How to create Notes with the Apple Watch keyboard (a workaround)

[hkeely]

Series 7 comes with a great mini keyboard, but no Apple Notes app (yet!). So here's a work-around I've found to take notes on your Series 7 using the keyboard:

Make a Siri shortcut that either:
• Creates a new reminder in a "Watch notes" folder in the Reminders app
• Creates a new email to yourself with a "Watch notes" subject line (this takes one more tap on the watch to complete than the reminders option)

Then add either Siri Shortcut as a complication named "Notes" to your watch face.

I tried creating a shortcut to send an iMessage to yourself, but the keyboard option doesn't appear to work in Shortcuts for that.

If you go the Reminders route, you can create a separate shortcut to automatically move the text of reminders in your "Watch notes" folder to a newly created note in the Apple Notes app. I have, however, been unable to get it to append the text into an existing "Watch notes" note. If anyone figures out how to get that to work, please let me know! This Reminders-to-Notes transfer shortcut can be automated to run at a certain time of day, every day.

If you go the email route, it looks like you can set up a shortcut to automatically export the text of all emails with the subject "Watch notes" into a note in the Notes app if you use the AirMail application (since it supports the necessary shortcuts), but I haven't quite found how to get it to work properly yet. The good thing about this method over the reminders method is that it can be automated to go to the Notes app anytime a new email arrives.

One last minor irritation: Anytime you run a shortcut complication on your watch, the watch asks "Run [shortcut name]?" Does anyone know of a way to turn that warning off? It's unnecessary since you have to type a note anyway before you send it.

 

[Phil77354]

I can't imagine trying to create a text note of any complexity on an Apple Watch, but good for you in having success with it.

Seems to me that what is really needed is a teeny little Apple Pencil-ette that will magnetically attach to the side of the Apple Watch . . .

 

[Apple_Robert]

In my opinion, it is much easier (and faster in practical use) to create an automation whereby any voice note created on the watch goes directly to Apple Notes.

 

[matrix07]

Faster way.
- using Voice Memo on the watch
- on iPhone, share that recording to Notes.

Done.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you would like to be able to dictate an Apple Note from your watch and have it go to the Apple Notes folder of your choosing, I created a shortcut to make the process very easy. If you are someone who would use this shortcut a lot, use it as a complication on your watch (like I do) so you don't have to open the shortcuts app on your watch.

Dictate to Notes

 

[beach bum]

If you would like to be able to dictate an Apple Note from your watch and have it go to the folder of your choosing, I created a shortcut to make the process very easy. If you are someone who would use this shortcut a lot, use it as a complication on your watch (like I do) so you don't have to open the shortcuts app on your watch.

Dictate to Notes

Thank you! I’m going to give it a try. ?

 

[beach bum]

@Apple_Robert LOVE it!? Thank you again ? it works beautifully. Just have to make sure that I'm not around any of my other Apple devices though since Siri will pick up my request on either the phone or the HomePod.