iPhone app and Live Activities
The iPhone app is on the App Store and free to use. It adds the Dynamic Island, widgets and Apple Watch; the web app on your Home Screen is the alternative.
Applies to iPhone · iPad · available on the App Store; the web app works too
The CommonNote iPhone app is available on the App Store (see also the Download page). If you’d rather not install it, add the web app to your Home Screen as described below. Notes, to-dos, the calendar and Messenger all work the same in the web app.
Or use the web app: Add to Home Screen
- Open commonnote.app in Safari and sign in.
- Tap the Share button and choose Add to Home Screen.
- Open CommonNote from the new Home Screen icon. It opens like an app, without the browser’s address bar.
- To get notifications, open the notification bell in the top bar of that app and tap Turn on acknowledgment push.
On a narrow screen, use the tab bar at the bottom (To-dos · Project · Notes · Search · People · Channels · Dashboard · Calendar · Today) to move between screens. The tab bar hides while a note is open.
What the iPhone app adds
The iPhone app uses the same account and notes as the web, and adds the following.
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Today status Live Activity | Shows today’s date, a few remaining tasks and a count in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen. Always on in the app. |
| In progress Live Activity | Mark a checklist line In progress to show that task on its own. |
| Widgets | Five Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. See Widgets and Apple Watch. |
| Apple Watch | Today’s timetable and task dashboard screens, plus watch face complications. |
| Push | Tap Turn on acknowledgment push in the app to receive notifications through Apple push. |
The app from the App Store is free to use. Its plan screen says “This app is free to use,” and plans with extra storage are still in preparation.
How the Live Activities work
- Today status isn’t pushed by the server. Your phone refreshes it itself while the app is in the foreground (when your to-dos change or you return to the app). Changes made on another device show up when you open the app on this phone.
- An In progress activity starts only when you add the In progress marker from the :: chip (item actions) at the right of a line. Typing
[진행중]by hand doesn’t start one. - Switching the marker to another one (such as success or failure) or finishing the task updates or ends the activity.