The default Notes app on iPhone and Mac has adopted a folder/subfolder style for organizing notes. This changes with iOS 15 as Apple introduces tags forNote-taking app for iPhone and iPad and Mac to organize your notes. Here's how to use tags in the Apple Notes app on iPhone and Mac.
With the latest Notes app on Apple devices, the company is stealing Evernote's best note-organizing features for iPhone and Mac. If you're considering switching from Evernote or Bear to Apple Notes, now's the perfect time to make the move.
At first glance, Apple's app seems basic, but dig deeper and you'll discover a secret weapon called Smart Folders that takes the entire note-organizing experience to the next level. Let's talk about everything in detail.
Add tags in Apple Notes on iPhone and Mac
In true Apple fashion, all Notes features are available across all platforms, including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. In the screenshots below, we're using the Notes app from the iPhone. You can expect the same functionality on the iPad and Mac.
Note: The Tags feature in the Apple Notes app is available on iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12.0 Monterey. It's currently in beta. You can either download the relevant operating system on your primary device at your own risk or wait for Apple to release the stable version this fall.
With the above notes in mind, let's get started.
Step 1: Open the Notes app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Open any note or create a new note from scratch.
Step 3: While writing a note, you can create a relevant #tag to quickly find it.
In the screenshots below, we've added the #GT and #Writing tags to identify relevant notes.
Step 4: Once you've added tags, you'll see the Create Note Tags section on the Folders page.
Tags appear below notes in iCloud, Gmail, and Outlook in the app. Tap the small arrow icon to expand tags.
Here, you'll see all the tags you've created in Apple Notes. Click All Tags and expand the Tags list. Here's what tags look like in Apple Notes for Mac.
Organize notes with tags in Apple Notes
Open your notes in Apple Notes and start adding relevant tags to each note. If you add too many tags, it will be difficult to find the relevant note from the list of tags.
Unfortunately, there's no way to organize tags across nested tags. This is a term popularized by the Bear Notes app on the iPhone, which allows users to create subtags under a primary tag.
For example, one could create a main Finance tag and add Crypto, Budget, Bank, and similar financial tags underneath. Perhaps Apple will keep it for future updates? We'll see.
How to delete tags in Apple Notes
Unfortunately, there are no ways to delete tags from the Apple Note sidebar or the tags list on iPhone.
You must go to the relevant notes and remove the tags individually. Only then will you see the tags disappear from the Apple Notes app.
How to create smart folders based on tags
This is a unique feature of Apple Notes. You can create folders and automatically add notes to them based on tags. Sounds interesting, right? Here's how to use Smart Folders in Apple Notes.
Step 1: Open the Apple Notes app on your iPhone.
Step 2: Click on the Create Folder option at the bottom.
Step 3: Select the new smart folder option.
Step 4: Give the folder a relevant name and select the tags below it.
Step 5: Click Done at the top.
Apple Notes will create a “Smart folder"On your behalf. It's different from other folders in the Notes app. You'll notice a small gear icon next to the folder, indicating it's a smart folder.
Once you add the selected tags to any note, Apple Notes will automatically add them to the created smart folder. Neat, right? The possibilities are endless, and we can see that using tags in Apple Notes on iPhone and Mac saves countless hours of manual work moving notes between folders in Apple Notes.
Organize notes like a pro
Apple is finally taking default apps seriously with its latest operating system update. On the surface, tags may seem like a minor addition, but add smart folders to the mix and you can see how happy end users are with the new additions to the Notes app.
