My Favorite Pro Creative Apps for 2021
By: Mika Y.
Tags: Business, Work, Technology, Productivity, Startup

Bear: The one and only home for all my ideas. The tagging system sold me on this. It’s not the only app with this feature, but it does do it rather well. Instead of categories, Bear allows you to add multiple sorting tags to each note. With categories, one note has one category. With tags, one note can have multiple “categories.”

As a result, the organization is more complete. Which matters to me because connections between thoughts are important. For instance, let’s say I create a note about a new strategy for my trading algorithm. That would obviously belong in the “Code” category. But what if I also want to add it to my post queue, the “Posts” category? I can’t categorize it as both “Code” and “Posts.” But with Bear, I can.

I simply add both “#code” and “#posts” to that one note. Done. Now I can find it under both “#code” and “#posts” in the sidebar. In other apps, I’d have to duplicate the information. Maybe I’d add “post about new trading strategy” to a different note under the Posts category. Obviously, Bear’s tag system is superior.

Bear’s note editor in fullscreen mode. Source: author.

Moving on, the Bear editor is one of the best I’ve used for on-the-fly ideas. Fast. Clean. Effective. Plus, Markdown support is excellent — I can format quickly even on my phone. This was a problem with my ex-idea jotter, Agenda. Editing was too slow. In contrast, there’s less friction with Bear. A big deal when I’ve got three things to write down at the same time.

Now, I’m punctilious when it comes to UI. I probably apply more selection criteria to user interfaces than I’ll apply to my wife. Corner radius of a single button looks off? Junk it. There’s no compromise when it comes to design. I look at these tools for hours a day. They must be pretty. And I’m happy to report Bear passes all the tests. In fact, I might even call it impressive. Dark. Clear. Intuitive. I can get behind the aesthetic.

The Dieci theme suits my fancy on my iPhone and iPad. On Mac, Solarized Dark suits the bigger screen. You’ve got plenty of skin options if you go pro — more on that later.

Extras

But things get fun when you leave the app, too. The developers thought of everything. It’s pretty much as integrated as a 1st party app. For instance, I set up a Siri Shortcut to dictate a new Bear note using Siri. When I suddenly come up with a bug fix while cooking, this is a lifesaver. In addition, I have a shortcut to record a post idea from my clipboard — useful when something I’m reading inspires me. Just copy some text, run the shortcut, and the idea is stored in Bear under “#posts”. The whole process takes three seconds. Not all note apps can do this.

And the Bear widgets on my iPad Pro’s Today view? Remarkably useful. I set it up to show my most recent notes. So with one tap, I can pick up where I left off. Right from the home screen. No digging through categories. No filtering. This is what notes should be: Natural. Accessible. An extension of your own mind. Bear gets as close to that as I’ve ever experienced.

I mean, you can even access your local Bear Notes database on macOS. For the non-programmers out there, this means you have infinite automation options for manipulating your notes. Granted, most of you won’t need this. But hey, it’s an option.

Pricing

Finally, let’s talk cost. Bear Pro will cost you $1.49 per month. If you don’t have commitment issues, unlike me, you could pay roughly $1.25 per month, billed annually. Whichever option you prefer, just buy it. This pricing is absurd. I’m not sure how the good folks who make this are turning a profit. A dollar and a half per month? You can find that walking down the street.

The free version doesn’t have sync. And themes are rather limited. If you’re a light user, I guess you could make it work. But it’s a deal-breaker for me. I use this every day. All the time. For hours. To do everything. They could charge ten times their current price, and it’d still be a bargain. It helps that I’m sold on the brand, too. I mean, what developer offers free themed wallpapers? Well-played, Bear. You got me there.

In summary, I can’t recommend Bear enough. It’s simple if that’s all you need. But when the rubber meets the road, it keeps up. Value for money, capable, and pretty. What else do you need? Migrating from your existing notes app is trivial, too. So there’s not much stopping you.

Alternative: Drafts

One alternative I’ve heard about is Drafts: Similar editing, similar organization, just five times uglier. Can’t stand it. Not enough negative space in the layout of the editor. The menus look messy. Too distracting. Overall, not as consistent as Bear. I need serenity in my idea sanctuary. But if you’re less pedantic, why not give it a shot.