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Bear Notes 1.3 for iOS Adds Multitasking 'Drop Bar' and Apple Watch Support

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Bear Notes for iOS got a 1.3 update on Wednesday, bringing new note multitasking feature for iPad and iPhone as well as adding Apple Watch support to the popular writing app for the first time.

Using the new multi-touch gestures in iOS 11, the new "Drop Bar" enables users to manipulate multiple notes as once, including the ability to merge, share, pin, trash, duplicate, and copy or export them in a variety of formats.

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For example, when a user selects two or more notes (by tapping and holding on one and then selecting others in the same way), dragging the notes triggers the Drop Bar, which appears at the bottom of the Notes List. Dragging said notes into the Drop Bar presents the user with a new sheet listing the above options, allowing them to select the desired one.

As a result, users are now able to copy multiple notes to the clipboard as one big note, or export them all as one complete JPEG to share over Twitter, for example. Other possibilities include creating template notes for work or journaling and duplicating them all at once, or copying links to multiple notes at once to paste in other apps for quick access. (Some export options require Bear Pro.)

Bear's new Drop Bar in action

In addition, Bear's new Apple Watch support means users can create new text notes simply by speaking to their Apple Watch, and they will be transcribed into text and saved to Bear for iPhone. With the new smartwatch feature, users can also view their 10 most recent notes on their wrist and annotate said notes, while a new Bear complication adds the ability to record a new note straight from the watch face.

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Bear is available to download on the App Store for iPad and iPhone [Direct Link], as well as on the Mac App Store [Direct Link].

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