Notion: Notes, Tasks, AI

Notion arrives on iPhone carrying the weight of its desktop ambitions, both figuratively and at 525 MB literally. It is an all-in-one workspace where notes, tasks, databases and full project wikis live under one roof, now threaded with AI that can summarize, draft and answer questions about your own content. New AI Meeting Notes and a Maps view show it still moving fast. The flexibility is unmatched and the free personal tier is effectively unlimited, but the mobile app inherits Notion's signature trade-off: enormous capability wrapped in a learning curve and load times that can test your patience.

One canvas for everything

The reason people tolerate Notion's quirks is that nothing else bends this far. A single workspace can hold class notes, a reading list, a startup's roadmap and a database of restaurants, all cross-linked and templated. The AI layer now sits on top of your own pages, so asking for project updates or a summary of yesterday's meeting returns answers grounded in your content rather than the open web. For organizers, the ceiling is genuinely high.

The mobile tax

That power is not free of cost on a phone. At 525 MB it is the largest app on this list by a wide margin, cold starts and big-database loads can lag, and the desktop-first interface feels cramped when squeezed onto a 360-pixel screen. Offline support remains a weak spot, so spotty signal can leave you staring at a spinner. Newcomers also face a real ramp before the blank workspace becomes productive.

Worth the ramp for the right user

If you already run your life or team inside Notion, the app is an essential companion for quick captures and edits on the move. If you are starting cold and just want notes that open instantly, the setup investment may outweigh the payoff. It rewards people who enjoy building systems and frustrates those who would rather have structure handed to them ready-made.