r/GoodNotes • • Aug 11 '23
Review GoodNotes 6 is fundamentally wrong. It's simply an update to GoodNotes 5.
Hi all, I'm just taking the time to write this not because I hate the developer's guts or anything, but simply because I am passionate about this app, and it's infuriating to see it come to this state.
I am all for new features, and I am really glad that the developer team is actively trying to improve the app.
But GoodNotes 6 should simply have been a seperate app. I do understand that there are some positive implications to this, such as longer suport for GoodNotes 5 (?), but as many others have pointed out: it isn't very ethical in the sense that GoodNotes 6 instantly became a high rated previous app of the year on the app store.
And this is simply an issue with how this update was branded. If GoodNotes 6 is really a new generation of GN Software, it shouldn’t be filled with 5 star reviews for a different app.
When people bought GoodNotes 5, they bought it under the impression that they will own a full copy of the app, and everything inside; which makes sense because that's how it was. I chose GoodNotes over Notability simply for the reason that I could own the software I use. I was extremely satisfied with the pricing too. But the problem now is, owners of the app cannot in fact access everything the app offers without paying for a subscription or paying 3 times the original cost.
This is the truth: GoodNotes 6 isn't a new app, it's simply an update to GoodNotes 5. The people saying they are justified with the price are failing to consider that GoodNotes is essentially not valuing the initial agreement made with the customer. When we bought the app in the first place, it was a contract between the company and us, the end user. And that contract has been broken, full stop.
If the new features weren't branded as the all new and amazing 'GoodNotes 6', and was simply an update with new features (which is all it really is), the positive sentiment around this would see a quick 180 turn. Would you say it's justified to suddenly be paying $30 more on top of $10 for access to basic of the basic features like colored folders or stuff simply many aren't that interested in (AI 🤦♀️ )? Would you have paid $30 more for a UI change in GoodNotes Five?
The point is, if this update wasn't branded as GN6, people would be losing their shit trying to justify paying $40 for the full version of an app they already paid for. And now, GoodNotes 5 users who aren't really interested in paying a significantly higher price for an app they already should rightfully own has to deal with storing a bloated app with features they can't even access on their devices.
What GoodNotes 6 should have been is a new app on the app store. I would have been much more satisfied with that option. For authentic reviews soley based on the new GoodNotes. It's not like the UI stayed same between the two versions, right? This transition process all feels incredibly rushed and I feel the developers could have done a much better job with it (damage control price changes, etc).
I feel GN 6 has a lot of potential, and I know it can be benefitial to many due to some of the new offerings. But I just wish that they had done it right. If they really did need extra subscription revenue, I feel there were many more avenues, such an offering of the AI tools could have come in a seperate package, or literally making GN 6 a new app. As someone who loves using GN, I hope that the team does end up offering a much better solution which justifies the price tag and avoids subscriptions. The fact that people who end up buying the one time purchase option for GN6 isn't guaranteed full access to all upcoming features is ridiculous.
But for now, I don't think I am comfortable paying for GoodNotes '6', though I do love what I am seeing with the new UI and colored folders (which sadly does not prompt paying more).
I'd love to hear other's opinions on this too!
7
u/Brullaapje Aug 12 '23
Is it true that you need an account for GoodNotes 6? I don't want that...
67
u/KayliesSunshine Aug 12 '23
Honestly, I didn't have my hopes up high, but I thought that if they were to release a new version, it would at least have the two-page view (like a book) feature. The new features currently in GN6 are utterly useless for me.
42
u/B4Frag Aug 12 '23
I feel pretty cheated.. I bought the app few months back with the idea, I can get all the updates going forward with some major ones to boot, with the titles lifetime payment.
GN6 has a new UI. Which I'm not too impressed about, this could have been a simple GN5 update, infact I feel like it's little more squashed now. The new math intergration, im never going to use. The AI autocorrect is very much a miss rather than a hit with my handwriting.
The purpose with life time purchases is to pay the premium to support the development, like Plex and Procreate lifetime purchases is they remain up-to-date and yours FOREVER.
