GoodNotes app review rant

GoodNotes used to be the gold standard of digital note-taking apps—a classic case of “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it.” Before its AI-heavy overhaul, it was one of the most popular and reliable note-taking tools out there. It was intuitive, well-designed, and honestly, I really enjoyed using it. At one point, I even considered purchasing the full version with a one-time payment.

(*Click here to see my notetaking pages done on GoodNotes)

Then came the “big” update.

They scrapped the one-time purchase model and replaced it with a subscription system. Not only that, but they added multiple confusing version tiers and introduced flashy features like a predictive AI tool and a built-in math solver. While these features might sound impressive on paper, they completely changed the app’s user experience, for the worse.

GoodNotes logo

Instead of feeling upgraded, I felt overwhelmed. There were too many options and versions to choose from, and the once-simple interface became cluttered. My immediate thought? WTF is going on? And more importantly, why isn’t there a lifetime purchase option anymore? The new features felt more like gimmicks than genuine improvements.

Ever since that major update, I haven’t touched the app once. They took something that was simple, efficient, and beautifully designed—and turned it into a bloated mess.

I thought I had found the perfect note-taking app... turns out, I haven’t. 😞

Back to searching for something simple yet efficient—a space where I can freely squeeze out my creative juices without battling unnecessary features and subscriptions.
Until then, let me quietly lament the death of what GoodNotes once was.

So, goodbye GoodNotes. You had potential, but sometimes, less really is more.

RIP GoodNotes.

(Click here to see my notetaking pages done on GoodNotes)

MODIFACE Beautiful Me App review

by MODIFACE

Hey everyone, I am so sorry for the delay... I literally JUST realized it is already Thursday!!! Time Flies!!

I hope you will like my review on this Beauty App called "Beautiful Me" by MODIFACE.

While browsing for beauty apps, I came across this app called "Beautiful Me" by MODIFACE.

how app looks like, please excuse the awkward looking shape

Beautiful Me is an app which detects our skin profile.

You can upload several close ups or connect to Facebook for the app to analyze the changes to your skin. Facial features, makeup, aging and hair to let you understand your own skin. The app will then  suggest products to you which will best suit your condition of your skin and hair.

look at all the recommendations

There were A LOT of recommendations available: from hair colour, foundation shades to lip colours, blush,... etc

I also liked a feature which calculates how much your skin has aged (based on the upload/capture date of your images). The App looks at your true skin tone and undertone to determine the healthiness and age of your skin. 

hair product recommendations

The app also provides a thorough hair report, based on your hair shade (as show above). It analyzes which hair colours you could use to enhance your appearance.

The App provides a detailed skin analysis based on the photos you upload and whether you should use a specific foundation over the other.

You can also customize product recommendations (choosing specific brands and types of product)

lip colour recommendations

Verdict:

I think there is lots of potential for this app, I hope they continue to improve... I noticed that they still need to improve (especially when you have different lighting and applied different filters, they cannot correctly determine your conditions and give you a correct analysis). The App is definitely using technology to do something amazing... I hope it continues to improve and hopefully be beneficial in newer versions.

score: 7/10

website: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/beautiful-me/id875035349?mt=8

魔漫相机 MomentCam app (android & iPhone) review

playing with different templates on Moment Cam

I recently came across an app called Moment Cam. It is a app that allows you to take a head shot (or upload a picture) of yourself. It takes your headshot and transforms it into a drawing. (It is a Chinese App, but I am SO GLAD it has an English interface)

Moment Cam template

Thoughts:

• English Interface ( if you are Chinese, there is a Chinese version)
• Very User Friendly
• Light App (won't drain your battery, won't lag your device)
• lots of templates
• Would be good if you can smooth out blemishes (due to lighting issues)
• cool
• free

Moment Cam

You can choose to edit yourself with different "background" templates (where you can do crazy, silly and interesting things). Some times the photos are very accurate or they can be very wrong, making you look very different, silly... or... weird.

face edit feature on moment cam

Please excuse the weirdness of the "original photo". As you can see, because I had a bit of hair near my face, the app captured it as some dark spot, causing every picture to have a "dark spot". I had to use their "hair" to cover up.

You can see how I look different in some of these pictures that were generated, it is because of the lighting, and the angles I have used for different pictures. Just because a picture of you looks good "in real.. normal mode" doesn't mean it will look good in the app. (you will see what I mean when you look at these pictures)

Moment Cam: face edit mode: glasses

In Face Edit Mode, you can choose

• face shape (pointy chin, long chin, short chin, larger cheeks, square face, etc)
• Hair Style (different types of hair style, from ancient Chinese to punk hair, long hair, short hair,etc)
• Glasses (there is quite a variety of glasses to choose from)
• Eyebrow (I didn't know your eyebrows can make you look so different prior to using this app)

Moment Cam: Face Edit, eyebrows

After you have selected a headshot (or if you took a picture of a close up), the app will ask whether you a boy or a girl, this will bring you to different templates.

Moment Cam: random shot

They have a "signature feature" that allows you to draw freehand. I don't really like it, since I found it extremely difficult to do that on a mobile device. They should have a selection of fonts and stickers to choose from, that would enhance the user experience.

moment cam: this picture makes me look like Lilo from Lilo and Stitch DX

This is definitely a fun app, fun to play with and fun to share. I also really like how you can test different hair styles on yourself to see what fits your face. This is really helpful if you plan to do a whole new makeover. Sometimes, in default, it will choose the perfect "settings" (hair style, eye brows, face shape) for you that it feels will best fit you.

Moment Cam template

 For those who use Facebook or Weibo, you might probably notice that a lot of people are using this app, and list most people, I think I got a little obsessed by saving all the photos I did. You will know why when you use it.

They give you the convenience of uploading your "finished" product on your favourite social media networks such as: facebook, Weibo, Twitter, and virtually any others you can think of. You can also add some other apps that you want to upload to. 

*I have also noticed they are starting to have celebrity templates (take pictures with celebrities).

I will definitely give this App 10/10 because there are no crashes, freezes or battery drains. It is also really easy to use, and best of all, it is available on BOTH Android and iPhone. And the #1 reason... IT IS FREE!

App Name: 魔漫相机MomentCam
Apple IOS App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/momentcam/id687624831?mt=8
Google Play Store, Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.manboker.headportrait