iOS 18 tipped to sport new Notes app improvements including audio and math features

You don't need to have been following along too closely to know that Apple regularly releases big new software updates for its many different product lineups. The iPhone is at the top of that list of course, with iOS 18 expected to be announced later this year - if it sticks to its usual release schedule we expect that to happen in September. We've been seeing reports of various new features coming to that iOS 18 update, and now we're starting to learn even more, too.

Apple is yet to officially confirm the new iOS 18 update of course, but a new leak suggests that the Notes app in particular will benefit from some new capabilities. According to the report, coming out of AppleInsider, the Notes app is going to get some new features that will take an already popular note-taking app and improve it with a couple of particular features; a new audio note feature, and upgrades to the way Notes deals with math.

2

According to the report, Apple's Notes app will support audio messages being embedded directly into a note, allowing them to be placed alongside other content including photos and text. AppleInsider gives an example of a student taking a class and adding a recording of the audio alongside their own notes and a photo of the whiteboard. That does sound like a feature that a ton of people will make use of including people in business meetings and beyond.

The second feature could be one that is used by much fewer people, though. The report says that new Math Notes will be able to leverage connectivity with the iPhone's Calculator app to allow deeper integration between the two apps. It isn't yet known what that will exactly look like, but the report says that users will be able to open Math Notes from the Calculator app through a dedicated option or button.

It remains to be seen what all of this pans out to be, but with iOS 18 still a couple of months away from being announced it's possible that the features could change or be canceled altogether.

Apple is expected to release the new iOS 18 update alongside the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max in September - likely alongside the Apple Watch X and a refreshed version of the Apple Watch Ultra 2 as well, again assuming Apple sticks to its previous release cadence.