Apple doesn’t launch new apps typically, so once they introduced their very own Journal app at WWDC this 12 months, it made a splash. With iOS 17.2, Apple is lastly able to launch the Journal app to the general public. When you replace, you’ll discover the Journal app sitting in your House Display, ready so that you can get began.
It’s nice that Apple is constructing its personal tackle journaling proper on the iPhone. We all know journaling can assist cut back stress and nervousness, however not everybody has the time to spend their mornings journaling (although, for those who’re curious about it, I personally advocate the Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages technique). When you’re quick on time, a easy journaling app is all you want.
How Apple’s Journal app works
Apple takes a simplistic strategy to journaling, and I’ve loved utilizing the app for what it’s. In brief, it’s a easy checklist of entries. You may create a brand new clean entry, and will probably be logged with the date and time. From there, add some textual content, areas, pictures, or report some audio. Issues do get extra fascinating when you begin utilizing Apple’s recommendations and prompts—or “reflections,” as Apple calls them. Apple will ask you what the very best a part of your week was, or to replicate on the final time you made one thing. These prompts get you eager about parts of your day you won’t ordinarily assume to write down about.
And when you give Apple permission to entry your pictures, music, and health information, their recommendations get deeper. When you’re on a day journey, Apple will pool in your location and all the very best pictures out of your travels, and can ask you to journal about it. It may be an effective way to notice one thing that may get misplaced in any other case. It can additionally counsel locations you went and exercises you accomplished, simply to spherical out the day.
Limitations of Apple’s Journal app
Journal is just not with out its limitations, nonetheless. Sure, that is solely the primary model of the app, and Apple is certain so as to add extra options going ahead. Nonetheless, the app misses out on options which have turn out to be normal for fashionable journaling apps.
The largest situation is that at launch, the app is iPhone solely, with no choice for iPad or Mac. In my testing, there have been many occasions after I’ve needed to proceed writing extra in-depth a couple of topic on my Mac. Hopefully, this shall be rectified in a 12 months.
Deliberately, Journal is a straightforward app. You scroll by way of an inventory of your entries, in a reverse chronological order. You may bookmark entires, and the app will filter them for you primarily based on pictures, reflections, bookmarks, exercises, or locations. That’s all there’s to it. There is no such thing as a calendar view, no tagging, no exporting—hell, there’s not even a Search subject in sight. And, in contrast to some opponents, the Journal app doesn’t provide temper monitoring.
Whenever you’re beginning out, these points might sound minor. However as you amass tons of of entries, they’re going to stand out like a sore thumb.
Journal is a good gateway app
Let me digress a bit and discuss board recreation tradition. Within the fantastic world of tabletop video games, we’re obsessive about the notion of the gateway recreation: one thing easy, but thrilling, that’s simply advanced sufficient to hook a participant, with out being so overwhelming that the brand new participant will run away. An ideal gateway recreation could make a lifelong gamer out of an unsuspecting citizen.
And Apple has made the very best gateway Journal app but. It’s not good, nevertheless it’s not sophisticated. It has some evident points, and lacks options you’d anticipate in a journaling app (like cross-device assist and a calendar view). However all that just about doesn’t matter right here as a result of Journal is nice at what it goals to do, which is to assist a big inhabitants attempt journaling, hopefully turning it right into a sustainable, frequent passion.
Sadly, proper now, that’s all it’s. I hope Journal serves as a means for brand new customers to get began, and that Apple brings out an Export choice quickly sufficient. That means, when customers begin working into partitions, they will export their information to a greater app like Day One or Journey, and might proceed to construct their each day journaling behavior.
In case you are in favor of a easy journal app that’s already in your iPhone, I say go for it. The way you journal doesn’t matter a lot—the truth that you are journaling is sufficient.
The perfect options to Apple Journal
Journal is a good gateway app, however for those who’re critical about journaling, you must begin off with a extra feature-rich app besides; one thing that can assist your journaling for years to come back.
Day One: When you’re all-in on the Apple ecosystem, Day One is the very best journaling app for you, bar none. Sure, it’s paid, and it might sound foolish to spend $35 a 12 months for a journaling app. However you get a wonderful, quick, and feature-rich journaling expertise for that worth. All of your information is saved securely in iCloud, and is straightforward to import and export.
Journey: If it’s essential use this information on a PC, Journey may be the fitting choice for you. It’s out there on the net, and has temper monitoring, shared journals, automation assist, and extra. A premium membership prices $50/12 months.
5 Minute Journal: Think about this to be an elevated model of the Journal app. 5 Minute Journal is a straightforward, timeline-based Journal app, nevertheless it additionally presents some essential options like a calendar view, password safety, streams, and import and export. This may be one other nice gateway journaling app for you.
Daylio: That is an easy-to-use temper and exercise tracker that may provide help to shortly journal briefly bursts. Use this app to verify in together with your moods, notice down what you probably did, and the way it made you are feeling. When you discover the duty of writing down your ideas and emotions daunting, Daylio’s distinctive strategy would possibly provide help to get began.
