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Microsoft OneNote wants to be your default note-taking app (APK teardown)
- Microsoft appears to be getting OneNote ready to support Android 15 lock screen note-taking.
- New text strings in OneNote make explicit reference to the forthcoming lock screen support.
- Despite this, the app does not currently appear as an option for your default notes app.
Google’s next major mobile OS release is on its way, with Android 15 expected to formally arrive a little later this year. That’s going to introduce plenty of tweaks and new additions, like support for Satellite SOS during emergencies. One particular change we’re looking forward to involves the platform’s integration with note-taking apps, allowing users to quickly access their preferred note app right from the lock screen. Today we’re checking out the progress one of those apps is making towards adding support for this new Android 15 feature.
As we mentioned back when first sharing news of Android 15’s note-app lock screen support, this isn’t just going to work by default with whatever app you use to take notes now (and no, saving notes as drafts in Gmail doesn’t count). Developers have to intentionally build support for this new way of accessing their software, including the appropriate steps towards preserving privacy, considering we’re doing all this right from the lock screen. Google Keep has been ready to go for ages already, and now we think we’ve spotted what could be the next major app to do its own preparations.
We’re checking out Microsoft OneNote version 16.0.17928.20054 beta, in which we observe the presence of the following strings:
<string name="feature_notes_role_description_when_permission_disabled">Allow to make OneNote as "Default Notes App"</string>
<string name="feature_notes_role_description_when_permission_enabled">Add Lock Screen Note Taking shortcut from settings</string>
<string name="feature_notes_role_enable_button">Enable Lock Screen Notes</string>
<string name="feature_notes_role_title">Lock Screen Notes - Take notes over lock screen</string>
<string name="permission_notes_role_disable_description">Are you sure you want to remove OneNote as “Default Note Taking App” ?</string>
<string name="permission_notes_role_enable_description">We need permission to make OneNote as “Default Note Taking App” to enable this.</string>
<string name="setting_notes_role_summary">Turn this on to quickly jot down notes over Lock Screen.</string>
<string name="setting_notes_role_title">Lock Screen Sticky Notes</string>Indeed, being able to choose an app as your default notes app is fundamental to Android 15’s lock screen support, and further strings here confirm Microsoft’s work towards preparing that compatibility. But even on Android 14, we should be able to set a primary notes app (after enabling it in developer settings, anyway) — and despite the progress we seem to be seeing here, you’re still not able to do that with OneNote. That suggests to us that Microsoft’s still working on setting OneNote up with the permissions and roles it will ultimately need.
With Android 15 still in beta, Microsoft has at least a few more weeks to get OneNote ready if it intends to have lock screen support ready for the platform’s release. Right now, our best estimate places that as happening sometime this fall.