spark, and CollaNote.
Thanks!
Adi
