Notes for iPhone vs Shoulder Surf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Notes for iPhone
Easily create reminders and take notes with an intuitive interface. Manage your notes and tasks directly from your Apple Watch, and access your most recent entries via widgets. Personalize your experience with themes and ensure your data is backed up and synced across devices.
- Apple Watch management
- Voice dictation for notes
- Widget for quick access
- iCloud backup and sync
- Customizable themes
- To-do list functionality
- Color markers for notes
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Just you and your note. YepNotes is a clean and focused note-taking app designed to give you a simple space to write, without visual clutter or unnecessary distractions. It is made for the small things you do not want to forget: an idea, a shopping list, a task for later, a Wi-Fi code, a parking spot, a recipe or an important reminder. A clean and fast way to capture quick notes, lists and reminders. Open, write, swipe, done. ◆ Just you and your note YepNotes is designed around a simple idea: when you need to write something down, the app should stay out of the way. No heavy workspace, no crowded interface, just a clear place for your note. ◆ Quick notes, without friction Capture your ideas in seconds with a simple and focused note-taking experience. YepNotes helps you save small thoughts, memos, lists and reminders without complicated menus. ◆ Designed around gestures YepNotes keeps the interface clean with natural swipe gestures. Swipe to save, cancel, delete, create notes or access quick actions without adding buttons everywhere. ◆ Notes, photos and checklists Create simple notes with text, photos and checklists. Keep everything useful in one place, whether you are preparing a list, saving an idea or organizing a task. ◆ Reminders and notifications Add reminders to your notes and get notified at the right time. Perfect for tasks, appointments, shopping lists or anything you do not want to forget. ◆ Tasks and to-do lists Turn quick notes into simple tasks. Use YepNotes to manage your priorities, prepare your day, organize a recipe or keep track of things to do. ◆ Lists and color markers Organize your notes with lists and colors. Keep important notes easy to spot and sort your ideas, lists, tasks and memos in a way that makes sense to you. ◆ Siri Shortcuts Create notes faster with Siri Shortcuts. Add a note to a list, create a note with a reminder, or save a note directly in a specific list without opening the app. ◆ iCloud sync Sync your notes across your Apple devices with iCloud. Keep your notes with you on iPhone, iPad and more. ◆ YepNotes on Apple Watch Create notes by dictation, add reminders, manage lists, delete notes and mark important notes with colors directly from your Apple Watch. ◆ Widgets for quick access Add YepNotes widgets to quickly see your recent notes, reminders and important information on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or Today View. ◆ Customizable themes Personalize YepNotes with different themes and make your note-taking experience feel more comfortable and personal. ◆ YepNotes Pro Unlock more ways to organize your notes with YepNotes Pro. Customize your note lists with icons and colors, create more than 10 note lists, and use advanced list widgets to keep your notes visible and easy to access. Choose the Pro option that fits you best: monthly, yearly or lifetime. YepNotes is not made to be a heavy workspace. It is made to help you capture quick notes, simple lists and everyday reminders with less friction. Just you and your note. Download YepNotes and start taking simple notes faster. __________ Twitter: YepNoteS Terms of Use: https://yepnotes.kangama.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://yepnotes.kangama.com/en/privacy-policy/
Shoulder Surf
This app acts as a meeting copilot, transcribing conversations in real-time and providing instant summaries. It allows users to ask questions about the discussion, generate various file types from meeting content, and chat with past meetings for insights.
