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uPad V is a handwriting note-taking app available on iPadOS and iOS for a one-time purchase of $9.99. It replaced uPad for iCloud (which cost $6.99) a few years back, but both apps are still available on the App Store.
On the homepage, you can create a new notebook using various options. The lightning-bolted page icon allows you to create a quick note in just one tap, which is handy when you’re in a hurry. You can also create a new notebook using the page icon. The top left corner (bars icon) has a toggle menu for navigating through various paper template categories.
uPad V offers a wide range of templates for creating new notebooks, including some unconventional ones like creating a notebook from a webpage or map. You can choose the color of your paper template from the top right corner of the top toolbar, with eight color options available.
However, the app doesn’t specify the paper sizes or line spacing for the templates, so you’ll need to experiment to find what works best for you. uPad V does support landscape paper, which is a welcome feature.
Once you’ve created a new notebook, there isn’t an obvious way to change its paper template within the workspace. However, you can add a different page template by tapping the navigation tab in the middle of the bottom toolbar. In the pop-up window, tap on the multi-select icon on the top right corner and then the plus icons that appear on the sides of each page. This will give you access to all the options available when creating a new notebook.
When you select the pen tool on the top toolbar, customization options appear on the far right side, similar to what you find in GoodNotes. uPad V offers three different pen tools: ballpoint, fountain, and calligraphy pen, each with fixed sizes ranging from 1 to 10 and customizable colors. The left side of the slider shows the current, previous, and default colors, making it easy to switch between them. While entering Hex codes would offer more precise color selection, this feature is not yet available.
The calligraphy pen allows you to change the nib angle by tapping it, which adjusts how your pen strokes look. The handwriting experience is smooth, with no lag and good palm rejection. The ballpoint pen is particularly impressive. The app also includes a palm rest at the bottom of the screen, which you can bring up as needed. Occasionally, the palm rejection might slip, especially if you switch from using your finger to the Apple Pencil.
The highlighter in uPad V goes behind your ink, making your notes stand out. The highlighter colors are lighter than the pen colors, but if you make them too dark, they can dim your notes. The app uses the color spectrum to differentiate pen colors from highlighter colors. Adding opacity adjustment for the highlighter could improve this feature.
The eraser only erases per stroke and isn’t the smoothest, but it gets the job done. The eraser’s three-dot menu lets you clear all screens, effectively clearing the page.
When typing, a text box appears around your text, which you can resize, rotate, and delete. These functions are easily accessible, making the app user-friendly. You can choose from ten text colors and corresponding highlighters, though these are fixed and can’t be customized.
The Ff icon lets you adjust the font and size, with a variety of fonts to choose from. Although uPad previously supported custom fonts, this feature is currently unavailable. Font sizes range from 8 to 92, though it’s unclear if these are points or pixels.
You can format your text to make it bold, italic, underlined, or strikethrough, and adjust the line spacing. However, the app only supports unnumbered lists with one hierarchy level, which is limiting. The indentation tool moves all items in a list together, rather than allowing for multiple levels.
Sticky notes can be added with four paper templates and eight color options. You can customize the sticky notes’ text and move them to the front or back of your text box, allowing for easy organization.
uPad V offers two lasso tools: a square, rigid one, and a circular freehand one. The freehand lasso tool is better for precise selections, but even it sometimes misses items. The lasso tool doesn’t resize or rotate selections; it only allows you to cut, copy, and paste items.
You can add photos from various sources, including your library, camera, or even a map. You can rotate, resize, and adjust the opacity of photos, as well as add frames and filters for different looks.
The shapes tool in uPad allows you to add various shapes to your notes. You can customize the color, thickness, and opacity of the shapes’ borders and fill them with color. However, the app doesn’t support arrows or curved lines.
Adding text to shapes works well for rectangles and speech bubbles, and you can adjust the borders of these shapes with the lasso tool.
Tables are easy to create and use in uPad, with options for adding and removing rows and columns. You can customize the border color and thickness, as well as fill colors.
You can bookmark pages as favorites for easier access. The ribbon icon on the left shows only your bookmarked pages when navigating through your document.
The bottom toolbar includes a few useful features. The first icon on the bottom left corner lets you lock the last two features on the toolbar. The sun icon overrides your iPad’s sleep mode, but we recommend turning it off to avoid draining your battery.
You can add grids and lines to your page, which is useful for drawing. The grids allow you to draw along the lines only, but you can’t handwrite in this mode.
Page navigation is straightforward, with the option to add pages with different templates. uPad only supports horizontal scrolling, so if you prefer vertical scrolling, this app may not be for you.
The zoom tool is closely linked with the palm rest and is only available when using the pen tool. The left toolbar includes all your pen tools, undo/redo, and navigation arrows, while the zoom tool and palm rest icon are on the far right.
uPad hasn’t seen a significant update since April 2020, and the developer’s YouTube channel hasn’t been updated in eight years. This raises concerns about whether the app is still being actively supported. As a result, it lacks support for newer iPadOS features like dark mode or multiple instances.
You can export your notes as images (JPEG) or PDFs, and when exporting multiple images, uPad creates a zipped file. However, the app displays some Korean text during the export process, which might be confusing. You can also print your notes directly from the app.
uPad allows you to create an infinite number of folders for organizing your documents, and you can add new folders, rename, or delete old ones. The app also includes a search function, though it doesn’t search through your handwriting.
While uPad offers impressive features, the lack of recent updates makes it buggy, and some users have reported losing their notes. Given the uncertainty surrounding the app’s future, we don’t recommend purchasing it until it receives more attention from the developer.