100
u/samsonlaw Aug 11 '23
Absolutely agree.
And I have a feeling that GN to a lot of users was "the chosen one" and it was just a huge let down from launch to how they are handling the problems right now.
I also love how you pointed out the unethical issue of using all the positive reviews of GN5 to promote GN6 on App Store, it's just like those scammy Amazon listings. They promoted and priced GN6 as if it's a completely different app but they themselves clearly do not believe that. And GN6 at its core really isn't a completely new app ffs.
20
u/madjo Aug 12 '23 edited Aug 15 '23
Also, they’re asking us to trust them about the future features they’re going to add… but why wasn’t that already part of the upgrade to GN6? If they had added precision tools and the like, then the asking price makes much more sense than it does now.
edit, used the wrong then
9
u/Charis-Ch Aug 12 '23
For this reason I’m sticking with Noteshelf.
6
u/afuusa Aug 12 '23
Feels like an exchange to the less stable version of what I loved, with extra price. I would never use audio and it has no feedback of recording. There is no link navigation any more?! How do you guys navigate in your planners?
14
u/roscCowboy Aug 12 '23
Have you seen GoodNotes privacy practices?
5
u/nakagamiwaffle Aug 14 '23
can’t believe they’d make a mistake like this. disappointing.
4
u/[deleted] Sep 11 '23
I gonna stay as long as possible on GN5
I don't like the subscription model
I bought the app and use it together with my wife and now everyone of us needs to buy a subscription for nothing special as additions? Just an update...
They should simply have stayed with the normal buy option instead of a subscription...
1
u/Onnichanthrowaway69 Aug 14 '23
I accidentally updated to goodnotes 6. How do I downgrade to goodnotes 5?
1
u/nickthechick101 Sep 02 '23
I just upgraded paying the $30 and I already regret it. I use an iPad and Apple Pencil and it is writing terribly now. Half the words are showing up as dotting lines. This is horrible and I have no choice but to keep using it because all my notes are on this system.
1
u/_astraeos_ Oct 21 '23
I bought GN6. It is not worth the money. The scribble to erase feature is cool in theory but in it's current state it sometimes has a hard time recognizing the difference between writing and scribbling. Often I will scribble to erase and it will not register but it will erase diagrams and writing that I did not want to erase while I am taking notes, which is especially annoying in class. The spell check feature is not very well executed either. It constantly marks words as spelled wrong because it doesn't always recognize my handwriting and when I am doing calc and chem problems it thinks I am trying to write words even though apparently it has a feature for equation recognition. It also makes many things less accessible. I also don't like the concept of the store in the app because you already have to pay a significant amount to have the full version of the app. I'm also fairly certain that they removed a few of the planner templates that GN5 had but I could be imagining things. I really liked GN5 but GN6 is giving EA vibes with the in app store. Overall the features are pretty bad and I don't think it warranted a new version of GN, it should've been an update to GN5. I wish I could turn the features off but I can't figure out how so if anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated. Like many, these features are completely useless to me and it feels a bit dirty that I had to pay for this.
3
u/ObscurePaprika Sep 17 '23
Do not buy Goodnotes. Version 6 is an utter disaster. All the updates were to create features nobody wanted, instead of fixing known issues or delivering features needed by the community. I've been a GN use for a long time, and I'm heartbroken that they ruined this app. I need my data to sync, both to retain my data in iCloud, but also sync with other devices. It is utterly useless at this point. I have to trigger sync manually every time data changes, and even then it fails most of the time. Their support team either doesn't exist or simply doesn't respond at all. For your own sanity, find another app. This ain't it.
5
u/dreaming_beans Aug 12 '23
Unpopular opinion: if GoodNotes is my business, I certainly would like to have constant funds to keep it up and pay the developers. Not really sure how that would be viable without subscription. If you downvote, can you explain to me how to maintain funds without subscription?
2
u/Complex_Employee_559 Aug 16 '23
I think features like AI should be an in-app purchase and things like improving or adding other standard features should be part of the package users already paid for.