- Live transcription with speaker labels
- AI-powered Q&A and custom prompts
- Generate spreadsheets, Gantt charts, and emails
- Attach documents for AI context
- Chat with past meetings
- Private audio responses
- On-device speech recognition
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SHOULDER SURF: MEETING & INTERVIEW ASSISTANT You can take notes, or you can be in the meeting. Not both. I built Shoulder Surf because I kept losing the conversation while trying to capture it. Looking down to write something means missing the next thing. Trying to remember everything means listening less. The harder you work to stay on top of a meeting, the less present you actually are. Shoulder Surf takes the tracking off your plate so you can stay where you should be: in the conversation, looking at the person in front of you. STAY PRESENT It listens, transcribes, and quietly keeps a running record of what was said and who said it. Rolling summaries refresh every few minutes, so if your attention drifts you can catch up in seconds without breaking eye contact. ASK WITHOUT INTERRUPTING Tap once to ask anything about what was just said. Pull the action items, get a fact checked, request a suggested response, or ask whatever you want, and the answer lands before the conversation moves on. Read it on screen, or hear it privately through your AirPods. TURN MEETINGS INTO DELIVERABLES This is where Shoulder Surf goes past note taking. Ask it to build something and it does: a real Excel spreadsheet, a project Gantt chart, a summary document, a follow up email. It generates the actual file, right there in the chat, from what was discussed. Hand it a document too, a spec, an agenda, a contract, and it reads that alongside the meeting so its answers are grounded in your real material, not guesswork. CHAT WITH YOUR MEETINGS Every session is saved as a complete record: full transcript, captured insights, photos, and AI responses. Chat with any meeting to surface a decision or pull a detail. Or chat across an entire project, choose how many past meetings to include and what to draw from, and ask questions that span weeks. REMEMBER ACROSS MEETINGS Meeting Memory carries decisions and commitments into the next meeting. Plus brings your recent meetings into every answer. Pro brings all of them. HOW IT WORKS Shoulder Surf runs on your iPhone, beside your meeting. It captures audio through the microphone and transcribes on device in real time. Nothing to install on your computer. No bots joining your calls. Never in a screen share. Works with Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, in person, or anywhere conversations happen. FEATURES • Live transcription with on-device speech recognition • Speaker labels so you know who said what • Quick Prompts: summaries, action items, suggested responses, fact checking, and your own custom prompts • Generate real files: spreadsheets, Gantt charts, documents, and emails from your meeting • Attach documents so the AI answers from your own material • Web search on demand for questions that need current info • Private audio responses through AirPods or Bluetooth headphones • Camera capture: slides, whiteboards, documents • Shareable meeting reports • Save action items straight to Reminders • Apple Watch: trigger queries from your wrist, phone untouched • Dynamic Island and Lock Screen for at a glance status • Available in English, French, Spanish, and Japanese PRIVACY FIRST • On-device transcription means audio never leaves your phone • API keys stored in your iOS Keychain • iCloud sync optional, no account required for on-device features • Your data, your control PLANS • Free: on-device Apple Intelligence AI at no cost, plus a recurring monthly cloud AI budget of about 5 hours a month that renews. Reports, People, monthly searches and files. • Plus: unlimited cloud AI, Memory across recent meetings, document attachments, project chat, more searches and files each month. 7 day free trial. • Pro: everything in Plus, plus full-history Memory and advanced AI for reports and analysis. • Bring Your Own Key: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, and more. Subscriptions auto renew monthly. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings. Terms of Service: https://shouldersurf.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shoulder Surf at 100% against Notes for iPhone's 34%. Shoulder Surf also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.0). Notes for iPhone's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (71 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Notes for iPhone sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Shoulder Surf sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Shoulder Surf holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Notes for iPhone has 71 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Notes for iPhone's written reviews are positive against 100% of Shoulder Surf's.
Notes for iPhone ships an update weekly, Shoulder Surf every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Notes for iPhone | Shoulder Surf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (71 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 71 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 169 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Karim Angama | WEIRTECH |
Customer experience
Notes for iPhone
Shoulder Surf
In-app purchases
Notes for iPhone
- YepNotes Pro Monthly7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- YepNoteS Pro Annual7 Days trial$11.991 Year
- YepNoteS Pro Lifetime$49.99
Shoulder Surf
- Plus7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Pro$14.991 Month
- Extras: Apple Cloud$9.99
- Extras: Own API Key$9.99
- Extras: Both$14.99









