Evernote is content with the humble note-centric view of the world. This, by itself, is not a problem. While its competitors are increasingly diversifying into wikis, kanban boards, spreadsheet engines, full on databases, graph networks, and AI-assisted creation spaces, Evernote keeps things straightforward and therefore achieves a very low-friction file-cabinet like experience. But, in addition to expanding into other features, Evernote's competitors are refining and perfecting the text editing and note navigation experience. As such, while it is easy and it feels great to get content into Evernote, it is not so great to write/edit/use Evernote.
Evernote leads or is on par with competitors in the following areas:
Low-friction content creation (the main reason why I have not switched)
Webclipping
Evernote is now competent at:
To Do's / Tasks
But Evernote sorely lacks in the critical areas of text editing and note navigation, which are the absolute competitive minimum that a player in this space needs to get right.
More specifically, a note should be easily navigated (internal links), the note-space should be easily traversed (better linking between notes), and the text editing needs to be top notch (better markdown support, math and equation support, and better code blocks with syntax highlighting).
Here is a list of feature requests that, if implemented, would dramatically raise Evernote's competitive standing:
Easily Navigated
Internal Links: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/121581-links-within-notes/
Table of Contents: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/136201-table-of-contents-for-note/
Easily Traversed / Better Connected:
Better Links between Notes: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/99068-improve-note-linking/
Top Notch Text Editing / Viewing:
Better markdown support: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/118932-native-markdown-support/
Read-Only Viewing: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/99143-read-only-option-for-notes/
Math and Symbols: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/111535-writing-math-symbols-and-equations/
Better Code Blocks: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/104735-code-block-language-formatting/
BONUS 1 (not part of the absolute competitive minimum)
Evernote loses ground because it lacks a calculation engine of any kind. How can Evernote claim to be useful for people managing personal finance or doing any simple tracking in general without the ability to do summations and other simple arithmetic. Having sorting and filtering functionality, and rudimentary auto-filling (such as dates) would also be quite useful.
Simple Calculation Engine: https://discussion.evernote.com/forums/topic/112314-basic-calculation-in-tables/
BONUS 2 (not part of the absolute competitive minimum)
The mobile apps need to be more performant (fast and responsive). They do not need to replicate the desktop experience and should prioritize text and task features above all else. Scrolling through a table will never be great on a mobile-sized screen, so these features are less important.