Saber: Handwritten Notes Apple

Saber: Handwritten Notes

The app built for handwriting

Overview

Rating:
4.00
(21)
Version:
1.35.0
Last updated: 2026-07-09
Ranking
#300,038 ▼ 2,163
Overall

Features & Capabilities

Saber is the notes app built for handwriting.

It's designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible, while still delivering unique features that you'll actually use. Additionally, Saber is available across all your devices, large and small, and syncs between them seamlessly.

Notably, it can invert your notes when you're in dark mode. This allows you to write with white ink on a black background, which is much easier on the eyes in low-light environments like when the teacher turns off the lights in class. Images and PDFs are also inverted, so you can still use a digital printout or a textbook without the fuss.

Saber uses a dual-password system to protect your notes from anyone but you, even if they have complete control over the server. You can safely store your notes on the official Saber server, another server, or even host your own!

The app is completely open-source so that anyone can view the source code and see exactly what it's doing and how it handles your data. Many other note-taking apps are closed-source and proprietary, meaning that their inner workings are a mystery to the public.

As someone who studies maths, highlighting multi-line equations was always a hassle with other apps, where the highlighter would change color when it overlapped with itself. Another problem I had was that in some apps, the highlighter would render on top of the text, fading it out and making it hard to read. Saber's highlighter has no such issues. It utilizes canvas compositing to render the highlighter in a way that is consistent with/better than traditional paper, where it handles overlaps and maintains color consistency.

Saber has everything you need to keep your notes organized. Create folders inside folders inside folders to your heart's content with no limit on the number of nested folders. And even though a note may be buried deep within a nested folder, you can still access it easily with your most recent notes always available on the home screen.

Discover a whole new way to capture and organize your thoughts with Saber. Whether you're a student, professional, or creative mind, Saber is your trusted companion for digital handwriting. Download now and let your ideas flow freely!

User Growth & Download Statistics

App
By:
Adil Hanney
Rating:
4.00
(21)
Version:
1.35.0 Last updated: 2026-07-09
Version code:
888014153
Creation date:
2023-04-26
Compatible devices:
Size:
52.19MB
URLs:
Website ,Privacy policy
Full description:
See detailed description
Source:
Apple Apps Store
Data ingested on:
2026-07-23
Compare stats and ranking:

Contact the developer

Chrome-Stats does not own this Apple app. Please use these information below to contact the Apple app developer.
Developed by:
Adil Hanney
Apple Apps Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/saber-handwritten-notes/id1671523739
Website:
https://saber.adil.hanney.org/

User Reviews

Users praise Saber for strong handwriting quality, ad-free operation, and cross-device availability, making it a solid free alternative to GoodNotes. However, multiple reviews report recurring bugs and instability that affect writing and tools, as well as data loss or saving problems. Writing input can lag or produce jagged lines, and palm-rejection/UI readability concerns have been raised. The app shows promise but needs stability and data-protection improvements for long-term use.
Pros
  • Strong overall quality and handwriting experience.
  • Ad-free model with no push subscriptions or purchases.
  • Available on all devices / cross-device compatibility.
  • Free alternative to GoodNotes.
Cons
  • Frequent bugs and instability affecting core features such as writing and tools.
  • Data loss or saving issues (projects disappearing; saving options sometimes grayed out).
  • Pen lag and jagged lines when writing (input irregularities).
Recent reviews
The app is still in development — in fact, one can look at the GitHub page and see active progress being made! As such, there are plenty of slightly glitchy features, and a couple missing pieces of functionality such as moving handwriting between pages and allowing copy/paste of handwriting. However, this app: - has not asked me to pay to subscribe - has not removed existing features, made them worse, or asked me to subscribe in order to access them - tried to get me to use an AI tool or shoved something AI in that doesn’t belong - have I mentioned I’m not asked to subscribe every time I open the app? :) In conclusion, the app is good enough to use now, and I look forward to what it will be in another year or two.
by Fl*****, 2026-05-21

great app. please don't ruin it by chasing more profit!!
by hc*****, 2025-11-15
View all user reviews ›

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