# inq — user reviews > 25 indexed App Store user reviews of inq by inq incorporated, rated 3.00/5 from 20 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inq/id6745051671/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inq/id6745051671.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 10 · 4★ 0 · 3★ 0 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 10 ## Newest reviews (5 of 25) ### 1/5 — Terribly Unreliable, Horrible UX, Customer Service *2025-09-28* I’ve been a loyal Livescribe user since the original OLED-display pens — even bought multiple units despite their tendency to die whether used or not. I later invested in the LivePen and now the INQ model, both of which promised smarter syncing and better UX. Instead, I got a mess. The INQ app is a disaster. My pen connects (green to blue LED), the phone recognizes it, and I can see old pages from months ago — but nothing new syncs. No “new page” button, no interface, no feedback. It’s as if the app was abandoned mid-design. I’ve tried everything: restarting the pen, reinstalling the app, toggling Bluetooth, switching devices. Nothing works. And when I reached out to customer service, I was met with condescending responses from reps who clearly didn’t understand their own product. No accountability, no escalation, no resolution. This isn’t just bad tech — it’s bad faith. One star for a product that fails at its core promise and a company that refuses to support its users. **Developer response:** Hi there, We’re truly sorry for the experience you described. As a long-time smartpen user, you deserved a much better experience, and we take your feedback very seriously. We understand how frustrating it is to see your pen connect but not be able to sync new pages, and we’re sorry that our support process left you feeling unheard and unsupported. That is never our intention. Since then, we’ve made important improvements to both the app’s syncing behavior and our internal support processes to prevent issues like this from happening. We’ve also invested in better training and escalation paths for our support team to ensure customers receive knowledgeable, respectful help. We would genuinely like the chance to make this right and restore your trust. Please contact us directly at customerservice@inq.shop , and reference this review so we can escalate your case and work toward a real resolution. Thank you for taking the time to share such detailed feedback — it helps us do better. ### 1/5 — It’s the app! *2025-09-16* It’s the app that has the problems. I will be using the pan recording something important and the app just closes and I lose my information. **Developer response:** We’re sorry to hear that you’ve experienced trouble with the app unexpectedly closing. Your recordings and notes should always be safe, so this is not the experience we want for you. Please reach out to our customer service team at customerservice@inq.shop, so we can look into this further and ensure your information is protected. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to improving your experience with the app. ### 5/5 — !!!AMAZING!!! *2025-05-14, version 1.1* This has been by far the best digital smart pen journey I’ve experienced to date. The pen is beautiful and captures all my notes flawlessly. The AI transcription is a powerful addition too. Audio capture, web client AND USB-C…YES PLEASE! A++ ### 5/5 — Amazing productivity tool *2025-05-08* I love this App and the digital pen! Blown away by the ease of use, features and pen quality. So much better (and cheaper) than using a tablet. Should be on the desk, or in the pocket, of every student, executive or writer. ### 5/5 — I love my new inq pen! *2025-05-08* The app works so well. It understands my messy writing. I can save, share and organize all my notes. And the new pen is beautiful. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Recording failed - re-record and try again *2026-07-16* Seriously???! WTF. “Sorry Professor, would you mind teaching your entire lecture over again? My Inq system dropped the recording and wants me to record again. So while I was taking some notes, I had expected to listen and complete my notes later.” Do better, Inq. Your application is at best a prototype. Users: don’t rely on this for anything remotely important. ### 1/5 — support is rubbish *2026-05-15, version 1.15.4* pen failed after one A5 notebook and support are useless ### 1/5 — DON’T DO IT!!! *2026-05-08* Ignore the 5 star reviews and the YouTube videos that made this pen look like a great idea. I had this pen less than 24 hours, attempted to charge it and nothing!!!! So I decided this pen was defective and decided to return it and that’s when the fun started! The website says 100 day risk free trial but apparently when you email them, the return email address is bogus and doesn’t work. My emails got kicked back as undeliverable. Finally I emailed them through the regular customer service portal and finally received a return label for the return minus one item that just happened to cost $20 which gives me the impression they are back door trying to get me to pay for shipping. I videoed and photographed what I returned so there’s no question and shipped this hot mess back to whence it came. This was more trouble than it’s worth so take it from me and don’t do it. I was super excited about the concept of what this pen could do, but customer service is 0/10 stars. I can’t comment on performance but in every other way, this company isn’t one I’d ever want to deal with again. Those two YouTube videos you watched before you bought this don’t explain how difficult things are when you can’t get support when there’s an issue. ### 1/5 — New Pen & Expensive Notebooks - Failed after 25 pages of Notes *2026-04-10, version 1.14.3* I think I’m more annoyed at myself for being sucked in yet again by slick marketing by the old Livescribe who look like they bought someone else’s hardware, then rebranded it to flog to dumb consumers. Bought the whole kit, new pen and new notebooks because the new pen only works with the new dot paper. 