Introduction
Most of the posts I’ve worked on have been written in native writers (Medium, Reddit, Substack) or Drafts (a writing app). My last post was written by another writing app, Bear. But this week, I found a new writing app: Spaces.
I’ve been using the Spaces app for the past week. Here’s what I’ve learned from using it.
The Spaces App
When I first looked at the app, it appeared to be somewhat similar to Bear. The design definitely is similar to Bear, and the tag categorization system is also similar to Bear’s. In fact, when I first checked out the app, the only difference I saw was that the font is slightly different from Bear.
Here are some of the features of the Spaces app after I took a closer look:
Categorization
As I mentioned before, Spaces has a tag categorization system similar to Bear. For those unfamiliar with Bear, this means that there aren’t any true folders. Instead, you organize notes by typing a tag. For example, this post is for the Overoptimize newsletter, so I tagged this note with #overoptimize. With the app’s tag categorization system, you can also add multiple tags to each note, placing the note in multiple folders.
In addition to using tags, you can also favorite, pin, or archive notes.
Shortcuts
Spaces also has typed shortcuts that are similar to Bear’s. Typing # with a space will create an H1 tag, typing ## with a space will create an H2 tag, typing ### with a space will create an H3 tag, and so on. There are likely other typed shortcuts, but I haven’t been able to find any beyond adding **bolded text** (type phrase between two pairs of asterisks) and *italicized text* (type phrase between two asterisks).
In addition to typing shortcuts, the Spaces app also has a button at the bottom right corner which resembles the command key. Tapping this button will open a menu of options to add into your note. These options include creating ordered and unordered lists, adding tags, adding the date, etc.
The Editor
Within notes, there is a note editor which can customize the appearance of the notes. For instance, you can customize various aspects of the layout, like the margins, paragraph spacing, and font size. In addition, you can customize whether or not syntax should be hidden automatically. If this option is enabled, the asterisks surrounding bold or italicized words will disappear.
Preferences
The app also has a preferences section, where you can customize the appearance of the app. Within this section, you can edit the theme, edit the app icon, import notes, lock the app, and more. In addition, you can also request features and view the roadmap for the Spaces app (this transparency from the developer is great!).
Premium Features
The Spaces app also has a premium subscription for $1.49/month, $14.99/year, or $34.99 for a lifetime subscription. With this premium subscription, you can sync notes across different devices, export notes in a variety of different formats, unlock premium themes, set filters, enable a focus mode (where only the line you work on is viewable), and mark notes as unread.
For professional users who might benefit from exporting notes or having a focus mode, this subscription is probably worth it, especially with its low cost.
What I Don’t Like About The App
I do have a few complaints about the app. I’ll discuss my three main issues.
My first issue is the terrible Split View arrangement. When in Split View, the Spaces app is squished so that the actual note only takes up 1/3 of the screen. Even if you set the margin to 0, the note is still surrounded by relatively big bars.
My second issue is the glitches in the app. Often times, I have to exit out of the app and re-open it because the navigation is frozen. While this is a relatively small issue, it’s still annoying.
My third issue is that the app needs to differentiate itself from Bear. I haven’t found any stand-out features that make the app better than Bear, and I will continue to write on Bear/Drafts for future posts.
Conclusion
While the Spaces app is a nice app, it does have some issues. However, it is definitely an app to watch. It has a solid foundation by copying principles from a solid writing app. If the developers can create an incredible differentiating feature, this could be a major writing app in the future.
Thanks!
Adi