# Is Notion on the iPad worthwhile?



## hozierschurch (Jun 7, 2018)

By iPad I mean iPad Air not iPad Pro.

Just looking for different workflow ideas (mainly to work on initial sketches so I’m not always stuck at my DAW).

It’s only £15 but still, I don’t want to purchase it if it isn’t user friendly etc


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## JF (Jun 8, 2018)

Honestly, I find it frustrating to use. I've used it with an iPad pro and an apple pencil but the handwriting is not intuitive. I love the desktop program though.


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## tmhuud (Jun 8, 2018)

I love it. How it translates my Chicken scratch I really have no idea but it does a damn good job.


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## Haakond (Jun 9, 2018)

I like it a lot. It also syncs with iCloud, so I can edit the same track on both Mac, iPhone and iPad!


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## Zx81 (Jun 9, 2018)

hozierschurch said:


> By iPad I mean iPad Air not iPad Pro.
> 
> Just looking for different workflow ideas (mainly to work on initial sketches so I’m not always stuck at my DAW).
> 
> It’s only £15 but still, I don’t want to purchase it if it isn’t user friendly etc



Recent versions of Notion iOS seem quite stable for me and there's no doubt the app packs a lot of functionality for a reasonable cost. 

In my personal opinion I'd say it's not the most intuitive app to pickup and start using and the training materials (online videos etc) leave a bit to be desired. But, all things considered i don't regret buying it.


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## thesteelydane (Jun 9, 2018)

I would say the iPad Pro with the pencil is a potential game changer, I have tried all the apps, and symphony pro 5 has by far the best hand writing recognition. The sounds suck, but my is it almost like writing on paper. 

I know you didn’t ask about the pro, but really, it’s worth considering.


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## dcoscina (Jun 10, 2018)

Totally. I use it on my iPhone and iPad. Then I transfer and develop ideas on the desktop version. Sounds a rather good all things considered and definitely better than the other notation apps on the market.


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## ptram (Jun 10, 2018)

It is incredibly powerful for a tablet app. But tablets are incredibly powerful, nowadays. Sending notes back to a desktop computer is very quick.

I only wish they finally decide to make the UI a bit lighter, removing the unnecessary skeumorfirms to make more room for the score.

Paolo


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## rudi (Jun 10, 2018)

Like all notation apps it takes some time to get used to its interface. Like a previous poster I agree they could simplify the UI and make it more modern and streamlined.

I got it as a kind of notepad for my music, but was very surprised by how capable it is.
In fact I was so taken it with it that I ended-up buying the desktop version.

The sounds are excellent - as long as you don't expect something like an iPad with limited RAM to sound like the mega-libraries you use on a desktop or laptop. 

The ability to sync to your iPhone, iPad, desktop via iCloud is great.
Even now I get a smile out of picking-up something I wrote on my iPhone and work on it on my PC.

I tried the handwriting, but found it quite hit-and-miss, but this is on iPad air 2, with one of those rubber-nosed styluses.

I also love the fact you can use the Apple Camera Connection kit to plug a USB MIDI keyboard into your iPad / iPhone and either do step-entry or real-time recording!

All in all I love it,

Rudi


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## cmillar (Jun 11, 2018)

I have success with Notion iOS on my Ipad Air using the Adonit Jot Pro stylus. I think the handwriting function has really improved over the years to the point where it's actually really functional and a good option to have.

Is it faster than pen and paper? No. 
Can you see as much of your score as just using papers? No. (so, it's good for small groups, piano sketches, etc.)

But, you can export your iOS work over to your more mature notation program of choice via XML. That's pretty handy at times.

For what it is, it's pretty great.


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