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Focus September 2026

6 apps for studying on an iPad

An iPad can hold every part of studying, which is also why it is so easy to drift off it into something else. These six keep it on the work: notes written by hand over the slides, a session that pauses when you look away, flashcards made from what you just wrote, the working behind a maths problem, three goals for the day, and the word you had to look up.

The apps for studying on an iPad are Notability, Focus Train, Quizlet, Photomath, 3Things Pal and Merriam-Webster. I built Focus Train and 3Things Pal; the other 4 are other developers’ apps.

— an iOS developer who reviews other people’s apps
Published September 2026 · apps and prices last checked 13 October 2026

Photo: Klara Kulikova on Unsplash

Four stars is my score for how well an app answers this moment. An app I built gets four and a half — that is a rule, not a comparison. The App Store’s own average is on each card beside it.

  1. Notability

    ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Productivity · App Store 4.8 (457,503)

    Handwrite notes, mark up PDFs and slides, and record the lecture.

    Official site ↗More lists with Notability

    Notability screenshot 1Notability screenshot 2

  2. Focus Train Editor’s pick

    ★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · Free · Productivity · App Store 5.0 (5)

    A study session becomes a train ride; look away and it just waits.

    App Store ↗More lists with Focus Train

    Focus Train screenshot 1Focus Train screenshot 2

  3. Quizlet

    ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Education · App Store 4.8 (1,126,798)

    Turns any material into flashcards, practice tests and study guides.

    Official site ↗More lists with Quizlet

    Quizlet screenshot 1Quizlet screenshot 2

  4. Photomath

    ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Education · App Store 4.8 (733,144)

    Scan a math problem and get the steps, explained one at a time.

    Official site ↗More lists with Photomath

    Photomath screenshot 1Photomath screenshot 2

  5. 3Things Pal Editor’s pick

    ★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · Free · Productivity · App Store 4.9 (9)

    Pick the three things to get done today; the list clears every night.

    App Store ↗More lists with 3Things Pal

    3Things Pal screenshot 13Things Pal screenshot 2

  6. Merriam-Webster

    ★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · Free · Reference · App Store 4.8 (328,937)

    The dictionary and thesaurus, offline, plus a word of the day.

    Official site ↗More lists with Merriam-Webster

    Merriam-Webster screenshot 1Merriam-Webster screenshot 2

Focus Train and 3Things Pal are mine — everything else on this list is someone else’s app. How that works.

Questions

What are the apps for studying on an iPad?

The apps for studying on an iPad are Notability, Focus Train, Quizlet, Photomath, 3Things Pal and Merriam-Webster. Each one had to do a different job in this particular moment — where two apps work the same way, only one of them makes the list.

Which of these apps is free?

All 6 are free to download on the App Store; some sell extras or a full version inside the app.

Which of these apps did the author build?

Focus Train and 3Things Pal — I built them. The other 4 are other developers’ apps, and none of them knew they were going to be on this list. There are no affiliate links and no paid placements anywhere on the site.

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