# Notion iOS update is excellent



## cmillar (Oct 20, 2022)

Just saying....the Notion iOS update gives StaffPad input a good run for the money, and might actually work better for handwriting recognition. Don't know if they fixed any of that 'under the hood', but the whole App is really excellent.

I haven't touched it for a couple of years, but had to check out the free update. Might have to get back into it for some sketching or noodling around.

Many more improvements and changes. Support for more than just iOS, too.

Well done PreSonus!


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## rsg22 (Oct 20, 2022)

In my experience Notion's input has always been better than Staffpad's, probably even more so with the update.

Where Notion can't touch Staffpad (IMO) is playback and rendering, no comparison. I just watched the Notion update video on Youtube and was bummed they didn't improve playback/rendering at all (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Android support is definitely nice though.

I'm wondering if a hybrid workflow would work: Notion for input -> export MusicXML -> input into Staffpad for playback/rendering. I may give it a try over the weekend.


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## DCPImages (Oct 20, 2022)

I agree. It looks really promising. Very clear and logical.


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## DCPImages (Oct 20, 2022)

One thing I used to like about Notion was the “sequencer overlay” which allowed you to see the midi a little like a DAW. Is that still possible?


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## Wensleydale (Oct 21, 2022)

I gave up on Notion because I hated the way it kept trying to interpret what I had written before I was ready for it to do so. I felt I had to keep writing even if I wasn’t sure what to write. With StaffPad you can stop and think for as long as you like. But maybe I should give Notion another chance.


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## mopsiflopsi (Oct 21, 2022)

Wensleydale said:


> I gave up on Notion because I hated the way it kept trying to interpret what I had written before I was ready for it to do so. I felt I had to keep writing even if I wasn’t sure what to write. With StaffPad you can stop and think for as long as you like. But maybe I should give Notion another chance.


Same here. Technically it’s a better solution to handwriting recognition, but a total let down in UI/UX. Could have at least offered an alternate setting that works like StaffPad.


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## Denkii (Oct 24, 2022)

mopsiflopsi said:


> Same here. Technically it’s a better solution to handwriting recognition, but a total let down in UI/UX. Could have at least offered an alternate setting that works like StaffPad.


You can now choose the time it takes before the recognition kicks in.





Furthermore you can force the recognition to kick in, if you press the surface pen button or double tap the apple pencil.
So I would just set it to max and override it every time I'm done.


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## Wensleydale (Oct 24, 2022)

That’s an improvement. But the maximum delay seems to be about 7 seconds, which is nowhere near long enough for my slow musical brain.


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## Kanter (Oct 24, 2022)

has anybody succesfully managed to buy/download the extra feature pack (with sounds and handwriting recognition) of Notion mobile for Windows?
I could do so for Android (a meh writing experience, probably due to the non-active pen) and was prepared to shell out for the same expansion on my Surface, but the store aborts the transaction (see screenshot)


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## EanS (Oct 25, 2022)

Kanter said:


> has anybody succesfully managed to buy/download the extra feature pack (with sounds and handwriting recognition) of Notion mobile for Windows?
> I could do so for Android (a meh writing experience, probably due to the non-active pen) and was prepared to shell out for the same expansion on my Surface, but the store aborts the transaction (see screenshot)


I get a message from the Windows store that that product (purchase) isn't in the (Windows) market. Meaning it's not createdbyet I guess.

So probably they will notice that and fix it. 

What I'm curious about is, if you unlock on your ipad. Will it also unlock the Android and Win installed versions since it's the same account? Or will it be like many cross platform apps that you need one per OS/Store? Having to pay to unlock for each app.


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## arrivu (Oct 25, 2022)

EanS said:


> I get a message from the Windows store that that product (purchase) isn't in the (Windows) market. Meaning it's not createdbyet I guess.
> 
> So probably they will notice that and fix it.
> 
> What I'm curious about is, if you unlock on your ipad. Will it also unlock the Android and Win installed versions since it's the same account? Or will it be like many cross platform apps that you need one per OS/Store? Having to pay to unlock for each app.


You need to purchase separately on each platform. It was mentioned in here in this video starting at 4:09


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## ssnowe (Oct 27, 2022)

Running Notion on a Samsung Android Galaxy Fold, working surprisingly well.


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## Kanter (Nov 8, 2022)

got the feature unlock for both Android and Windows, working pretty well now. 

Has anybody had any luck inputting keyboard music into a grand staff with a midi keyboard, addressing both staves according to the set split point? For me this works neither on win nor android, all the music is input to the single staff activated by the blue cursor, regardless of register.
Mind you, that particular chore hasn't worked in any scoring program I have used IIRC, Staffpad included- but Notion Mobile is advertising it.


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## nibor (Nov 19, 2022)

Denkii said:


> You can now choose the time it takes before the recognition kicks in.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


But you need the Apple Pencil 2 which only works on some iPads. I sent prosonus a pretty comprehensive list of what staffpad does and doesn’t do well and asked them to consider making some changes. Studio One’s team is now really receptive to users. Notion not so much. For me connecting with the the folks who make the tools we use is really important. Staffpad is not bad. Every time I write music I have a choice of going with either notion or staffpad, and I pretty much always go with staff pad even though the recognition is way quirkier than notion. And notion plugs directly into studio one. It’s really an embarrassment of riches. I should probably spend more time with notion. They just released another update, so they seem very committed to moving forward.


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## Craig Allen (Dec 6, 2022)

nibor said:


> But you need the Apple Pencil 2 which only works on some iPads. I sent prosonus a pretty comprehensive list of what staffpad does and doesn’t do well and asked them to consider making some changes. Studio One’s team is now really receptive to users. Notion not so much. For me connecting with the the folks who make the tools we use is really important. Staffpad is not bad. Every time I write music I have a choice of going with either notion or staffpad, and I pretty much always go with staff pad even though the recognition is way quirkier than notion. And notion plugs directly into studio one. It’s really an embarrassment of riches. I should probably spend more time with notion. They just released another update, so they seem very committed to moving forward.


Where does Presonus say that only the Pencil 2 works? It should depend on the iPad, right? Older iPads use the Pencil 1, and newer iPads use the Pencil 2.


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## thesteelydane (Dec 6, 2022)

The one thing that drives me bonkers about Notion is that when you delete a note, it doesn't replace it with a rest, it shuffles everything else in that bar up, which makes no musical sense. Maybe it's just me and the way I write, but it drove me nuts. I don't know if they fixed it, haven't used it in a long time.


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## nibor (Dec 6, 2022)

You need to be able to double tap the pencil barrel. Only the 2 has this feature. You can use pencil for most other features.
I should probably pull down the original post. According to the facebook group lots of people are not very happy with the update. And oddly the more I use Staffpad the better the handwriting recognition seems to be. This might just be my imagination.


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## Craig Allen (Dec 6, 2022)

thesteelydane said:


> The one thing that drives me bonkers about Notion is that when you delete a note, it doesn't replace it with a rest, it shuffles everything else in that bar up, which makes no musical sense. Maybe it's just me and the way I write, but it drove me nuts. I don't know if they fixed it, haven't used it in a long time.


Watch the intro videos. I believe this is a setting you can turn on/off.


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## barrychab (Dec 6, 2022)

i never really used the old ios app so i agree and think this new one is great. im using it mostly on my surface, same as staffpad. while the playback is FAR behind staffpad, the input is quite stable, and the features are great. above all, its getting me very excited for Notion 7. if playback can get better and we add VSTi in a usable way, i'll be thrilled.


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