When Apple announced its iOS 17 update as part of the WWDC 2023 opening keynote on June 5 it previewed a number of new features. Some of them are more notable than others, but a new journaling app might be a big addition for some.
Apple's Journal app will give iPhone users a new way to reflect on their day and events, with the app using on-device machine learning to make suggestions about things that people should make an entry about.
The new journaling app is one that was previously leaked by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, so it wasn't a huge surprise. But Apple has now confirmed how it will work.
A mindful update
Apple outlined what the Journal app will offer users during the WWDC live stream and then shared more details as part of a wider iOS 17 press release afterward.
"Journal is a new app that helps iPhone users reflect and practice gratitude through journaling, which has been shown to improve wellbeing," Apple said. It went on to add that the aforementioned on-device machine learning will offer personalized suggestions to help inspire people to create a new entry. "Suggestions are intelligently curated from recent activity, including photos, people, places, workouts, and more, making it easy to start a journal entry, and scheduled notifications can help build a journaling habit."
Those who are concerned about privacy will no doubt be pleased to hear that the Journal app can be locked and that end-to-end encryption ensures that the data within it remains safe no matter what. Not even Apple will be able to access Journal entries, the company says.
Apple also confirmed that a new Journaling Suggestions API will be made available so that developers can build suggestion capabilities into their own apps.
The iOS 17 software update is now in the hands of developers with a public beta expected within weeks. The final release to the public is expected to be ready by September time — just in time to be installed on the best iPhones yet, the iPhone 15 lineup.
