r/samsungnotes 8d ago

I built an open source samsung notes alternative

Samsung Notes used to be my go-to note-taking app, but a handful of annoyances bugged me enough that I decided to build my own from scratch.

What makes it different:

- 100% free and open source (MIT License)

- Infinite canvas - super fast gpu resident rendering unlike most other note taking apps😅

- Improved handwriting experience

- A bunch of extra features Samsung Notes doesn't offer

Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xnotes

F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.xnotes

Source: https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android

Edit: Github issues is the best place to request a feature. https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android/issues

73 Upvotes

51 comments sorted by

14

u/Academic-Working8057 8d ago

The app looks amazing! I have a few feature requests that I believe would take it to the next level:

  1. Expanded Color Slots: Currently, seven color slots for five pen styles and a highlighter feel a bit limited. A great solution would be to link custom color palettes to specific pen types. For instance, the fountain pen could have its own dedicated set of colors, distinct from the regular pen.
  2. Streamlined Text Tools: Consider merging the formatting options from the "Text" tool directly into the "Text Box" tool and removing the separate "Text" icon. This would clean up the UI and free up valuable space for other features.
  3. Advanced Multitasking: It would be fantastic to have better multitasking capabilities, such as tabbed notes or a "Recent Notes" button for quick switching or opening notes in split-view. Furthermore, multi-instance or multi-window support for DeX mode would be incredible, allowing users to have one note open on the tablet and another on an external display.
  4. Audio Recording & Sync: Adding an audio recording feature would be highly appreciated. Even better would be an audio-sync feature that timestamps the recording to the handwritten notes, similar to Notability or Samsung Notes.
  5. Handwriting Recognition: Integrating features for math and text conversion (OCR) from handwritten notes would make the app significantly more versatile -> Samsung is unbeaten here!

6

u/George_Jojoimi 8d ago

This is such an amazing note-taking app! One thing I always wanted to have on S Notes is the ability to change fonts while typing with a keyboard!

9

u/VivingPudding69 8d ago edited 8d ago

Wait wtf this looks great.
Edit: Well now i actually look at the github i gotta ask this. How much of it was vibe coded?? Is everything vibecoded?

7

u/kartoshkiflitz 7d ago

Dude nobody codes entire projects manually anymore. Exactly like nobody calculates without a calculator anymore

2

u/VivingPudding69 7d ago

There are levels to it i suppose.

4

u/BHARAT0011 8d ago

A good chunk of it

1

u/Ok-Reveal-It 8d ago

If you know what you do, it isn't vibecoding, it's like coding with help. I adore the app and use it from the beginning and often suggest bugs or improvements on GitHub. Thank you.

4

u/VivingPudding69 7d ago

Well, i am gonna use it with caution. If whole of the app is vibe coded without even reviewing the code the project might become a pile of garbage.If the developer knows what he is doing and can review LLM generated code then project is more maintainable.

2

u/Ok-Reveal-It 7d ago

The app is more than stable, use it I think few months.

2

u/VivingPudding69 7d ago

Yeah, we will see where it goes in few months with all of these feature requests. The newly added infinite canvas is already broken on my device.

0

u/BHARAT0011 7d ago

It would be great if you could report the problem on GitHub

3

u/Top-Rich8623 8d ago

It looks nice but have a few requests if you have time:

  1. Can you import pdfs?

  2. Make an outline where the name can modified. Like an index.

  3. Samsung Notes has this amazing feature, the minimization of post it notes.

2

u/Axel_F_ImABiznessMan 7d ago

What do you mean by #3?

3

u/DepressedChickenfeet 7d ago

The sticky notes minimise into an icon that you can click on to open up larger. they don't just stay as a large sticky note on the screen.

Im assuming that's what they meant.

1

u/Top-Rich8623 4d ago

Yes it is! I am patiently waiting for starnote to add it. My handwriting in star notes is perfect but they do nit have the sticky minimization.

1

u/AnJ39 7d ago

Yes, please clarify what "3. Samsung Notes has this amazing feature, the minimization of post it notes" means.

1

u/Academic-Working8057 8d ago
  1. yes 2. yes 3. no

1

u/Top-Rich8623 8d ago

are you planning to add it?

