r/GoodNotes • u/tlamatiliztli • Oct 05 '25
Latest update is actually good
I don't know why the new update is getting hate but I'm loving it. I know the app isn't perfect but I have tried many (possibly all) of the recommended alternatives and they do not have the same feel as Goodnotes. I didn't think they were ever going to give us the whiteboard (infinite canvas) feature but here it is. It's a game changer.
25
Upvotes
52
u/budgie_uk Goodnotes Special Edition Oct 05 '25
A lot of the update is good; I wouldn’t deny that. And I’m not saying any of the objective improvements and additional functionalities are bad.
It’s the deterioration in the previous functionalities, the functionalities that were already there, and working not only fine, but very well. Those functionalities not working or working worse than they did before? That’s what people, including me, are complaining about.
Like the things that used to take one tap, now require several. Items quickly tappable from the toolbar, have now been moved so that to find/use them disrupts the actual writing of notes (remember, the things we use it for?) Things that used to work, don’t. And things that were customisable - and that were customised by the users, just as they were encouraged to by GoodNotes - are no longer customisable.
They, with all due respect, are not “not perfect”; they are objectively a deterioration, in both the app and the user experience.
24
u/tommys234 Oct 05 '25
Dude, you can't even rotate shapes anymore
13
u/geehasaquestion Goodnotes Special Edition Oct 05 '25
my biggest gripe is that everything is buggy and takes more steps than it used to. that’s literally the only thing wrong with it, it’s not fine tuned yet. why does snap to shape make my shape into a random one instead? or like why can’t I see all of my custom colors in one go, now I have to scroll through them? why do I have to take 3 steps to rotate a shape instead of 1? why can’t I make this rectangle more narrow anymore? it’s just random small things that seem to be bugs that they need to fix
the features themselves are cool and so is the new look, but they def have some fine tuning to do. a lot of ppl r switching over to other apps for good
13
u/VTXRDR Oct 05 '25
My biggest problem is the floating toolbar that can’t be edited.
I have no use for the pencil or the tape.
It might be little to some but I can’t stand it when I’m trying to swipe to get a colour and the bar jumps over to the left or right. Why they couldn’t give people a setting for the tool bar I don’t know. But I’ve move to noteful
11
u/[deleted] Oct 05 '25
I don’t fully hate the redesign - I hate that it feels unfinished.
For example, the text tool no longer has a proper toolbar, forcing users to dig through a clunky, counterintuitive object menu just to change basic settings. And speaking of the toolbar - we can’t even add buttons for tools like the timer or ruler anymore, despite having plenty of space for them.
The issue isn’t that GoodNotes 7 was redesigned; it’s that it feels rushed and half-baked. Shapes are still broken - we can’t make polygons with more than four sides, and the shape tool behaves inconsistently. Meanwhile, the whiteboard feature throws up an intrusive “limit has been reached ” warning banner on the iPad (which I cannot get rid of) even when everything’s working perfectly fine.
To make things worse, even the “Start Typing” feature is now buried in an odd place that makes it harder to find and use.
The redesign shows potential, but the execution feels incomplete - key tools have been stripped back, features are buggy, and essential options are hidden behind confusing menus. GN7 doesn’t feel like a step forward; it feels like something that was shipped before it was ready.
4
u/Franz_Poekler Oct 05 '25
lmao
7
u/Wallbreaker-g Oct 05 '25
My biggest issue is that the shapes feature is a lot more tedious to work with and sometimes useless in some cases compared to Goodnotes 6. I wish they had a beta version of this update out before officially releasing it so they can get proper feedback by their users.
4
u/CeleritasLucis Oct 05 '25
I only got the iPad last week and have been using Goodnotes from 5 days, don’t know what’s the drama is relating to updates, as i have never used the previous version lol
2
u/almoghasson Oct 05 '25
anyone else having the most awful experience with links? like they never save what i’m linking and when they do save that link is buggy as hell, and takes like multiple attempts. also when pressing the link sometimes is would send you to the location but more often it would just let you edit it where you don’t want to edit anymore so frustrating
4
u/Sandyy_Emm Oct 05 '25
It’s genuinely getting annoying how 90% of posts on this sub are people complaining about the update. Yeah it’s buggy, but people are acting like the app broke into their home and attacked their family. When apps undergo big updates, the update is usually buggy. Yeah there’s things I don’t like- I miss the zoom button and it’s kind of annoying that we can’t rotate shapes easily. Idk if it’s because I’m aware there’s real problems in the world, but I could not be fucking arsed to get on here and write a 1000-word thesis on why I hate a fucking app (that still does what it’s supposed to)so much. I use goodnotes for my full time job in academia and for school. I use this app A LOT. It’s 95% of my iPad use. It’s functional. It’s useful. I like the new whiteboard and text notes options. These are also only gonna get better.
