Evernote
A review of 10+ years of using Evernote. The love/hate notes app…
I used my first phone and smartphone, the Galaxy S, in 2011. My smartphone was really a “Gal-ssu-rae-gi” (Galaxy trash). The Android version was 2.2 Froyo, and it was so slow that rooting was essential. I remember it became somewhat usable starting from Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Now, we’ve long passed Android 12 and are heading towards 13… Time really flies. And I’ve been using Evernote since the old days.
The reason I mentioned this at the beginning of this post is that Evernote has been around for a long time. And around that time, I also started using the PC version of Evernote. In a way, it was a very innovative app, and over all these years, countless note-taking apps have come and gone. New competitors kept emerging, pushing it to evolve further. However, Evernote has changed little in its 10+ years of existence.
A few years ago, when Evernote changed its pricing policy, many people started looking for other note-taking apps. I also considered switching, especially with OneNote‘s rather active promotion, and I’ve already moved all my data there for now. But I couldn’t completely abandon Evernote.
Right now, I’m exploring various apps like Notion, but I still haven’t found one that feels like a total replacement. Even though I’ve been using quite a few writing apps. I apologize for the lengthy ramble, but this is my review of Evernote after over 10 years.
- Evernote originally supports almost all platforms, but I’ve been using the free version, so I’m going to focus on the Android and PC versions.
Related Links
- Evernote Android and iOS version review
- The new version of Evernote for Windows Review. This article summarizes Evernote, but since the app has undergone significant design changes over the years, I wrote a separate review for the new Windows version.
- Evernote official website
- google play link
- app store link
Summary before we get started
- Evernote has been around for a long time, and even back then, its performance was excellent—on par with word processors.
- There has been no update for a long time, and during that time, many rivals have emerged.
Table of Contents
- A review of 10+ years of using Evernote. The love/hate notes app…
The old Windows version was really quite clunky. It’s much better now.
Evernote is the name of the app, but it’s also the name of the company. Perhaps that’s why they have quietly launched several other services as well. Unfortunately, most of them failed, but if you check the app store, a few are still around. Some people have analyzed that Evernote gradually declined because it ventured into too many side projects during its prime.
The Windows version hasn’t really changed all that much. But, as you can see from the picture above, the update itself was quite a lot. Perhaps few people used the Windows version, so they didn’t feel the need to change it. Still, the Android version has changed little either… But it seems they left it as is because it still doesn’t look too bad even now.
Personally, I didn’t have any complaints, but for heavy users, it seems the app often lagged. For reference, I haven’t used the iOS version, but it looks pretty cool from the screenshots. I’ll elaborate more later, but for now, both the Android and Windows versions have adopted some of the latest UI from the iOS version, and they’ve improved quite a bit.
Evernote is a notes application, but its functionality is comparable to that of a word processor.
They have a slightly different focus, but each serves a purpose.
Programs like Hangul(Korean word processor), MS Word, or Scrivener are referred to as word processors, while this app is slightly different. It’s more appropriate to call it a writing app or a note-taking app. Yet, its features are many and robust enough to be compared to those word processors. I loved the cross-device sync feature so much that I’ve continued to use it regularly. As I mentioned earlier, I considered switching to OneNote, but as I wrote in my review, after using OneNote, I found there were quite a few shortcomings. So, every now and then, I think about going back, update it, and slowly use it again.
It’s true that Evernote’s interface seems somewhat clunky by today’s standards, but it’s also quite reliable. It’s like a word processor, but personally, word processors give me the feeling of “creating a document!” While this app feels similar, it has a slightly lighter, more casual vibe.now and then.
When I used this app, I maintained around 100 to 200 notes, but heavy users who carry thousands of notes use it for everything, from presentations to even creating full reports. And a few years ago, the developers added a template feature, which can prove useful if users use it properly. Still, it’s a little hard to get used to for me…
Another great thing about this app is that it makes it easy to categorize your documents. Surprisingly, since word processors emphasize opening and editing a single document, they often lack this functionality to some extent. Of course, any writing app that isn’t a word processor isn’t a note app without this feature these days, but Evernote has always had a nice interface. I think most of those who switched to OneNote and returned to Evernote will find the reason for this in the ease of use. OneNote feels incomplete without a pen.
Now Evernote has too many competitors.
But it’s more expensive…
When this app first came out, it had no rivals, and while it’s still evolving in its own way, there are now many strong competitors, putting it in quite a challenging position. In the past, OneNote was the only competitor and surprisingly, it wasn’t a threat. Even back then, they continued to run complacently. Instead, they are being challenged by a variety of competitors, including the aforementioned notions.
notion is definitely Evernote conscious. First, the paid price is slightly cheaper than Evernote, and there is also a feature to transfer notes from Evernote. It also has a web clipper feature, which is one of Evernote’s best points. Once Notion gained some popularity in Korea, they took advantage of the momentum by offering a very generous free version, striking while the iron was hot. It’s really just a free for all for individuals. Of course, Notion also has some shortcomings on mobile, but it’s definitely a powerful competitor. Besides this, there are many other love-hate favorites of mine, like ClickUp and iA Writer, which is popular on iOS. It would take forever to list them all…
These days, it has improved, but in the past, as shown in the screenshot above, it was quite clunky compared to the sleek apps that are coming out now. Honestly, it fell behind significantly. Even Naver Blog now has a pretty meticulous editor. WordPress, despite receiving a lot of criticism for being hard to understand, got a nice upgrade with its block editor last year. Recently, the app UI has also changed a bit.
Even though Hangul’s interface may seem outdated, users can still understand it as a word processor. MS Word also seems to make considerable efforts to look as modern as possible while maintaining its traditional framework. Especially, the recently released Office app from MS Office is really well-made, and it genuinely surprised me. Honestly, MS Word is the best performing mobile app…
The good news is that the developers have realized this and are making some changes. Honestly, I think it’s a bit late, but it’s definitely an improvement. However, as of when I first wrote this, it was the second highest-grossing app in the Android productivity category, so it remains very popular. The smartphone version is still decent unless you’re a heavy user.
In fact, heavy users value stability with updates, leading them to criticize the app even more. Given that the app has stagnated for so long, it has essentially turned into something halfway between a note-taking app and a word processor.
If the developers make the app too innovative, long-time users who have been using it for over 10 years find it difficult to adapt to. Of course, the developers are slowly improving to recognize this to some extent, but these days, they are making bold updates, and there is a movement that seems to bury the criticism of the deceased to some extent.
They’re still working on it, so it’s clear they’re on to something. Few new users exist, so we must consider long-time customers who have been using the app for a while. They are increasing the app’s value while striking a good balance. Yet, the price too…
Afterword of Evernote Review
How time flies…
I wrote it with a lot of enthusiasm, but when I was done, I realized I had written very little about the app itself, and I wondered what I had written. I’m sure it looks bad to those who use the features properly. Still, I think I conveyed the feeling of 10 years in my way, but not badly. I initially wrote this post as a bit of a reminiscence, which is a good thing, but as I’ve revised it extensively, I curse my writing.
Of course, not so much now… Anyway, I believe I conveyed half of my intentions, and I actually don’t use this friend much these days, but I think I should write a related post whenever I think of it.
Evernote summary
Good point
- The design is very compliant by today’s version standards.
- More updates, even those that add features.
- You say that old views are still valuable.
Bad point
- It’s not just similar competitors; there are now many superior rivals.
- Now it’s a bit on the pricey side…
- The free version offers limited features.