23 pages of notes all looked good over the last few weeks. But now the pen keeps turning itself off although fully charged, won’t stay synced to the app, won’t download the last few pages, misses whole words and parts of sentences. I have been using Livescribe products for many years, the tech was always good, it didn’t last forever, but customer service was poor, so you just bought another one. Usually got a couple of years out of a pen before it failed. Their after sales service has always been below poor, but the products kind of worked. This is the last time I will ever get sucked in by this company pretending to be high tech, but just a charlatan making a quick buck on shoddy hardware. BUYER BEWARE - Don’t fall for the shiny and slick marketing on their web page. ### 1/5 — The transcription feature is horrible *2026-03-20* The transcription feature is absolutely USELESS. I wrote an entire page of very legible text, part of a fictional piece for one of my classes, and instead of just transcribing what I wrote, it instead ‘interpreted’ my text and REWROTE it into entirely nonsensical generative AI slop that has absolutely nothing to do with my story. Frankly I find it to be an insult to my work, and I didn’t think I’d have to worry about AI scraping my writing when I’m literally handwriting in a notebook, but alas it happens with this app anyway and it’s impossible to turn off the feature. It renders this notebook practically useless unless you are okay with just your handwriting itself being copied onto an image that you can’t do much else with. This is a waste of money and it’s cheaper to just take a picture of a page and have it translated to text with Evernote. If anything, just buy a different notebook with better transcription and a better app instead of this bs. ### 1/5 — Transcriptions are pure fiction *2026-03-04* I used a Livescribe pen for years and loved it. When it fell apart, I bought the new version and had to use this app. The transcriptions are terrible. Important elements are left out and the AI makes things up and adds it in. It’s so far from the truth that the transcription is unusable. When you ask it to re-do, it gives you another version of the same nonsense. It’s both disappointing and frustrating - a complete AI fail. ### 1/5 — Inqs Stinks *2026-02-11* This pen is not ready for prime time. It won’t reliable pair via Bluetooth, when I can get it to pair I sometimes get gibberish even when holding pen at proper angle. I am printing neatly and somehow a bunch of scribbles show up on the inq digital notepad app. I use a competitor’s product with a name that begins with an X and it works just fine. I can’t type and depend upon digital handwriting products. Inq lost this battle and I will for now stick with the other product. ### 1/5 — Do Not Buy!!! *2026-01-16* You will be sorry. You have been warned. Does not work. Support will talk you in circles endlessly and will not accept returns or refunds! Oh, and those two YouTube videos you watched before buying? . . . Those were paid shills. I’m only trying to help you avoid a very costly mistake. The worst scam I’m fallen for in years. ### 1/5 — Pen loses BLE connection *2025-10-29, version 1.9.0* Worked once out of the box. Pen lost connection, that was it. Spent half hour trying to reconnect to no avail: power cycle etc. no dice. Needs development ### 1/5 — Good thing you’ve got the paper copy *2025-10-13, version 1.9.0* Transferring your notes off the pen doesn’t happen automatically, and the app provides no way to request it, either. There’s a support email, but no one is responding. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Better All the Time *2026-03-31* I had gotten so frustrated when the old system stopped working. This app moved slowly out of the gate but each update is adding functionality without breaking anything. Smarter transcription of audio would be great to have next. ### 5/5 — Slowly getting better *2025-11-17, version 1.10.4* I still have my old Livepen stuff and started moving to Inq, and had to relearn how to do some things. But now I like the new Inq pen better, have no problems transfering from the pen automatically and I am experimenting how to transfer my notes to another format or app. ### 5/5 — Very good - and could easily be better *2025-09-03, version 1.7.0* I believe the Livescribe which this replaced had icons on the paper to start and pause recording. It would be brilliant for quick note taking if you could start recording just by tapping an icon on the paper (without having to unlock your phone, go to the app and hit record). Otherwise transcription of handwriting and audio is excellent and ability to ask AI about your notes with inq app is a really nice feature. I mindmap a meeting or lecture in a notebook and with sync’d audio enabled I can go back and flesh out any particular branch by tapping on it to hear what was said at the time I drew it. Please continue to develop of the new inq app and maybe add buttons to the notebook as Livescribe had as thier omission seems a retrograde step. Thanks for a great product… ### 5/5 — Awesome *2025-08-13* I used Livescribe pens and the inq is much, much better. Both the pen and app work better and excited to see more features on the app in future. ### 5/5 — A Permanent Home for My Notes *2025-08-09* Always searching for a better note keeping app. As I like paper with easily accessed saved copies and transcription, I have been a user of LiveScribe and LivePen. With inq these features have taken a leap forward and I think I have finally found the permanent home for my notes. Only suggestion for now is a landscape view for the iPad. ### 5/5 — Productivity Booster!!! *2025-07-14* I’m a person that loves jotting down ideas and although phones are great nothing beats pen and paper! Now add the ability to see your handwritten notes on your phone or iPad immediately and literally as you write your thoughts down and it’s mind blowing. You can also add voice notes to your handwritten notes and then use Ai tools to further improve the ideas that you wrote down. I had this pen on my wish list and I am so glad I pulled the trigger and purchased it. Definitely worth its weight in gold if you’re a person that prefers pen and paper with the ability to enhance those notes with modern digital tools this pen is it! I’m sold and can’t wait for future features! It’s definitely a BUY! **Developer response:** Thank you so much for your incredible review! We're thrilled to hear how much you're enjoying the blend of traditional pen and paper with modern digital features. It's exactly why we built this product — to support creativity and note-taking without compromise. We're especially happy to hear that the real-time syncing, voice notes, and AI tools are making a real difference in your workflow. Stay tuned — we’ve got more great features coming soon! ### 5/5 — Time Saver *2025-05-18, version 1.1* So helpful with writing my uni notes. No need to type them up after!! ### 5/5 — The real deal! *2025-05-14* I am in love with my inq pen, not only is aesthetically pleasing, but its functionality is 10 out of 10. I can now write and organize my notes on the go with the easiest and coolest pen! ### 5/5 — Wow *2025-05-14, version 1.1* What an amazing app … as I write it instantly documents what I have physically written and then translates it into written text !! Amazing product, even corrected my spelling mistakes ! ### 5/5 — A game changer - instantly made life so much easier! *2025-05-14* I’m always taking handwritten notes and it’s not so efficient to refer back to those notes when I need them but with this app I can keep all my notes on my phone and have them when I need them! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-27.*