I think all notetaking apps are a sort of function of their environment, too, because they all benefit enormously from ubiquity. So for me as a long-time Mac u

I think all notetaking apps are a sort of function of their environment, too, because they all benefit enormously from ubiquity. So for me as a long-time Mac user (and rather less long-time iPhone/iPad user), the realistic benchmark is Apple Notes: it is simplistic, fast, well-integrated and ubiquitous. It has just enough features to be useful and not enough features to be opinionated. Absent the iPhone side of things, I'd likely use Simplenote.