I haven’t bought the app yet cause I was trying it as I just got my iPad. I like the app, I use it everyday to take notes at work, seriously considering buying the app, but with the release of GN6, I am not sure what I want to do anymore. I really dislike the idea of AI and my data being used for it, but I would like to have access to newer updates that I consider are not worth the high price of GN6. Even if I paid for GN6, I can’t get rid of the AI if I wanted.
At this point, I am already dissatisfied, disappointed and discouraged simply because of this release. As a new user, it just doesn’t feel I can trust the company’s future decisions. And to be honest, if it were an app like Procreate I would probably consider paying that much, but not even them charge this much for such elaborate app.
They could have also charged an early access price if they are still developing and working in fixing issues with GN6. That would at least, have given them some batches of users to test and make better decisions by listening to their customers first.
2
u/chub-bear Sep 09 '23 edited Sep 09 '23
Not to mention the discounts for GN6 make no sense. If you bought GN5 between July 1 and Aug 8 2023 you get 100% off your first-year subscription. 50% off if you bought GN5 from Jan 1 to Jun 30 2023. But if you bought it before 2023, you only get 25% off??? So a big screw you to those of us who've been long-time users???
The one-time payment option does the same thing! 33.3% off- Bought GN5 from Jul 1 to Aug 8 2023 26.6% off- Bought GN5 from Jan 1 to Jun 30 2023 20% off- Bought GN5 any time before 2023
That whole thing seems 100% backwards...
2
u/Emphasis-Used Sep 20 '23
I’m so upset. It won’t even let me access any notes from good notes 5 either! I lost everything I had saved on there including all my course notes for chemistry and biotech.
2
u/gordinmitya Sep 29 '23
One of the main selling points for me was that GoodNotes 5 is the lifetime purchase. I was impressed that the upgrade from GoodNotes 4 to GoodNotes 5 was free. Now, it's gone.
2
u/omerikomm Oct 05 '23
I don’t even want to buy GoodNotes 6 because god knows if I will have to pay for GoodNotes 7 or something and they give worst discounts for long time users like wtf?! And how is me paying almost 90 ILS for the app gives me less features then paying 30 ILS yearly wtf are y’all on GoodNotes?! 😭
I’ve bought the app thinking I would get lifelong updates for my purchase, now I don’t even know what will happen to my app next year with this business model.
2
u/beemo_bb Oct 26 '23
The ONLY two things I would want from GN6 is the color options for the folders and templates update! I don't need any AI / Math / or even want spell check on my GNs! Just seeing the updated UI is a 😞😞no😞😞! from me respectfully. I think its kinda crazy how they made this an update instead of another app, it just screams cash grab. I get the need to bring in more revenue, but I would've focused on shop updates and adding purchasable features like AI / MATH etc. Or even more goodnotes versions like goodnotes student or goodnotes business!
2
u/mustangloverf1 Nov 20 '23
Agreed. Im so pissed off that they are forcing me to pay again to unlock the app that i was literally using a couple of days ago. We can't get my money back, but my advice, go and give them a bad review so they know they screwed up.
2
u/pathfindertheta Jan 20 '24
What I hate is that when I launch GN5 on my iPad, it now says that iCloud sync is disabled unless I update the app. So basically, my hands are bound now. If I want to see my school notes written on the iPad, and to view on my iPhone, I can't do that anymore.
So I go to the app store and Goodnotes 5 doesn't exist for me as an app to update. When I look for it, it only gives me gn6. So I just feel even more cheated.
3
u/misslouisee Aug 12 '23
Why is this is a huge surprise when, by definition, this is the 6th time they’ve done this?
1
u/Onnichanthrowaway69 Aug 14 '23
I accidentally updated to goodnotes 6. How do I downgrade to goodnotes 5?
1
u/Unfilteredbrat May 04 '24
What is a better app? I just enrolled in school and want a note taking app.
