Apple has officially released iOS 17 for general users with tons of cool new features, ranging from a few like Contact Posters and FaceTime effects that you will absolutely use daily to some that you will forget once the novelty wears off. However, the Journal app was missing from iOS 17 at launch. But now, with the release of the iOS 17.2 firmware update, the much-awaited iOS 17 Journal app has finally made its appearance. This post details everything you need to know about the iOS 17 Journal app. This post details everything you need to know about the iOS 17 Journal app.
What is the Journal App in iOS 17?
Being reminded of life’s special moments is a powerful thing. For instance, we often hear about how much people love watching memory movies created from the photos captured on their iPhones. And that’s exactly where the new Journal app in iOS 17 comes into action. The Journal app helps users not only remember but also write about their experiences inspired by rich details from their day, including people, places, activities, and even music in addition to photos.
Apple has designed the Journal app to combat some of the major challenges people face during journaling. For example, the Journal app gives text prompts asking you questions about your day to help you draw out your thoughts. This can aid those struggling to overcome writer’s block. You can even set up daily reminders if you find it difficult to remember to sit down and write in your journal.
How to Get Journal App on iPhone?
As mentioned earlier, the Journal app is available in iOS 17.2 update. Therefore, to get the iOS 17 Journal App up and running on your iPhone, you only need to update your iPhone to iOS 17.2. However, be mindful that the app automatically appears on your iPhone once you update it, and if you uninstall it, you won’t be able to get it back as the Journal app isn’t available on the App Store as of now. Meanwhile, there are some great Journal app alternatives that you can try right now.
iOS 17 Journal App Features Overview
While the Journal app is not available in iOS 17, Apple detailed some of its key features on stage at WWDC 2023. Here are the features you will find in the Journal app on iOS 17 once it is released:
1. Media-rich Journals
The primary feature of the Journal app will be to allow users to write journals with audio, photo, and video inputs. Users can write about their fond memories and include pictures, videos, and voice messages as well as location tags.
2. Theme-Based Journal Entries
The Journal app offers a range of theme options to choose from for writing an entry. Themes could be based on the locations you traveled to, the music you listened to, and the photos you clicked at a particular location or trip.
3. Personalized Suggestions
This is the biggest feature of the Journal app in iOS 17. Your iPhone will show personalized suggestions in the Journal app based on your photos, locations, music, podcast, and workout. These suggestions will be curated using on-device machine learning and there is also an option to choose the category from which you want the suggestions to show up in the Journal app.
4. Writing Prompts
The iOS 17 Journal app provides suggestions, which are divided into two categories – Recent and Reflections to help you get started. Each suggestion includes a writing prompt such as “What was the highlight of your trip to the mountains?” or “What’s the story behind these photos?”. You can also choose from reflection prompts like “What’s your secret superpower?” or “What activity leaves you feeling most refreshed?” to inspire your writing.
5. Bookmark Entries
Each journal entry has its importance in our life. However, there will always be certain journal entries that are more important than others, and you can not afford to lose them in the heap of journal entries. To combat this issue, the iOS 17 Journal app allows you to bookmark entries so you don’t face difficulty finding them later.
6. Integration of Journal App in Share Sheet
You can easily add music and podcasts you’re listening to on the Apple Music app into your journal by taping the share button and can even save your thoughts about a book, website, or news article you are reading currently, so you can visit the entry later and remember what it meant to you.
7. Filter Journals
To make things easier for you, the iOS 17 Journal app allows you to easily filter past entries to show those containing photos, videos, places, or websites that you’ve bookmarked for later, so you do not have to waste your time scrolling through hundreds of entries you have made so far.
8. Notifications
The Journal app will send you notifications whenever new suggestions to journals are available, so you can catch everything important that needs to be penned down in your daily hustle.
9. Journaling Schedule
Journaling is something that needs consistency, but it is easy to forget about penning down certain entries in our busy lives. To help you with this, you can set a schedule for the start or end of your day to help make journaling a consistent practice.
10. Lock Journal Entries
Journal entries are personal, and we all know how much Apple emphasizes user privacy; the same is true with the iOS 17 Journal app. To protect your journal entries from unauthorized access, you can lock them with the Face ID so only you can access them.
iOS 17 Journal App Release Date
While the Journal app was introduced in the iOS 17 Keynote event at WWDC 2023, Apple made it clear that the app along with some other iOS 17 features would not debut with the first general release of iOS 17 firmware, and it did come true. But now that the Journal app is here with the iOS 17.2 update.
