Start with one note
Text: open the app and use the text entry button, or a supported system shortcut, to capture a note.
Voice: allow microphone and speech recognition access, start recording, then stop to transcribe and save. If recognition fails, check the recording drafts in the app and retry.
Organize and remember: add tags, a time reminder or a place when needed. Pin important notes, archive completed ones, and restore notes from the archive.
Use your devices together
FlashIdea supports iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Enable iCloud under Settings → Cross-device Use to update supported notes and attachments across iPhone, iPad and Mac using the same Apple Account. Allow the app to use iCloud on each device.
Apple Watch must be paired with an iPhone running FlashIdea. The watch provides quick recording and note viewing; recordings are transferred to the paired iPhone for storage and transcription. Original recordings are not synced through FlashIdea’s CloudKit sync. Mac also offers a menu bar entry and a configurable global keyboard shortcut.
Choose the app language
On iPhone, iPad or Mac, open Settings → Language. On the Apple Watch main screen, tap the globe icon to open language settings. Choose Follow System, Simplified Chinese or English. This preference is set separately on each device and is not synced with your notes. Follow System uses the supported language selected from your device’s system languages.
Changing the interface language does not translate existing memos. Speech recognition for new recordings follows the selected app language.
Speech recognition and permissions
Transcription uses Apple’s system speech recognition service and first attempts on-device recognition. Depending on the device, language, system or service availability, audio may be processed by Apple’s service. Recognition is not guaranteed to be entirely offline. Custom reminder phrases may also be provided to Apple to improve recognition.
If recording or transcription is unavailable, check microphone and speech recognition permissions in system settings, along with your network and system speech service. Recording drafts let you inspect, retry, play or delete unfinished recordings.
Lock Screen, widgets and activity cards
Pin a note in the app, then follow the in-app guidance to add a widget or use an activity card. Updates and Lock Screen display depend on system scheduling, device state and permissions, so changes may take time. Open the app to check the latest content. The system can also end a Live Activity; return to the app to check its guidance and try restoring it.
Pinned notes, reminders and note wallpapers may be visible to other people. Manage the content shown and system notification previews. Text on an existing wallpaper does not disappear automatically when you change an in-app setting; update or replace the wallpaper if needed.
Back up, restore and delete
Data & Storage supports JSON backup import and export. JSON backups do not include original recordings. Before clearing data, uninstalling or moving to a new device, separately check that the recordings and notes you need are safely retained.
Deleted notes can usually be recovered in Recently Deleted for about 30 days, and you can permanently delete them sooner. Turning off iCloud sync does not automatically delete cloud data. Deletions still need to finish syncing to iCloud and other devices. You manage any exported copies yourself.
Purchase and accounts
FlashIdea 1.0 is a paid download with all features in the current version included. No additional app account, subscription or in-app purchase is required. The current version contains no ads, ad tracking or third-party analytics SDK. Apple App Store handles downloads, payments and refunds.
Contact support
Email chenguoao1@gmail.com. Include your device model, system version, app version, steps to reproduce and expected result. Share only the screenshots or recordings needed for troubleshooting, and hide unnecessary note content and personal information first.
The app does not automatically send your notes or recordings to the developer. We will not ask for your Apple Account password or payment password.