Considered one of Apple’s latest focuses on iOS and watchOS is psychological well being and wellness. In the newest watchOS 10 and iOS 17 updates, Apple added Mindfulness seize, which helps you to log your temper for the day or how you are feeling at a specific second. Equally, it additionally launched a brand new Journal app.
Although Apple introduced the Journal app in June’s WWDC23 keynote, Journal was absent from the preliminary iOS 17 launch. With iOS 17.2, Apple lastly launched Journal to the general public as one other device for higher psychological well being and wellbeing.
Apple’s Journal app is now an alternative choice for customers who wish to hold a digital diary of their reminiscences and reflections. However the market already has some well-established choices, corresponding to Day One, which I’ve personally used for a number of years. As somebody who has nervousness and a little bit of melancholy, journaling has all the time been certainly one of my strategies of catharsis.
So, does Apple’s Journal maintain a candle to those fashionable journal apps from third-party builders? Let’s discover out.
Apple’s Journal is a little bit too easy
Whenever you launch Journal for the primary time, you’ll undergo some prompts that introduce the app to you and present you find out how to get began with journaling. It’s fairly self-explanatory for somebody who has been journaling already, but it surely’s an excellent introduction for newbies.
When you get previous that, you’ll just about discover a clean canvas. Tapping the big button on the backside will carry up recommendations which are primarily based on the exercise and moments in your iPhone. These recommendations embody pictures and movies, exercises, places, contacts, music performed, and extra. Choose certainly one of these suggestions or pull one from latest historical past, and Journal will add all that into a brand new entry. You possibly can add textual content for extra context if wanted.
However if you use certainly one of these recommendations, you’ll have to alter the entry date to the second’s date manually; in any other case, it would (oddly) default to the present day’s date.
There are additionally “Reflections,” that are writing prompts which are useful if you’re caught. Apple mentioned it makes use of AI for these recommendations and reflections, however they aren’t very private and rather more generic than I’d like. Perhaps it would get higher by means of machine studying after you employ it for some time (together with the Mindfulness seize and different Well being knowledge), however to date, the reflection prompts undoubtedly really feel extra like a normal gratitude journal.
When including textual content to an entry, whether or not it’s from one of many recommendations or only a clean new entry, it’s fairly barebones. You possibly can format the textual content with daring, italics, underline, and strikethrough with the usual iOS textual content menu (choose textual content and produce up that little popup menu), however there’s no textual content formatting toolbar like in most different text-based apps. You possibly can’t even make a bullet level checklist simply, which is shocking.
Along with textual content, you may add pictures, movies, brief audio clips, and places to your new entries. Places are useful to have in journal entries as they add crucial context for why you are feeling a sure manner — maybe a selected location makes you are feeling comfortable, whereas one other relates a foul incident that makes you upset.
General, the Journal app is easy, but it surely’s additionally too easy, for my part. When you begin including entries, there’s no approach to search previous entries for one thing, so that you’ll need to scroll by means of and hope you discover what you want.
And whereas there are filters, it solely permits you to filter entries by pictures, movies, and bookmarked in the event you favourite any. There’s no approach to filter by date, location, and even add tags. Issues are additionally made worse by the truth that the date is simply too small and exhausting to see, because it’s situated on the backside of an entry when viewing the primary display screen.
Day One does it higher — rather a lot higher
As I discussed earlier, I’ve been a Day One person for a few years — my first entry was from March 2011. I’m additionally a Day One Premium subscriber. I’ve seen Day One evolve over time, and it’s turn out to be full of extremely helpful options.
Apple’s Journal app is kind of barebones and has an extended approach to go if it desires to be a critical journaling possibility. In fact, I’m unsure if Apple deliberate to sherlock third-party journaling apps with its first Journal app try, but when so, then there’s a number of room for enchancment.
For one, Journal wants a search possibility, as a result of when you begin to fill it up, it’ll turn out to be unwieldy if you wish to discover one thing particular. Even tags would assist with group. It could even be good to have the choice for a number of journals, as that’s how my Day One is ready up in the mean time.
It’s additionally shocking that, for a journaling app, there’s no manner to take a look at throwback entries in Apple’s Journal, which is a standard characteristic that you simply’d count on from an app of this nature. What I imply by this are these “On at the present time” or random previous entries that pop up so that you can revisit and relive. In any case, if you hold a journal, top-of-the-line elements is to open it as much as a random entry and simply replicate on it.
One other factor I like about Day One is that I can view my entries by way of a map or perhaps a calendar view to see all the times I logged an entry at a look. The Journal app lacks each of those views even supposing you may add location knowledge to entries.
There’s additionally a scarcity of templates in addition to the recommendations and reflection prompts, and there isn’t even a widget. And essentially the most peculiar half is that Apple didn’t carry Journal to the iPad or Mac.
Whereas I usually simply throw in my pictures right into a Day One entry on my iPhone 15 Professional, I’d a lot favor typing within the textual content on my Mac and even an iPad with a keyboard attachment over the contact display screen iPhone keyboard. It’s unusual that Apple doesn’t have an iPad or Mac model of Journal in iPadOS 17 or Sonoma. I’d assume the iPad would take advantage of sense even, particularly with Apple Pencil help. However, because it stands proper now, your iPhone is the one approach to entry the app.
The Journal app has an extended approach to go
As a person of Day One for over a decade, I’m unsure I might ever see myself switching from it to Apple’s Journal app — particularly in its present state. It’s simply manner too easy and lacks even essentially the most primary belongings you’d count on from a journaling app. Maybe I’m not the goal demographic for Apple’s app, particularly since there isn’t even an import/export possibility.
Apple’s Journal app is an efficient manner for somebody who hasn’t journaled for years to get began. In any case, simplicity is a draw for some folks; open it up and jot down your ideas and emotions, add some pictures, and also you’re achieved.
For my use, although, it looks like Apple overhyped the Journal app. It’s superb for what it’s, however there’s no hiding its lack of options in comparison with third-party choices. I hope to see Apple add options to make Journal extra helpful for individuals who select to make use of it, however I gained’t be switching any time quickly.
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