When Apple released iOS 17.2, along with software updates for the rest of its hardware lineup, it introduced typical performance and security improvements, in addition to adding new features to theiPhone. One of those new features is the Journal app, firstannounced during WWDC last June.
Apple’s latest iPhone update is here, and it brings long-awaited Journal app
The iOS 17.2 update is available for your iPhone. Download it now to use Apple’s new Journal app.
The Journal app, as the name implies, is an app you’re able to use to log your thoughts and activities. It differs from the Notes app in that it’s designed specifically for journaling, complete with a new suggestion tool to prompt you when you feel stuck. I’ve been testing the Journal app for the last few weeks while iOS 17.2 was in beta. Below, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the iPhone’s new Journal app.
How to try Apple’s new Journal app
The Journal app is included in iOS 17.2 and is currently only available on the iPhone.
To access the app, you’ll need to download and install the update on your phone. You can do that by following the standard update process of opening theSettings appthen going toGeneral>Software Updateand following the prompts. Of course, it’s always a good idea to make sure you have a recent backup of your phone, as well as a reliable Wi-Fi connection and a fully charged phone.
How to get started with Apple’s Journal app
Apple’s Journal app is easy to navigate and simple to use. In a lot of ways, creating an entry mirrors the process for creating a post on Facebook.
After updating your iPhone, you’ll find the Journal app icon on your home screen. The first time you open the app, you’ll see a couple of prompts asking you to turn on journaling Suggestions. These are created using various activities and indicators, such as your photo library, your Apple Music activity, workouts, or recent conversations or your location. After enabling Suggestions, you’re ready to create your first entry.
Creating an entry
You can either use one of the aforementioned Suggestions, or you can tap the plus button at the bottom of the screen followed by theNew Entrybutton to start with a blank page. With each entry, you can type out your thoughts, or use any of the built-in tools to add pictures, take a picture or video, record a voice note or add a sound or add a location.
When you’re finished with the entry, you can either tapDonein the top-right corner or tap the three-dot menu button to change the date associated with the entry (handy if you’re writing about something that happened a few days or even weeks ago).
How to get the most out of Apple’s Journal app
Try suggestions
As you use the Journal app, you’ll routinely see various prompts sprinkled throughout the interface. It’s the first thing you see after selecting the plus button to start a new entry, and there’s even a magic pencil icon on the compose screen that acts as a shortcut to those same recommendations.
Suggestions are a quick and easy way to trigger your memory or thoughts about something that happened. But it’s important to note that they’re entirely private and something that not even the Journal app can see until you create an entry with one.
Apple has created a standalone Suggestions API for the Journal app that’s also available to third-party developers to use in its apps. Any app that uses it, including Apple’s own software, is essentially blind to what’s being recommended, again, until you accept one.
My favorite aspect of Suggestions is the random writing prompts. They’re designed to force you to reflect on a moment or an emotion, which is a push I’m sure we can all use at times.
In addition to seeing the Suggestions prompt before creating an entry, you’ll also start to see random notifications on your iPhone asking you to create an entry - sometimes it’s based on the time of day; other times, it’s based on a location you recently visited.
Where do you find the Journal app’s settings menu?
The Journal app is pretty simple, so much so that there isn’t a way to get to the app’s settings within the app itself.
Instead, you’ll need to open the iPhone’s Settings app and then scroll down until you find the Journal entry and select it. There, you’ll find various options, including the ability to turn off Journal Suggestions when you start creating an entry, lock the app behind Face ID or Touch ID, set a schedule to receive an alert, prompting you to create an entry. Your scheduled prompt can be daily, one day or week, or however often you want, at a specific time.
Finally, there’s an option to save any photos or videos you take in the Journal app to the Photos app.
Should you try the Journal app?
I’ve never used an app to journal. Heck, I’ve never used a paper notebook to journal. So, it’s all new to me. But one common complaint I’ve seen over the last few weeks about Apple’s Journal app is that it’s too basic. It needs more features. But I’ve found the emptiness and basic approach comforting.
If the app was full of advanced options and buttons, it’d feel intimidating to use.
If the app was full of advanced options and buttons, it’d feel intimidating to use. Instead, when I open a new entry, it’s reminiscent of a blank page in a paper notebook, full of limitless possibilities and potential.
My lone complaint about the Journal app right now is that it’s limited to the iPhone. I’d much rather sit down at my desk on my MacBook Pro or iPad, with a physical keyboard, and type my thoughts. But, then again, maybe there’s something to be said about being more precise with my writing and thoughts.
