The great Evernote reboot | The Vergecast

Evernote's Acquisition and Future Plans

• Bending Spoons, a tech incubator and private equity company, acquired Evernote in late 2022. (2m46s)
• Bending Spoons laid off most of Evernote's staff and moved operations to Europe. (2m46s)

Evernote's Focus on Note-Taking

• Evernote is viewed as a tool for individual note taking, helping users organize their systems. (7m33s)
• Evernote is prioritizing individual note-taking features based on user feedback. (13m56s)
• Evernote is focused on note taking and improving the core note taking experience. (25m9s)
• Evernote's primary focus is to improve the quality of life and synchronization for note taking. (24m53s)
• Evernote users employ diverse note-taking methods, with no two users following the exact same system. (27m40s)
• Evernote aims to cater to a wide range of user preferences, including those who prefer AI-driven organization and those who desire a customizable, user-directed approach. (31m3s)

Evernote's Features and Development

• After focusing on understanding and rewriting critical parts of Evernote's codebase, Bending Spoons prioritized real-time editing, enabling instantaneous note synchronization across devices. (4m14s)
• Rent, a project to synchronize metadata in Evernote, was launched after the release of RT, which synchronizes note content. (5m50s)
• Evernote is developing AI-powered search functionality that will allow users to search for specific information within their notes without needing to know the exact location of the information. (34m30s)
• Evernote's AI search functionality will allow users to search for information such as their Delta frequent flyer number and have it returned to them directly. (34m43s)
• Evernote has an end-to-end encryption feature. (37m7s)
• Evernote launched a new synchronization engine called "rent". (41m13s)
• Evernote redesigned their mobile homepage because the old one was slow. (40m23s)
• There are tradeoffs between adding new features to Evernote and maintaining support for older operating systems. (41m52s)
• Evernote's web clipper remains superior to competitors, even after many years. (26m23s)
• Evernote is focusing on "quality of life" improvements, addressing long-standing user requests like collapsible sections, rather than solely focusing on metrics-driven product development. (15m10s)
• Evernote users have expressed a desire for improved note and notebook sharing capabilities. (14m17s)
• Evernote users requested the ability to make inline comments within notes, similar to the slash command feature in Slack. (17m10s)
• Users also expressed a desire for better image alignment options within Evernote, including the ability to center and right-align images. (17m44s)
• Evernote users requested improved task management features, likely because basic task features already existed but were underdeveloped. (19m32s)
• Evernote will not be focusing on developing a calendar client. (25m52s)
• Evernote finds inspiration from non-note-taking software, such as Slack's comment UX and quick switcher functionality (CMD+K), which Evernote has implemented as CMD+J. (50m10s)
• The development team went through numerous iterations to refine the navigation and homepage, ultimately adding customization settings to allow users to personalize their experience. (53m10s)
• Future development priorities for Evernote include perfecting core features like note-taking and exploring the potential of collaboration and AI, while ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience to attract new users. (54m20s)

Evernote's Approach to Collaboration

• While note sharing and real-time collaboration are desired features, Evernote is not focused on collaborative project management. (8m7s)

Evernote's Business Strategy

• Evernote’s price increases were necessary to ensure the product’s sustainability and future development. (43m57s)
• Despite some negative feedback, Evernote’s retention rate is currently at an all-time high. (46m4s)
• Evernote's recent price increase is intended to last for years, with adjustments made only when necessary, such as for inflation. (47m57s)
• Evernote sees itself as distinct from competitors, focusing on customer needs rather than imitating other products. (49m2s)
• Evernote is aiming for a balance between simple defaults and powerful customization options to cater to both casual and power users. (52m57s)

The Vergecast

• The Vergecast is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. (56m54s)
• New episodes of The Vergecast will return on Tuesday and Friday. (56m57s)
• Liam James, Will Poor, and Eric Gomez produce the show. (56m50s)