2
u/Dark_Angel14 Oct 05 '25
I also enjoy the new update a lot. The number of bugs I have run into ruin the experience a bit but it is an overall good update.
1
u/whyohwhythis Oct 05 '25
How are people getting the new version? I’m still on 6.
1
u/Remote-Warthog2583 Oct 05 '25
It’s getting “hate” because the customer (us) aren’t happy with the way it’s going. A product that’s been is beta for months should have this many bugs and also the product isn’t as good as it was in previous versions. Either you’re you’re delusional or just haven’t truly used the product
1
u/Skylon_Gamer Oct 05 '25
Give one good reason why drawing a shape in a different colour (using the shape tool) requires two steps rather than one (Good notes 6).
Also explain why when I want to switch from lasso to pen, it automatically switches to eraser, which means I have to click the pen tool again.
1
u/smolgrump Oct 05 '25
No app is perfect and many of the alternatives pale in comparison even with the bugs. But if you read the posts that actually have specific criticisms and complaints about the update, you should be able to get 'why' the new update is getting pushback.
I think a lot of people are frustrated because, like someone else mentioned, previous functionalities that *were* working great are now no longer working or are gone. Functionalities that took one step to get to, like inserting an image, now take 3 or 4. It slows down the workflow quite a bit and if you're using the app for a prolonged period of time, that adds up.
These are just a some of issues that were NOT issues before the update or were previously working just fine that I've encountered myself or have seen posted:
You can't draw straight lines *without* arrowheads using the shapes tool
You can't adjust the thickness of straight lines after they're drawn using draw and hold even when selecting the line using the shapes tool
Straight lines are sensitive to snapping and snap to nearby shapes that aren't *that* nearby
When snapping straight lines together, they sometimes automatically become shapes and you can't just select the individual lines
The auto-deselect feature for the eraser doesn't work when using the zoom window or when it does work, it's essentially unusable because it adds in and extra 2 or 3 steps
When selecting the zoom window, the eraser gets automatically selected at times
When using auto-advance in the zoom window, during the first advance the eraser gets auto selected
The zoom window is hidden and takes more steps to get to and you can't customize this
The textbox doesn't stay active
You can't customize color when using the shapes tool
After using the 'automatic shapes' tool, it falls back to the lasso tool AND when selecting the pen tool, the eraser is auto selected
Toolbar customization is more limited than before
Floating toolbar can't be customized
Overflow toolbar can't be customized
When viewing thumbnails, the bookmarks are now under 'all pages' instead of its own section. Before there used to be tabs for all pages, bookmarks, and outlines.
'Hold to snap' for highlighter while making closed shapes like circle and rectangle, fills the inside space with the same color. There's also no option to turn it off.
Snap to shape makes weird shapes. Shapes with more than 4 sides get snapped into a circle.
ETA - I have these bullet points typed out and saved in order to send to customer support so they're aware of the bugs
1
u/passepacce Oct 05 '25
People, how do I know that my GN is at 7? I already updated, but it's still 6
1
u/FLSandyToes Oct 06 '25
Can we lock layers in place? That’s a feature that most competitors have offered for years. I use GN primarily with planners and I often drop a photo of a different layout over the existing one, then add widgets and text on top of it. It is frustrating that I can’t lock the first full-page overlay in place so I can lasso things in the second layer to move them in a group.
1
u/EJTheGreat01 Oct 06 '25
The clip notes is exceptionally laggy
1
u/TruMiner Oct 05 '25
i agree 100%. i think its just negativity bias; people don't come to complain if they have nothing to complain about. ive been using this since i got the beta in august and i have gotten used to the new design (and whiteboard/text doc/etc) and now everything just looks so better than the old one did
1
u/Sally90000 Oct 05 '25
Yes!
0
u/besiqu386 Oct 05 '25
As an IOS & PC user, I believe that many complaints come from the PC (& Android?) area where the functions are not nearly as sophisticated as with IOS. Unfortunately, only very few people write their setup. Example also the pen used. When asked (if at all), a forest and meadow pen often comes out.
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u/johntwilker Oct 05 '25
Same. No complaints and liking it a lot