Guide
Apple Notes for Android: one list of notes on iPhone, Mac and Android
Apple doesn't make Notes for Android, and it isn't on Google Play. The closest you can get is iCloud.com in a phone browser. If you carry an iPhone and an Android phone, or use a Mac with an Android phone, Gravity is a notes app for all of them. Gravity Sync keeps one list of notes in step everywhere, and it's free during the beta.
I'm Tristan, and I build Gravity on my own. Until now Gravity synced through iCloud, which left my Android users out. With Gravity Sync, a note you write on your Pixel on the train is at the top of the list on your Mac before you sit down.
Can you get Apple Notes on Android?
Not as an app. Apple makes Apple Music and Apple TV for Android, but not Notes, so you won't find it on Google Play.
You can read and edit your notes in Chrome on Android. Go to icloud.com, sign in with your Apple Account, approve the code on one of your Apple devices, and open Notes. It works, but it's a web page. Sign-in expires, the page needs a connection, and there's no home screen widget or share sheet to catch a thought quickly. It's fine for looking something up. You won't want to write in it every day.
The other route is to move your notes into an app that runs on both phones. That's what Gravity is for.
How Gravity Sync works
Gravity is one list of notes. You type a thought, press Return twice, and it lands at the top. Notes you leave alone sink over time, so whatever you're thinking about now stays in view. There are no folders to sort into.
Gravity Sync puts that list on every device you sign in on:
- Sign in with Google, Apple or an email code. The same account works in the iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac apps.
- Every note saves on the device first. Writing never waits for the network, and changes go up as soon as you're online.
- The list keeps its order. Rescue a note on your phone and it's at the top on your Mac too.
- Edit the same note on two devices at once and Gravity keeps both versions, so neither edit is lost.
- Download your whole synced library, Deleted Notes included, whenever you like.
In my tests with 10,500 notes, a fresh iPhone downloaded the lot in 30 seconds and Android in 44. A new note reaches the server in a couple of seconds.
If you want to know what happens when two phones disagree, I wrote up how Gravity Sync merges edits in more detail than anyone needs.
Set it up in two minutes
- Install Gravity on each device: the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac, Google Play for Android.
- Open Settings and choose Gravity Sync (Beta).
- Sign in with Google, Apple or an email code. Use the same account on every device.
- Your existing notes come with you, in the order you left them. The status reads Up to date when everything is in.
If you sync through iCloud now, turn on Gravity Sync on each device in turn. Your iCloud notes come into the new library, and a note another device already brought in isn't added twice.
Moving your notes out of Apple Notes
Apple Notes on macOS Tahoe can export a note as Markdown (File, then Export As). Drop the files into the Gravity import tool, which runs in your browser and turns Markdown and CSV exports into a single file for Gravity to import. Once the notes are in Gravity on one device, Gravity Sync puts them on the others.
Bear and Obsidian export Markdown too, so their notes come in the same way.
How it compares
| App | iPhone and iPad | Mac | Android | Sync between them |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Notes | App | App | Web page only, at icloud.com | iCloud, free |
| Google Keep | App | Web page | App | Google account, free |
| Samsung Notes | No | No | App on Galaxy phones | Samsung account, free |
| Obsidian | App | App | App | Obsidian Sync, paid add-on |
| Gravity | App | App | App | Gravity Sync, free during the beta |
Google Keep is the usual answer for iPhone and Android together, and it's good at quick checklists. Its notes are cards in a grid, and the Mac gets the web version. Obsidian is a deep tool for linked notes in Markdown files, with sync you pay for. Gravity has a real app on every platform and is built for writing things down fast and finding them again later.
Questions
Is Gravity Sync free?
Yes, during the beta. After that I plan to charge a monthly subscription for Gravity Sync, and you'll hear the price before the beta ends. Nothing switches to paid unless you choose it. The app itself is a one-time purchase.
Do I still need iCloud?
No. If every device you own is made by Apple, iCloud sync stays free and keeps working. Gravity Sync is for when one of them isn't, or when you'd rather sign in with Google.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Everything you write saves on the device straight away, and search, archive and editing all work without a connection. When you're back online, your changes go up and the ones from your other devices come down.
What if I edit the same note on my iPhone and my Android phone?
Gravity keeps both. One version stays as the note and the other arrives as a copy marked Conflict, right next to it, so you can merge them by hand. An archive on one phone and an edit on the other both apply.
Are my notes private?
Your notes are encrypted on their way to the server and while they're stored there, and no other account can see your library. Gravity Sync isn't end-to-end encrypted. That's what lets you sign in on a new phone and get every note back with no recovery key to keep safe.
Can I leave?
Any time. Delete your Gravity Sync account and its synced notes from Settings or from the website. The notes on your devices stay where they are, and you can export them as JSON or Markdown.
Does it work on iPad?
Yes. Gravity runs on iPad with the same list and the same sync.
Gravity is on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and on Google Play for Android. Turn on Gravity Sync in Settings.