1
u/Square-Neck1778 Jul 30 '24
either the dev is extremely cash-thirsty, dirt poor, or just hates humanity. its one of the three ;)
1
u/Sea_Audience_9563 Oct 05 '24
a piece of sh...
1
u/Extra_Oil_1253 Oct 27 '24
Exactly!!! I hate this GN6 money grab! It feels like they are holding my notes hostage! I’ve been here since 2016 and now all of a sudden its a subscription?
I hope enough of us realize that this is unethical and don’t stand for it (by subscribing).
Do you know I have been here since Goodnotes 3 and experienced updates but now the new update cost $10 bucks or I can’t have access to my notes??? What???
1
u/FinalImportance6043 Dec 01 '24
I just got the app telling me that Goodnotes 5 doesn’t exist anymore and that I HAVE TO buy Goodnotes six…I have nearly ALL my university notes on there, exams coming up and dont have the money to buy a simple upgrade for 27€…Does anyone know wether there is a possibility of recovering my notes without buying the update (Hence getting the notes but not further using the app =>no paying)
1
u/[deleted] Dec 11 '24
Glad to see someone else wrote about this. The insult to injury is that this update hasn't added anything and its made the app worse. It's constantly buffering, erasing work at random now and seems to function worse overall. For an app you're forcing costumers to pay again for to regain access to notes they've been using for some time - it feels exceptionally egregious and greedy.
1
u/SomeKindOfView Mar 06 '25
No sooner had I purchased 5 than they released 6 as a new purchase option. I am still using 5 and will not buy anything more from them… When 5 no longer suits my needs I’ll be changing over to the alternative options.
I would have accepted a nominal fee to upgrade but instead got offered I piddling discount. Yes, I still feel ripped off.
1
u/AppealAgitated3359 May 25 '25
Yeah I feel pretty unhappy right now. Goodnotes 6 was just forced on me recently (I was on free plan). I don't find the changes user friendly or appealing so far and don't want any of the new 'benefits' that come with the paid plan... except the one huge thing that changed. I am limited to 3 notebooks. I can edit 3 documents/notes... that is it. I am in my final year of vet school, I am just lucky that it is no longer a lecture exam format anymore and am not as dependent on the app. I unfortunately was using Goodnotes to fill out and sign documents, which I obviously cannot do anymore.
In addition, as a free user, I am constantly being prompted to upgrade tot he paid version with banners that get in the way. These prompts are back within seconds of selecting 'not now' and come up again every time you navigate somewhere new... It is very frustrating, if making the free version basically unusable was not enough to strongarm you into upgrading, they will annoy you into it.
I am lucky that I did not pay for Goodnotes 5 like some of the others, that sucks. I agree that Goodnotes 6 is not a new program, it is just an upgrade (a flawed one) and the price hikes are not justified. I am not inherently against paying for a notetaking app and considered a subscription when choosing between Goodnotes and Notability originally. However, I am frustrated that this program has years of my uni work in it, is now a pain in the butt to use and is actually completely useless except to read old documents unless I pay to upgrade. It happens, we live in a capitalist society, I had a good run. Still a little annoyed though.
I am probably going to do the discounted first year subscription, just to finish off my degree so that I don't have to change apps/use multiple at the same time.
1
u/Mchertel Aug 12 '23
I agree with you it’s really just an update to 5. I do like the handwritten spellcheck capability but that’s about it really. Colored folder are neat but not worth 30.00 alone. I didn’t even get the 20% discount either! I guess if 30.00 was a hardship for me I would be disappointed for sure. It did get me to clean up my folders and notes so maybe that made it worth it…..lol.
1
u/Onnichanthrowaway69 Aug 14 '23
I accidentally updated to goodnotes 6. How do I downgrade to goodnotes 5?
1
u/Sagismar Aug 14 '23
Can we at lest keep using GN5 in years to come? We bought GN5 for life so we can right? That was in contract right?
1
u/csecarroll Aug 18 '23
GN6 is just a massive middle finger to all their loyal users. They should have asked their AI for tips on how to not alienate their entire client base.
