Back in 2014, Microsoft took a big step forward with OneNote, a movement which was our first glimpse at the future for all of their Microsoft Office family. First they released a version of their popular OneNote service for Mac, as well as improving iPad, iPhone and Android versions. And the craziest thing of all? They released these apps with the sweet pricetag of free, while also making the previously paid OneNote 2013 similarly free for Windows users.
Though this wasn’t without restriction on Windows. While the Mac and mobile release was missing a few features simply due to the early version number, the Windows version was artificially restricted, as a way to entice users to upgrade to Office 365, which, admittedly if you’re getting a lot of out the software, isn’t much to ask.
However, that all changes today. Right now, desktop Windows OneNote clients will be updating to a new version which removes all paid restrictions, meaning all Windows users will be getting password protected sections, page history, audio and video recording capabilities, as well as audio search features, and finally the ability to embed files into a note.
So now, the only way Microsoft can motenise OneNote is through a OneDrive storage subscription, if you run out of the already generous 15GB of free space (which is where your cloud Notebooks are stored). Well played, and if you want to try OneNote for yourself (which you should), it’s available here.