Google Keep has been a staple Android note-taking app since it launched in 2013. Preinstalled alongside other Google apps like Docs and Calendar, it’s been an easy go-to for quick notes and lists. Google Keep’s success lies in its simple and accessible design, but in 2025, it looks shabby next to some of the newer note-taking apps on Android.
Google recently updated the Keep app for Android and iOS with user experience improvements and visual upgrades for its widgets. While these updates have improved the app, they are nowhere near enough to keep the app relevant through 2025 and beyond.
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Google Keep’s competitors highlight the app’s flaws
Google Keep is little more than a stack of digital sticky notes
Google Keep’s strength is that it nails the basics of a note-taking app. You can create a note with a couple of taps, and it’s easy to link the app to Google Assistant or Gemini so you can add items to your shopping lists via voice commands. But as you start to build up your collection of notes, the app’s deficiencies become glaring.
The first major problem is that you can’t mix lists with regular notes. I like to create recipe cards in my note-taking app of choice (more on that later), where I have a checkbox list of ingredients before the recipe instructions. In Google Keep, you have one choice when it comes to text options.
The second major problem is the app’s poor organization features. You can pin notes, and apply labels, but unless you’re meticulous in you’re labelling as you create notes, it soon becomes a mess. The Google Keep home screen is a chronologically sorted panel of your notes, but you have to manually pin and move notes to organize them.
Two note-taking apps that have caught the eye of the Android Police team in recent months are UpNote and Bundled Notes. Both apps have significantly more features than Google Keep, and they’re united by offering the two biggest feature Google Keep lacks. Organization tools and a rich text editor.
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Bundled Notes and Upnote aren’t the only two good note-taking apps for mobile. Even Microsoft offers a simple and powerful note-taking app in the form of OneNote, and classic names like Evernote offer a significantly more fleshed-out experience. The learning curve is no greater on most of these apps than Google Keep. While you may not use all the features of Bundled Notes (I’ve never used the Kanban board feature, for example), you won’t miss out on anything by switching from Google Keep.
Right now, the best feature of Google Keep is that it’s preinstalled on most Android phones. After booting up a new Android phone, you can start taking notes with minimal fuss. But with competition on the rise, what is Google doing to keep Keep relevant?
The upcoming Google Keep update is going to bring the change we’ve been clamouring for for years. That’s right, the Google Keep widgets will now take up more space on your home screen. Paired with the recent update that lets us create text notes with one tap, not two, it’s clear that Google is stopping at nothing to improve the app.
Sarcasm aside, it’s ridiculous how little effort Google is putting into its flagship note-taking app when competitors are giving us exactly what we want from a note-taking app on our Android devices.
Google Keep isn’t the only app to receive updates we didn’t ask for. Google Calendar’s recent update replaced the ‘Schedule’ view with ‘Day’ view, a frustrating change for people who were used to quickly checking their schedule with a tap. Paired with this is a new widget format that shows more information in the same space. This is more useful than the resized Keep widget, but it’s still nothing that will have us singing Calendar’s praises again.
If you want to stick with the Google ecosystem of apps, you can still give up Keep. Use Docs instead. Better organizational tools and a rich text editor are far better for taking and updating notes than Google Keep. It’s even integrated with Google Keep. Use Keep for quick notes, then use Docs for notes you’ll want to refer back to or update often.
Of course, there’s the possibility that Google is gearing up to add Keep to it’s growing graveyard. However, this would be a huge mistake. There’s still room for a minimalistic note-taking app, but Google must take into account our expectations for a note-taking app in 2025.