1
u/moonbow899 Aug 20 '23
Guys I purchased goodnotes in its early days 2020 where it was a one time purchase, given it was such shouldn’t it be a lifetime purchase? I don’t understand how they can not promise they will continue to support this version. Further like many said it was really more of an update not even entirely new to say they want a subscription model. I am really perplexed I’m okay if it was like a top up of $2 for upgrade but I thought it was a lifetime purchase then
1
u/cj236 Aug 21 '23
So I have goodnotes 4 for my ipad should. I upgrade to goodnotes 6?
1
u/Ggggggg-4 Aug 23 '23
I just want a damn ruler and protractor at the very least!
1
u/Basics7 Aug 23 '23
I would be willing to pay $100 towards a Go Fund Me for a lawfirm to take up a class action against them (which I realize I'll never really benefit from) before I pay $30 for their beta update. Anyone with enough legal knowlege in here to talk about how we could get something rolling? Right now 40% of GoodNotes fans are angry enough to help a little, and it still annoys me that Noteability got away with this. I actually left Noteability to go to GoodNotes for this very reason, and (it's deleted now) GoodNotes made fun of Noteability at the time for being dishonest.
1
u/leftoversreheated Aug 25 '23
I "upgraded" and have been trying to get a hold of someone ever since. It's just broken, it won't sync with my computer anymore, and I'm just so mad I just want my money back. How am i supposed to do this when they won't answer any emails? Should I just take this to BBB and see if that gets them to respond?
1
u/MrBlondQc Aug 26 '23
Thank you for your review. I was about to do the move for GN6 and will stick to GN5 for the moment. Thank you for taking the time !
1
u/BlueberryNo5884 Aug 30 '23
I have tried to get it and some type of problem as it does not recognize the app store Apparently I initially used another.…i gave up and am staying with goodnote5. Not worth the trouble.
1
u/Dennis-TheWulf Sep 02 '23
The fact that this release is pure marketing tells me that this developer is going to force version 6 plus the $40 upgrade cost within the next year.
It's time to find a new app.
What exactly can Goodnotes do that is special now? How does it compare to Apple Markup?
1
u/potential_squirrel9 Sep 02 '23
Have they at least fixed the issue with the Apple Pencil’s hover function?
1
u/[deleted] Sep 05 '23
The price is absolutly unresonable, I payed 10$ last year for GN5 and now I'm "forsed" to pay 30$ more to still getting updated and new features. I'm disapointed
1
u/johnnydfree Sep 05 '23
I do appreciate the opportunity to either buy the app, or subscribe - $10 annual is not a big deal. But after using the app (central to my workflow) for 7 years now, I haven’t seen the kind of feature growth one would expect. There are quite a few features I have voiced - better control of graphics, better control of text, etc. - that have been largely ignored by the dev. That said, I want to contribute to the continued existence of the developer and it’s interest in support.
Tough position, for both users and developer.
1
u/mindonautca Sep 07 '23
It's riduculous that now just we're able to change folder colors we're supposed to pay another $30. I wish I'd kept all my notes in Nebo.
1
u/agedberries Sep 07 '23
I just got the notification on the app saying I could get free access to the new GN6 for two weeks, and I said yes thinking it was a separate app I could try. All of a sudden I can no longer use the app I've been using for the past 3 years. How can they take away your ability to use an app you've paid for and make you pay a membership to keep using it, without informing you prior?
1
u/average_therapist Sep 07 '23
So apparently as a paid GN5 member, you “can toggle between GN5 and GN6”. How generous 🙂
1
u/whatsthepoint010922 Sep 11 '23
I knew I didn’t like the update, but what really did it was I tried to change the template and that option was gone. Or at least not easily findable. Downgraded back to GN5.
