Microsoft’s new OneNote note-taking software for Mac, released earlier today, has quickly risen up the charts of the Mac App Store, pushing aside many of Apple’s own apps to become the top free app in the store as of tonight.
OneNote for Mac surpassed Apple’s OS X Mavericks to claim the most downloads among free Mac apps for the day, according to the public rankings in the Mac App Store. The Mavericks update has dominated the category since its release last fall.
The momentum bodes well for Microsoft as it aims to make more inroads among Apple users. Microsoft is reportedly slated to unveil its Office apps for iPad next week, although those are expected to be tied to a paid Office 365 subscription, not distributed for free.
The company, under new CEO Satya Nadella, is trying to strike a balance between supporting its traditional Windows and Office franchises, and expanding and supporting its overall user base by making apps for competing platforms.
The release of OneNote for Mac, along with the move to make OneNote for Windows free, is part of a broader effort by Microsoft to compete with Evernote and other free productivity apps.
OneNote for Mac has an average rating of four stars in the Mac App Store so far. Many of the favorable reviews are from current or former OneNote for Windows users who have been waiting for a Mac version. However, some of those reviews also point out incompatibilities between the Windows and Mac versions, and missing features that they had come to expect from the Windows version of OneNote.
Previously: First impressions: How Microsoft’s new OneNote stacks up against Evernote