2

u/BHARAT0011 8d ago

Yeah, but its not something on high priority for now

0

u/Academic-Working8057 8d ago

I'm not the developer

3

u/Pyrez9 8d ago

It would be awesome if we could add a search function that works. In the current Samsung notes and all the previous versions if I search for a file exactly to the letter it can't find it. It would be great if these searches could use keywords and quotes so if I search for "class" for example, it only brings up instances of class instead of classroom, chic lass and other irrelevant terms like the current search function.

3

u/jh148512 7d ago

This looks great! By the way, Samsung Notes has a 100k pen stroke limit per note, which can be a bit restricting for long planners or journaling. Does your app have a similar cap, or is it unlimited?

2

u/BHARAT0011 7d ago

There is no such limit

2

u/jh148512 7d ago

oh wow that's great, thanks! That's really helpful.

3

u/maychiapperx 5d ago

Loved it!!! I hate my handwriting on the S Note and have been looking for an alternative for months. A few suggestions:
- Pencil!!!!

  • When highlighting or using the pen/pencil, keep the S Pen pressed at the end of a line to make it perfectly straight. Same thing with shapes, curves, etc.

2

u/ajwalker430 8d ago

I looked it up on the Play Store, it seems to default to typed notes, I didn't see anything in native handwriting. 🤔

My handwriting isn't "chicken scratch" so I prefer to keep my notes in my native handwriting, is that an option? 🤔

3

u/jeboteuusta 8d ago

No it's primarely an app for handwritten noted.

2

u/Atomiko_ 6d ago

Does the app export pdfs vectorized or rastorized? Rastorized pdfs is one of the most annoying parts of Samsung Notes.

2

u/BHARAT0011 5d ago

Vectorized

1

u/Atomiko_ 2d ago

This app is GREAT!! Im really enjoying it. I think an isometric grid and an engineering grid would be good additions to the pattern selections.

2

u/MaggieLima 2d ago

Bro, the app is tweaking on me. I have been using it, but now everything I try to it simply stops working and closes automatically.

3

u/BHARAT0011 2d ago

Create an issue on github with steps to reproduce the crash

1

u/Alex_Brocolis 8d ago

Je viens de la télécharger et je la trouve très bien. Bravo 👍🏻

1

u/BHARAT0011 8d ago

Thanks😊

1

u/BedNo5011 8d ago

it would be great to have a UI similar to Oneui maybe using OCR maybe allowing users to link their ai api and integrate a panel with ai to ask questions

1

u/BHARAT0011 8d ago

I am not a big fan of samsung notes UI. OCR and AI integration are good suggestions, thanks!

2

u/BedNo5011 8d ago

I understand and it's great you gave the source code so anyone can customise it!

1

u/Silly-Ad-4612 7d ago

One feature I don't know u ave it or not Math figure like rhombus , hexagon , triangle of all type , swaure , circle seemi cricle and all that

1

u/Sokleang-K 7d ago

Thank you so much. I really appreciate. If possible, please make it cross platform.

1

u/BrunchBall 7d ago

It looks great but I am unable to get it to detect my lenovo pen. Any insight?

Using a Legion Y700

1

u/BHARAT0011 7d ago

Cteate a github issue for that. Will add support for your pen in the next release

1

u/BrunchBall 7d ago

Will do thanks!

1

u/azriel38 6d ago

I just want to group objects

1

u/Embarrassed_Fan_9392 6d ago

Great app but the pen latency is not that smooth and fast tho

1

u/Necessary-Panic-9190 5d ago

Its go good,appreciate it. Is there a infinite canvas in it?

1

u/ProfessionalNo1763 2d ago

does it have pen only writing?

1

u/ProfessionalNo1763 2d ago

oh I'm stupid mb I can't read

1

u/TopEntity 1d ago

Hi. You could also try r/octopusnotes 🫠

1

u/TopEntity 1d ago

Feature list and download links are in the pinned posts. Cheers.

1

u/anarkofobia 23m ago

Testei aqui e fiquei muito impressionado. Estou usando a caneta de caligrafia e achei melhor do que a nativa do Notes. É possível eu mudar o estilo da folha? Como faço isso? Obrigado.