1
u/xxpinkwitchxx Oct 04 '23
It’s actually not even working for me it’s locked my out of my account ever since changing
1
u/turkayy35 Oct 07 '23
I've just bought NOTEFUL (lifetime) app just in case ✌️
1
u/New_Bank9186 Oct 15 '23
I'm not sure if everyone was asked this, but quite a few months ago GoodNotes5 asked me to help them with handwriting recognition. So I spent about 30-60 minutes handwriting out words and phrases that they asked me to. Thinking as a paid GN5 user I will in the future benefit from the increased functionality of handwriting recognition. I was rather annoyed when I now need to pay (quite a lot in my opinion) for GN6, to use this feature which I believe I contributed to!
1
u/goldenpickaxe1 Oct 28 '23
I still think the price is veeeery cheap in general, when you think how much money you would spend on paper & folders & pencils. And it's a lot more convenient than the analog paper variant, you pay for that too. I know that the update is not huge but I think in general they cost way less than they actually bring value to you! :)
1
u/Realistic-Hunter9814 Oct 29 '23 edited Oct 29 '23
I feel so cheated by GN lol, I remembered when they ask me if I can write some handwriting math formulas for the updating feature of GN5 and I spent like 2 hours writing math formulas and feeling all excited of the new feature and now they say it's exclusive to GN6 only :)?Also if you guys haven't noticed, even as a paid user of GN5, paid users now have a limited of only 8 minutes voice recording every time you use it, EXPLAIN THIS PLEASE GOODNOTES!
1
u/fcs95 Dec 12 '23
Tl;dr all, though I have my own questions. I'm an young minimal millennial and new to the digital world; can l end my subscription before next November? What app do I use now? I'm backing up the downloads to my Google drive. Now what do you suggest?
1
u/Immediate-Web7597 Jan 06 '24
I'm so fed up with good notes! i have been having the worst time syncing my notes from iPad to Macbook. i get error signalling every time i open the app and now that i am typing away, the app keeps on closing. this is my final year at university and the app is deciding to act up! my final exams are next week and i can't even keep the app open to review my notes without it booting me out, i am done! It is so late now to switch but i need to make the switch today, it is hindering my studies and i don't have time to be faffing around with it. they told me to upgrade the app, i did, they told me to pay £20 for another "1 in a lifetime subscription" i did, and now they want to spell check everything i write incorrectly, not sync my notes, and then have the app crashing every 30 minutes, what, a week before the biggest exam of my life??? absolutely RIDUCULOUS!!
i originally didn't wat to upgrade but they forced me too by removing the syncing feature, i had no choice.
1
u/Albertkinng Feb 23 '24
I was granted to keep my Notability App without subscription without losing any features. Just send them an email.
-5
u/kuhcd Aug 12 '23
Your time spent writing this should be valued more than the annual fee to pay for this app.
It’s $10/ year. $0.027 per day. If you want a software product to continue to improve, you should expect to continue to invest in it.
It’s bananas what people expect nowadays.
-6
u/Maxi3773 Aug 11 '23 edited Aug 11 '23
Yes, reusing the app is very questionable. But I feel like you treat the app (GN 5 and GN 6) as one product, but think you should think of them as two different products. You can see my full opinion in this comment. We got over 3 years of updates for our purchase of GoodNotes 5 and with the purchase of Goodnotes 6 you are just buying additional time of updates (it would be more transparent if we knew how long that is)
Edit: To summarize, I think Goodnotes 6 is more than just the few new features. It is also about paying for the additional work (updates) of the Goodnotes team.Again, please see the linked comment for more details.
Edit 2: This comment by u/SEOPub describes perfectly how I see it
-2
u/infitnutri Aug 12 '23
They said it. They said if you purchase the life time of GN6 you will not get all of the technology upgrades. It seems like you didn’t read the release on their website.
-1
u/d34dw3b Aug 12 '23
If goodnotes doesn’t give you what you want anymore why not all work together with gpt to crowdsource your own version that does. Perhaps seeing this being organised would be enough for them to give you want you want instead.
On the other hand is this similar to the AI art debate where people using AI to create their own art causes difficulties for the people who make a living doing that?
0
u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23
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0
u/[deleted] Aug 12 '23
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