7 Android Apps to Write Notes Directly on the Home Screen

If you’re looking for a quick way to jot down notes on your Android phone, a home screen widget is your best option. Here are the best apps that let you write notes directly from your home screen without having to open them.

1. Jot

Jot is an app designed to let you write notes anywhere, no matter what app is running. You can launch the floating notepad from the Quick Settings panel (after a short setup process) or use the launch bar widget.

Thanks to the app’s intuitive controls, you can easily drag notes around on your home screen. Swiping to different screens won’t close the notepad, so you can take notes undisturbed. In the floating notepad window, you’ll also find options to save and delete a note, open the note inside the editor, and convert a note into a checklist. You can also pin notes to the notification bar.

To help keep your notes organized, Jot offers folders and sorting options. This helps clean up your ideas after taking several notes from the home screen. Jot converts written phone numbers, email addresses, and internet addresses into links to help you access information quickly. With multiple ways to launch the floating note window, Jot offers a brilliant solution to take notes instantly, wherever you are.

Download: Jot (Free, premium version available)

2. Write Now

Write Now is aptly named and offers minimal distractions, so you can get ideas written faster. Its core feature, the NowPad, acts as a floating window where you can take notes straight from your home screen. Simply enable the permission to Display over other apps, and you’re all set.

During the setup process, you can configure a trigger action to spawn the floating notepad. This swiping action can be performed at any time. Write Now lets you adjust the position and area of the trigger zone to prevent accidental swipes.

The app’s minimal interface makes it a great, simple note-taking app for your Android phone. There are several extra tools, including a resize button and a Select All option for checklists. For additional privacy, you can set passwords to keep your information safe. Despite its basic functionality, Write Now offers a variety of features to help you manage your notes.

Download: Write Now (Free, premium version available)

Sticky Notes Widget is a perfect app to view your notes at a glance. The app lets you write notes from your home screen and pin them wherever you like. When your mind is full of information, you can add multiple notes to the home screen and edit them at any time.

To create and edit notes, you’ll first need to know how to add a widget on your Android device. After placing a widget, simply tap it to add notes or long-press to change the widget size.

Sticky Notes Widget offers plenty of customization, so you can style notes that blend in with your home screen. You can change the text and background color and apply bold and italic formatting for extra emphasis. To help with readability, you can also change the text size.

If you’ve lost important changes, you can use the restore functionality to view and recover past edits. For a flexible note-taking experience that offers lots of customization, consider giving Sticky Notes Widgets a shot.

Download: Sticky Notes Widget (Free, in-app purchases available)

4. Evernote

Evernote has maintained a strong reputation as a reliable note-taking solution for individuals and businesses. Despite being mainly used on Windows and Mac, the Evernote mobile app offers unique tools to boost your personal productivity.

The action bar widget offers a selection of shortcuts that let you perform actions from the home screen. The Simple Note option lets you add a note (with a title) to your workspace without navigating to the app. You can also add an instant task by tapping the Simple Task icon.

Evernote also offers two more widgets: a Notes list and a Tasks list. The Notes list displays a filtered list of notes beside a button where you can type notes from the home screen. You can filter the results using a tag or a notebook. The Tasks list can help you gain a good perspective on your to-do list while having the ability to add a task instantly.

Despite its common usage for managing larger tasks, Evernote certainly met my expectations as a quick note-taking solution from the Android home screen.

Download: Evernote (Free, subscription available)

5. MultiNotes

MultiNotes is a simple reminder and note-taking app for helping you remember important details. Its various features and shortcuts can help you get the most out of your note-taking app without being overly complex.

You can personalize your notes by changing the background color and the text color and size. Want to emphasize some text? MultiNotes offers multiple highlighter colors to help information stand out.

To help categorize short-form notes, MultiNotes offers three boards for separating notes: Main, Work, and Family. If you’re a forgetful person, MultiNotes features a polished reminders system where you can create and track multiple reminders for different notes. MultiNotes also syncs your data with Google Drive, so you don’t need to worry about losing valuable information.

Download: MultiNotes (Free, in-app purchases available)

Sticky Notes + Widget offers a customizable note-taking experience for jotting down ideas when you’re in a rush. There are multiple sticky note styles on offer, including icon stamps you can pin onto notes.

Whether you prefer typing out notes or creating sketches, Sticky Notes + Widget combines the two, allowing you to type and sketch drawings on the same note. There are some further helpful tools, including text alignment and size. You can even choose from a selection of stylish fonts.

To edit a note, simply tap the widget from the home screen to open the popup window. You can also lock notes with a password and change the transparency. If you’re looking for a personalized note-taking experience to make your notes more accessible, Sticky Notes + Widget is a top choice.

Download: Sticky Notes + Widget (Free, premium version available)

7. ColorNote

ColorNote offers an organized hub for storing short-form notes. You can create simple text notes and to-do lists from your home screen or inside the app. The app offers cloud syncing, so you’ll never lose precious notes. Best of all, the app is completely free.

One of the app’s standout features is a calendar view, so you can manage your schedule and tasks together. You can also use colored labels to categorize notes. Using ColorNote’s sticky note widget, you can type notes from the home screen. The widget also lets you edit notes and change between them.

If you’re struggling to find a prior idea, ColorNote’s search tool can help you find information from all your written notes. You can also share ideas with friends using the Send button.

Download: ColorNote (Free)

Note-taking is a useful skill to help you to stay organized and jot down ideas. Finding time to capture information can be a challenge, especially if you travel frequently. But these widgets offer a fast solution to write down ideas straight from your home screen, removing the need to open and close note-taking apps frequently.