Why and How I Switched from Evernote to Apple Notes

In a world brimming with note-taking apps, Evernote has long been a shining star. I am Evernote Member since December 16th, 2008, most of the time with a Personal Premium Subscription. I used it to organize my digital life, from random notes to web clips to scanned documents — approx. 4500 notes. However, in a bid to simplify my digital ecosystem, I found myself considering Apple Notes.

Why the switch?

You may be wondering, “Why the switch?” Well, let’s break down my journey and dive deep into those killer features that made my transition worthwhile.

1. Use Case: Clipping a Web Page Content to My Notes

Evernote: The web clipper was one of the reasons I was smitten with Evernote. It effortlessly clipped web pages, preserving the layout and all. Even if I used the simplified web clipping, this functionality was very useful to find corresponding web content later by searching for “keywords” in the note.

Apple Notes: Apple Notes doesn’t have a dedicated web clipper. However, the share sheet integration on macOS and iOS allows for a smooth experience. On a web page, I simply hit share and then select ‘Add to Apple Notes.’ The content, along with the link, is saved neatly. Not as feature-rich as Evernote, but it gets the job done.

Nevertheless, clipping is not very well integrated in non-Apple-products like the Vivaldi browser or Chrome. I go into details about my solution in a separate Medium post.

To be honest, I am not yet satisfied with the current capabilities but I hope to find a good solution and I am waiting for updates in Apple Notes and/or my preferred tools. My current workaround: if there is a web page in a non-Safari browser on MacOS I want to clip, I open it in Safari and share to Notes there (as PDF or as link). You can leverage the “options” menu under a link to decide whether you want to clip the whole page as PDF or as a link:

In addition, on iOS, I have implemented a Shortcut for non-Apple tools that I will explain in a separate Medium post.

2. Use Case: Remembering a Book I Came Across

Evernote: I’d usually clip the Amazon page or jot down details manually. Sometime, I share the amazon link via the share button in the amazon iOS app. If I find a book on a web page, I used to use the web clipping to remember the book.

Apple Notes: The process isn’t vastly different with Apple Notes. Using the share sheet in the Amazon iOS app or any browser, I can save the book details directly to a note. Over time, I’ve created a dedicated “Books to Read” folder in Apple Notes. The note’s headline is even better generated automatically than it is with the Evernote clipper in iOS.

3. Use Case: Scanning Documents with Scanner Pro and Adding to Notes

Evernote: Integration with third-party apps like Scanner Pro was straightforward. I’d scan and then share directly to Evernote by letting Evernote import all Scanner Pro scans automatically.

Apple Notes: To my surprise (I didn’t use Apple Notes that much, almost never), Apple Notes handled this seamlessly. After scanning with Scanner Pro, I use the share option to add the document directly to my desired note. Additionally, Apple Notes has a built-in scanner that’s pretty robust, eliminating the need for third-party apps for some users.

4. Use Case: Searching Previously Scanned Documents

Evernote: Evernote’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature was impressive. It could search text within images and PDFs - but only in a paid plan.

Apple Notes: This was a concern for me. Thankfully, Apple Notes delivered. It effectively searches text within scanned images and PDFs. While it might not be as advanced as Evernote’s OCR, it has been sufficient for my needs. I don’t see the pattern but sometimes Apple Notes can’t find text in photos. This is especially painful for my imported notes that contain images instead of scanned PDFs (from times in which I didn’t use PDF scans).

Features That Are also important:

• Search speed: Apple Notes is way faster to search notes than Evernote not to mention the incredibly fast startup time when starting the app on iOS or MacOS.
  I don’t like complex folder systems (I only use 10–15 folders, some of them only for sharing purposes (one folder per family member)), linked notes or a lot of formatting — I simply don’t need it. I need a way to store textual information and find+retrieve it as fast as possible if I need it. In my opinion, that’s fully covered by Apple Notes.
• Handwritten Notes: While Evernote allows for some basic sketching, Apple Notes takes the cake with its pencil support. Writing feels natural, making it an ideal choice for iPad users.
• Sharing Notes: Both platforms allow for note sharing, but I found Apple Notes to be more integrated with my contacts, making the process smoother.
• Local Notes vs. Synced Notes: Evernote always syncs, ensuring availability across devices. Apple Notes gives you a choice. You can store notes locally on a device or have them synced across all your Apple devices via iCloud. This offers flexibility in how and where my data is stored.
• Security/Privacy: I trust Apple more than Evernote, especially since it was acquired by “Bending Spoons”— an investor not a purpose-driven note-taking software company.
• Price: Evernote is about 90 EUR in the paid plan I used, Apple Notes is free !

How did I migrated technically?

Before migrating, you should play around with a subset of notes. In Evernote there are three exporting options:

• Files in Evernotes ENEX format
• As one single HTML web page
• As multiple HTML web pages (each note with one page)

Both ENEX and multiple HTML web pages worked for me although the HTML web pages worked better with local images — I couldn’t figure out when and why, but it worked. For some folders I used ENEX, for some HTML. I tried to import them folder by folder (approx. 10 folders) but especially if you have hundreds of notes with attachments, this may take some minutes.

Final Thoughts

Switching from Evernote to Apple Notes was about streamlining my digital tools. While Evernote undoubtedly offers a more extensive suite of features, Apple Notes provides simplicity and integration within the Apple ecosystem that resonates with my current needs.

For anyone contemplating a similar move, my advice would be to consider your core requirements. If you’re deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem and appreciate simplicity and seamless integration, Apple Notes might just be the way to go.

Links:

• Apple Notes User Guide — https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/notes/welcome/mac
• Press FAQ for Evernotes acquisition by “Bending Spoons” — https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/11299822091539-Evernote-acquisition-FAQ