Okay, so I saw an article that said OneNote
for Windows 10 is going away. Now, I've been using OneNote Desktop for many years. I
switched from the 2016 version to Windows 10. I gave up some functionality I loved because I
believed Windows 10 is going to get there. But no, we have to say goodbye. Now, why did this come
about and is there a new sibling taking over? Back in 2002, OneNote was first announced. It came
out later in 2003 and it was really innovative. You could capture both typed or handwritten text in
digital notebooks that were saved automatically. There was no save button there. It was helpful for
anyone taking random notes from different places. It got a series of updates over the next decade,
growing it into a serious note-taking app. OneNote 2007, 2010, 2013, and finally OneNote
2016. Then came OneNote for Windows 10. At the time, Microsoft was pushing the Universal
Windows Platform or UWP. What this UWP did is to allow developers to write universal code for any
device that's Windows based. They didn't have to rewrite the code anymore separately for PCs, phones,
and tablets. They could just use the same code which was supposed to be a relief for developers.
So, back in April 2018, Microsoft announced that OneNote 2016 will be replaced by the new OneNote
for Windows 10, which is based on this UWP platform. But, the old OneNote had a big loyal community
plus the new OneNote app for Windows 10 lacked a lot of features that OneNote 2016 already had.
A lot of people weren't happy about that. So, in November 2019, Microsoft backpaddled and
announced that they changed their mind and that OneNote 2016 will continue to be supported,
which was a good move by Microsoft because it shows that they listen to their community, and
that they're willing to change direction, at least to a degree. Now, the catch was that OneNote for
2010 would still be the default app of the future. So, essentially, that meant there were going to be
two different versions of the same app. As you can imagine, this resulted in a lot of confusion
for us users and a lot of work for Microsoft. Now, it was actually around that time when I
switched over to OneNote for Windows 10 because I like the design, I like the navigation, and I
like that some of the new features like Dictation, the inking options, and features like Ink
to Shape or Ink to Text, were a part of that Windows 10. Unfortunately for Microsoft, UWP never
really worked out. The app developers didn't want to be boxed into the Windows world when they
could reach far more people with iOS or Android. As a result, in August 2021, Microsoft announced
that OneNote for Windows 10 is going to be phased out, and support will end in 2025 together
with Windows 10. So, is this the end of OneNote? No ,it's not. OneNote will live on but funny enough,
Microsoft changed course again and decided to revert to the old OneNote 2016. The one, back in
2018, they said would be eliminated. Obviously, they didn't want to call it OneNote 2016, so they called
it just OneNote. If you're wondering what version you have installed on your computer, open OneNote
and take a look at the banner. If it just says OneNote, you have the original 2016 version, which
is now the new version. If it says OneNote for Windows 10, well then, you have the Windows 10
version. Now, obviously, Microsoft wants to push the new OneNote version, so not the old Windows
10 one. This means, if you buy a new device today, which will have Windows 11, it will automatically
come with a pre-installed OneNote app which is the new OneNote. It's a visually refreshed 2016
OneNote with some rounded edges and transparency, which make it fit nicely into the overall Windows
11 theme. If your OneNote version doesn't have it, don't worry, you're going to get it soon. It looks
like the goal for the OneNote app is to combine the best features of both existing apps into one.
It's slowly getting the Windows 10 features that we're missing, but it already has all the OneNote
2016 features that we love. For example, when your notebooks are pinned, you can see all notebooks
in their sections. This way, you can easily drag and drop sections and pages from one notebook to
another one, which is a feature I really like in OneNote for Windows 10 version. You can only see
the sections and pages of the currently selected notebook, then you have to either copy and paste
or use the move-copy functionality. You can also easily share notes with someone else. You can
export a page, a section, or an entire notebook into a local file, then forward this ".one" file
and the recipient just needs to double-click to be able to use the notes in their own OneNote.
With Windows 10 version that didn't work. Something else that drives me crazy in OneNote for Windows
10 is the time it takes to process the text in an image. It's got this great OCR functionality but
it's very slow. You know the feeling when you're in some government office like renewing your
passport, everyone is waiting, sweating, stressed, and then you see the office workers just
having tea, coffee, chatting with one another as if no one's waiting? That's what I think
that OCR was doing to me. The OCR in OneNote 2016, or just OneNote, works in a matter of
seconds. What's also very limited in OneNote for Windows 10 is its Outlook integration, like
sharing meeting notes, which is only possible by sharing a link. This means that the recipient has
to have access to the actual notebook. In OneNote, you can just simply email your meeting notes as
text in the body of the email. Another feature we lacked in Windows 10 but we had in 2016, and we now
have in OneNote, was the ability to flag to-do's and create an Outlook task out of them. This way,
the tasks you created would show up in Outlook and also, in the dedicated Microsoft To-Do app, which
makes it easier to stay on top of your to-do's. Great news is that all of these features are going
to be available going forward, and I expect that some things that are currently only available in
the UWP version like improved syncing, a modern inking experience, immersive reader, and so on,
will be integrated into the combined OneNote app. So yeah, it's not the end of OneNote the app but
the end is coming for OneNote for Windows 10, the UWP version. What's going to live on is an updated
version of OneNote 2016, simply called OneNote. So, in short, if you're currently using OneNote 2016,
you're in luck. You get to keep the features you love and you get a modern interface with some new
features down the line. If you're currently using OneNote for Windows 10 and you like it, there's
no rush to switch apps. Even if you have Windows 11 already installed and you like your Windows 10
OneNote experience, you can continue to use it. I actually have both versions installed on my laptop
and I switch between them. I also use the web version sometimes which, by the way, looks similar
to the Windows 10 version. I also use OneNote on my iPad and syncing works fine between all of them.
Okay, so I hope this was helpful in clearing up the confusion about the different OneNote Desktop apps.
If it was, please give this video a like and share it with someone who may benefit from it as well.
That's it and I'm going to catch you next time.
