I use Google Keep every day, but these Apple Notes features still make me jealous

I still use Google Keep almost every day. It’s the fastest place on my phone to dump grocery lists, quick reminders, article ideas, and random thoughts before I forget them.

That simplicity is exactly why I’ve never fully replaced it with other productivity apps.

But over time, I started noticing how much more polished certain features looked in Apple Notes.

I don’t use an iPhone, but after seeing friends and family use Apple Notes, it became hard not to notice some genuinely useful features that Google Keep still lacks.

While Apple Notes still works for quick capture, it also handles long-form organization, planning, documents, and structured workflows in ways Google Keep doesn’t.

I prefer Keep for fast note-taking, but there are definitely moments where Apple Notes feels like the more complete app, and I really wish Google would catch up in a few areas.

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Better organization beyond labels and colors

Google Keep’s organization system hasn’t changed much in years. Keep mainly relies on labels, colors, and pinning notes to the top, which works fine for quick reminders or short grocery lists.

But when your notes start piling up, the system can become messy fast.

Apple Notes handles this much better with folders, nested folders, tags, and Smart Folders that automatically organize notes based on rules.

In comparison, many of my Google Keep notes end up becoming giant catch-all dumps because there’s no satisfying way to structure related information together.

Sometimes I’ll remember saving something important in Keep, but still spend time searching for it because too many unrelated notes clutter the main screen.

I don’t necessarily want Google Keep to become a full productivity workspace like Notion or OneNote. But adding optional folders or better ways to group notes would make the app feel much more scalable without sacrificing its simplicity.

Advanced formatting options for notes

One thing I’ve started noticing more in Google Keep is how longer notes become difficult to organize properly.

Google has added formatting support over time, including headings, bold, and italics, which definitely helped Keep feel less basic than before.

But compared to Apple Notes, the formatting system still feels limited when notes become more detailed. For example, Keep still doesn’t properly support paragraph alignment, numbered lists, or table creation.

There is a workaround for bullet points where typing symbols like *, -, or + followed by a space and text automatically turns it into a bulleted list in Keep.

I notice these limitations most when I’m trying to structure research notes, travel plans, lists, or anything that needs better organization.

In Apple Notes, the content looks easier to scan because the formatting tools visually separate information rather than turning everything into a continuous block of text.

I don’t necessarily want Google Keep to become a full document editor, but better formatting support would make it feel far more capable for notes.

Linking notes together would completely change Keep

One feature I genuinely wish Google Keep would borrow from Apple Notes is the ability to link notes together.

Keep treats every note like a completely separate sticky note. That works fine for reminders or grocery lists, but when you start saving more information, the app can feel disconnected.

Apple Notes allows users to create links between notes, making it much easier to connect related information.

It becomes incredibly useful for larger projects, research, trip planning, study materials, or even simple everyday organization.

In Google Keep, I often end up recreating this manually by adding note titles or copying information back and forth between multiple notes.

I don’t necessarily need Keep becoming a full “second brain” app like Obsidian or Notion. But simple internal note linking would make Keep feel dramatically more useful.

Better support for documents and attachments

Google Keep is still heavily focused on lightweight text notes and images. You can attach photos, drawings, and voice recordings, but the app feels restrictive when you want to store richer information alongside your notes.

Apple Notes, on the other hand, is much more flexible. You can save PDFs, scanned documents, files, screenshots, links, and annotated attachments directly inside notes without needing separate apps for everything.

If I want to save a PDF, document, or reference file alongside related notes, I usually end up juggling between Keep, Google Drive, and other apps.

Even something as simple as proper PDF previews or richer attachment support inside notes would make Keep feel more complete without turning it into a complicated workspace app.

Private notes shouldn’t require a separate app

One feature I genuinely wish Keep would improve is note privacy.

The app doesn’t offer native note locking at all, which feels strange considering how much personal information we store inside note-taking apps.

Meanwhile, Apple Notes allows users to protect specific notes with Face ID, Touch ID, or passwords.

That’s something I constantly wish existed properly in Google Keep.

Sometimes I want to save personal information, account details, or private thoughts without storing them inside a dedicated journaling app.

I’m not asking Google Keep to become a security-focused vault app, but even simple per-note locking would make the app feel much more complete for everyday use.

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Google Keep is still great, but it feels overdue for an upgrade

I still use Google Keep every single day because almost nothing matches how fast and lightweight it feels for quick notes and random ideas.

That simplicity is why I keep coming back to it rather than switching to more complicated note-taking apps.

At the same time, watching people around me use Apple Notes made me realize simplicity and capability don’t have to cancel each other out.

Features like better organization, richer formatting, note linking, stronger privacy controls, and improved attachment handling would make Google Keep feel far more complete.