Anyone else having issues with the Notes app on iPadOS18?

Apple Products Ipad
1

I’m using an M1 iPad Pro and the Notes app has been frustrating. Has anyone else experienced these problems?

  • The iPad gets really warm just from taking notes
  • Handwriting lags a lot. I’ll write a whole sentence before anything shows up on the screen
  • Scrolling with my finger doesn’t always work, and when it does, it’s jerky instead of smooth.

I was really looking forward to the handwriting updates, but it seems like they need to fix the Notes app first.

2

I recently got an iPad Air 11” M2 and have been having the same problem since iPadOS 17.6.1. I checked forums, and it looks like the Notes app isn’t optimized for M2 chips. I asked some friends with iPad Pro M1 and M2, and they said they have the same issue.

Here are a couple of things that might help:

  1. Turn off Bluetooth from the control center while using Notes.

  2. This issue often happens when using Notes alongside a large PDF or document in the Files app. If you’re viewing a file with lots of images or graphics, try using a different PDF viewer and see if that helps.

Let’s hope Apple fixes this soon. Let me know if you find any other solutions!

3

Dawson said:
I recently got an iPad Air 11” M2 and have been having the same problem since iPadOS 17.6.1. I checked forums, and it looks like the Notes app isn’t optimized for M2 chips. I asked some friends with iPad Pro M1 and M2, and they said they have the same issue.

Here are a couple of things that might help:

  1. Turn off Bluetooth from the control center while using Notes.

  2. This issue often happens when using Notes alongside a large PDF or document in the Files app. If you’re viewing a file with lots of images or graphics, try using a different PDF viewer and see if that helps.

Let’s hope Apple fixes this soon. Let me know if you find any other solutions!

I don’t quite get your second point… I imported a PDF into Apple Notes and edited it yesterday, and my iPad got really hot. What should I do instead? I’ve had this iPad for just over two weeks, and I’m thinking about returning it.

4

Linden said:

Dawson said:
I recently got an iPad Air 11” M2 and have been having the same problem since iPadOS 17.6.1. I checked forums, and it looks like the Notes app isn’t optimized for M2 chips. I asked some friends with iPad Pro M1 and M2, and they said they have the same issue.

Here are a couple of things that might help:

  1. Turn off Bluetooth from the control center while using Notes.

  2. This issue often happens when using Notes alongside a large PDF or document in the Files app. If you’re viewing a file with lots of images or graphics, try using a different PDF viewer and see if that helps.

Let’s hope Apple fixes this soon. Let me know if you find any other solutions!

I don’t quite get your second point… I imported a PDF into Apple Notes and edited it yesterday, and my iPad got really hot. What should I do instead? I’ve had this iPad for just over two weeks, and I’m thinking about returning it.

Sorry for the confusion! What I meant was that I’ve had this issue mainly when taking notes while viewing a PDF (like a textbook) in the Files app using split screen. To avoid it, I imported my PDF into Goodnotes instead of using Apple Notes.

In your case, try using a different PDF viewer like Acrobat or Goodnotes. Apple Notes isn’t always optimized for handling large files with lots of graphics. Replacing your iPad probably won’t help, because I used to have a 9th gen iPad and didn’t have any issues with that. All we can really do is wait for Apple to fix this.

5

Dawson said:
I recently got an iPad Air 11” M2 and have been having the same problem since iPadOS 17.6.1. I checked forums, and it looks like the Notes app isn’t optimized for M2 chips. I asked some friends with iPad Pro M1 and M2, and they said they have the same issue.

Here are a couple of things that might help:

  1. Turn off Bluetooth from the control center while using Notes.

  2. This issue often happens when using Notes alongside a large PDF or document in the Files app. If you’re viewing a file with lots of images or graphics, try using a different PDF viewer and see if that helps.

Let’s hope Apple fixes this soon. Let me know if you find any other solutions!

Hey! I also have an Air M2 and had the same issue. I fixed it by turning off ‘Background App Refresh’ in settings, which helped a little with the battery. But for the overheating, I found that reducing the screen brightness made a huge difference. When I lower it to about half, my iPad doesn’t overheat or even get warm, but when the brightness is maxed out, it heats up really quickly.

6

It’s been like this since iPadOS 13. Apple just doesn’t care. I’ve filed bug reports and tested it again today while doing my homework in Japanese and writing notes by hand.

In just 74 minutes, my battery dropped by 40%!

7

I’ve noticed the same thing with the Notes app. I switched to OneNote, and I don’t have the same issues. It doesn’t get hot, and the battery lasts longer when I use it.

8

I’m considering getting an iPad Air M2 for note-taking and wondering if the issues reported with the Apple Pencil Pro, such as responsiveness or lag, are limited to using it with Apple Notes. Are these issues also present when using the Apple Pencil USB-C model with third-party note-taking apps like OneNote, Notability, or Goodnotes?