iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 introduce a widely anticipated feature to the Notes app: text highlighting. This simple yet powerful addition addresses a long-standing request from users who want a neat, creative way to organize information.
Whether you’re a student color-coding study notes, a professional marking up important document details, or simply someone who enjoys adding a personal touch to your digital reminders, highlighting brings a new level of functionality.
How Do You Highlight in iPhone Notes?
Time needed: 2 minutes
Here’s how to use the highlight function in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18:
- Open the Notes app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Select the text (or pieces of text) that you need to highlight—you can use different colors in one sentence.
- Tap the formatting interface button (Aa) above the keyboard.
- Select the color palette icon on the right side of the screen. Scroll through the drop-down menu and choose between the available colors (e.g., purple, pink, orange, mint, and blue).
As of writing, your shaded background and text color must have the same palette when highlighting. It’s a minor yet noteworthy limitation. Personally, I think iPad users will make the most of this new function—I suggest checking which new features of iPadOS 18 you also utilize.