Newton OS features many interface elements that the Macintosh system software didn't have at the time, such as drawers and the "poof" animation.

Several programs were made by third-party developers, including software to enhance the disappointing hand writing recognition technology of Newton OS 1.x.

[6][7][8][9] However, with the release of Newton PDAs based upon version 2.0 of the OS, the handwriting recognition substantially improved, partially being a product of ParaGraph and an Apple-created recognizer pair: Apple's Rosetta and Mondello.

Newton's handwriting recognition, particularly the print recognizer, has been considered by many reviewers, testers, and users to be the best in the industry, even 10 years after it was introduced.

[10] It was developed by Apple's Advanced Technology Group, and was described in 2012 as "the world's first genuinely usable handwriting recognition system".