Apple Journal Can Help You Finally Start Journaling
Apple doesn’t release new apps often, so when they announced their own Journal app at WWDC this year, it made a splash. With iOS 17.2 , Apple is finally ready to release the Journal app to the general public. After the update, you’ll see the Journal app on your home screen, waiting to start working.
It’s great that Apple is creating its own approach to journaling right on the iPhone. We know that journaling can help reduce stress and anxiety , but not everyone has time to spend their mornings journaling (though if you’re into it, I personally recommendJulia Cameron’s Morning Pages method ). If you’re short on time, a simple journaling app is all you need.
How the Apple Journal app works
Apple takes a simplified approach to logging, and I enjoyed using the app as is. In short, this is a simple list of entries. You can create a new blank entry and it will be registered with the date and time. From there, add text, locations, photos, or record audio. Things get interesting when you start using Apple’s suggestions and hints—or “ruminations” as Apple calls them. Apple will ask you what part of the week was best, or remember the last time you did something. These prompts will get you thinking about events in your day that you wouldn’t normally think to write about.
And once you give Apple permission to access your photos, music, and fitness data, their offerings go deeper. If you go on a day trip, Apple will collect your location and all the best photos from your travels and ask you to keep a journal about it. This can be a great way to note something that might otherwise get lost. It will also suggest places you’ve visited and workouts you’ve completed, just to cap off the day.
Apple Journal app limitations
However, the magazine is not without its limitations. Yes, this is just the first version of the app and Apple will definitely add more features in the future. However, the app lacks features that have become standard among popular journaling apps.
The biggest problem is that at launch the app is iPhone-only and doesn’t have options for iPad or Mac. During my testing, there were many times when I wanted to go into more detail about an item on my Mac. I hope this will be fixed in a year.
By design, Journal is a simple application. You scroll through your list of entries in reverse chronological order. You can bookmark entire objects and the app will filter them by photos, reflections, bookmarks, workouts or places. That’s all. There’s no calendar, no tags, no export—hell, there’s not even a search field visible. And unlike some competitors, the Journal app doesn’t track mood.
When you’re just starting out, these problems may seem minor. But when you collect hundreds of entries, they will stick out like a sore thumb.
Magazine is a great gateway app
Let me digress a bit and talk about board game culture. In the wonderful world of board games, we’re obsessed with the idea of a gateway game: something simple but exciting, challenging enough to hook a player but not so overwhelming that a new player will run away. The perfect gateway game can turn an unsuspecting citizen into a lifelong gamer.
And Apple has created the best Gate Journal app. It’s not perfect, but it’s not difficult either. It has some glaring issues and lacks features you’d expect from a journaling app (like multi-device support and calendar views). But none of that matters much here, because Journal does a great job of helping more people try journaling, hopefully turning it into a sustainable and frequent hobby.
Unfortunately, that’s all for now. I hope the magazine becomes a way for new users to get started, and that Apple introduces an export option soon enough. This way, when users start hitting walls, they can export their data to a better app like Day One or Journey and continue to build a daily journaling habit.
If you prefer a simple journal app that you already have on your iPhone, my advice is to go for it. How you journal doesn’t really matter—the fact that you journal is enough.
Best Apple Journal Alternatives
Journal is a great gateway app, but if you’re serious about journaling, you should start with a more feature-rich app; something that will keep your journaling going for years to come.
Day One : If you’re fully involved in the Apple ecosystem, Day One is the best journaling app for you, bar none. Yes, it’s not free, and it might seem silly to spend $35 a year on a journaling app. But for the price, you get beautiful, fast, and feature-rich logging. All your data is stored securely in iCloud and is easy to import and export.
Journey : If you need to use this data on a PC, Journey may be the right option for you. It’s available online and has mood tracking, shared logs, automation support, and more. Premium membership costs $50 per year.
Five Minute Journal : Think of it as an enhanced version of the Journal app. Five Minute Journal is a simple timeline-based journal app, but it also offers some important features such as calendar view, password protection, threads, and import and export. This could be another great journaling app for you.
Daylio : This is an easy-to-use mood and activity tracker that helps you journal quickly in short bursts. Use this app to track your mood, write down what you did and how it made you feel. If you’re having trouble recording your thoughts and feelings, Daylio’s unique approach can help you get started.