Gemini Notebook, Gauth, Photomath, Quizlet and Knowunity compared — summarise your own notes, solve a stuck problem with the working shown and turn the syllabus into active revision.
Studying happens on the bus, in a library gap or at the kitchen table, usually with the phone as the only screen available. Most AI study lists recommend desktop websites, so the first requirement here was a real iPhone app. These tools do three different jobs: condensing your own notes into something you can revise from, solving a specific problem while showing the method, and converting the syllabus into flashcards and quizzes you actively recall. The 5 apps in this guide were chosen one or two per job, since a solver and a note-grounded chatbot are not substitutes for each other.
Gemini Notebook answers only from documents you upload, cites the page behind every fact and can turn your notes into a two-voice audio summary.
Formerly NotebookLM. You upload your own notes, PDFs, documents and even videos, and it answers using nothing beyond that material, citing the page for each statement. That restriction is the point: unlike a general chatbot, it cannot blend in web content your teacher never assigned, so it will not invent facts that are not in the file. It also builds study guides and outlines and renders notes as an audio discussion between two voices. It is useless outside your documents, the conversational audio works best in English, and everything needs a connection.
Pros
Answers grounded in your documents with page citations
Gauth solves maths and science questions from a photo, explaining the reasoning for every step rather than only the answer.
Gauth covers maths, physics, chemistry and biology: photograph the question and it walks through the method behind each step, reading handwriting with good accuracy. It is by far the most popular app in its category, which also makes it the one that demands the most self-discipline. Copying the result and skipping the reasoning is the easiest thing in the world and precisely what you should avoid, since that shortcut shows up in the exam. Unlimited explanations are paid, and long or ambiguous questions are where its accuracy drops.
Pros
Method explained step by step, not just the answer
Photomath solves maths through the camera and shows every step, from arithmetic to calculus, and it reads handwriting too.
Photomath's core interaction is simple: point the camera at an exercise and it returns the solution with the working shown step by step rather than just a final number. It covers the range from arithmetic through calculus and copes well with handwritten problems, which makes it useful at home when a textbook answer gives no explanation. The detailed explanations now sit behind the paid plan, it can struggle with long word problems, and there is the obvious risk that easy answers encourage copying instead of learning, so its value depends on reading the steps rather than transcribing them.
Quizlet turns the syllabus into flashcards, quizzes and games, for active recall without Anki's setup overhead.
Quizlet is the approachable end of spaced revision: you create or download sets of cards and study them in several modes, from classic review to quizzes and games, and its public library contains ready-made material for nearly any subject or official exam. It is the easiest way to convert a syllabus into repeated self-testing. Over time, though, more features have moved behind the paywall, including spaced repetition, and the quality of user-uploaded sets is uneven, so treat public decks as a starting point rather than gospel.
Knowunity combines notes written by students on your course with an AI tutor that answers questions about them.
Knowunity mixes two ingredients: a library of notes shared by other students and an AI tutor that answers questions grounded in that material. It is the only app here where the content came from someone who actually took your subject, which helps it fit European school syllabuses, and it can also generate practice exams and flashcards. Coverage of the Spanish curriculum is uneven, excellent in some subjects and nearly empty in others; note quality depends on who uploaded them; and the social layer can turn revision into scrolling.
Pros
Real notes from other students
AI tutor answers questions on the material
Generates practice exams and flashcards
Cons
Spanish curriculum coverage is patchy
Note quality depends on the uploader
Social features can become a distraction
Download price only. In-app purchases and subscriptions may cost extra.
Questions & answers
Which app summarises my own notes best?
Gemini Notebook, by some distance. Upload the PDFs, documents or even class recordings and it works solely from that material, citing the page behind each statement. That removes the main danger of studying with a general chatbot: getting confident answers that mix your syllabus with random internet content your course never covered. Quizlet and Knowunity help you rehearse that material afterwards, but Notebook is the one that should process the source files.
Is using AI to study cheating?
It depends entirely on how you use it. Asking for a summary of your notes, a set of practice questions or an explanation of a concept you did not follow is studying with a tool, and Gauth and Photomath show their working precisely to support that. Copying a problem's answer and handing it in without understanding it is something else, and it becomes obvious in an exam when the variant changes. Use the apps to reach the explanation, then solve the next question unaided.
Are these apps free?
All five have a free tier and all five steer you towards a subscription. Gemini Notebook is the most generous, free within wide limits. Quizlet lets you create and study flashcards without paying. Gauth and Photomath reserve the detailed explanations for the paid plan, which is unfortunately the part that does the actual teaching. Budget for one subscription if a solver is central to your course, and keep the free tools for review.
Do they work with the Spanish curriculum?
Photomath, Gauth and Quizlet are syllabus-agnostic because they operate on what you give them, and Gemini Notebook is too, since it only reads your documents. Knowunity is the one that varies: it depends on other Spanish students having uploaded notes for your subject, so coverage is strong in some areas and almost empty in others. Check the specific subject before relying on it, rather than assuming the whole curriculum is covered.
More related apps
App library · United States App Store. Prices and availability reflect the last check.
