After missing the launch of iOS 17, Apple finally introduced the Journal app to iPhones with iOS 17.2 last December. It was pitched as a way to “help users reflect and practice gratitude through journaling” to help “improve wellbeing,” but nine months later, it remains a somewhat basic proposition compared to long-standing alternatives available on the App Store.
Apple has already announced some changes coming to the Journal app with iOS 18, but it seems that the company is also assessing how it might introduce its much-hyped Apple Intelligence into the app.
Evidence for this comes from a new Apple patent spotted by The Mac Observer. Filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the entry highlights a number of ways that the Journal app might take advantage of Apple’s brand of artificial intelligence going forward.
After using the Journal app religiously for a week, our own staff writer Josh Render bounced off it, in part because it required the user to take the initiative in the journaling process. The patent suggests AI could make the Journal app could sidestep user apathy by being a bit more proactive in nudging users when it suspects something noteworthy has occurred.
For example, you might be nudged to make a journal entry if your iPhone notices you’ve taken a lot of photos in one session at the same location.
It also looks like Apple may change the way that days are recorded with an interesting new timeline-like structure. The image suggests you’ll be able to put in photos and music in between text entries to revisit memorable days in style.
If you’re struggling for inspiration, it sounds like Journal could also offer inspiration for a starting point via generative AI. It could prompt questions like “how was your run?” or “how was the food at that restaurant?” to get the creative juices flowing.
A home screen widget is also showcased featuring the words “What did you enjoy about this day?” Mac Observer speculates that this is more likely to be used as a prompt for creating new entries, rather than showing recent memories, given Apple’s privacy-first philosophy (though the screenshot below does highlight a pre-existing one, so perhaps not).
Finally, Mac Observer notes that some of the pictures accompanying the patent appear to show a tablet rather than a phone, suggesting that Apple may be considering bringing Journal to iPad in the long run too.
It’s important to note that these are just concepts in a patent, and not necessarily something that Apple is planning any time soon for Journal. Indeed, when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman summarized the current capabilities and limitations of Apple Intelligence, Journal didn’t even get a mention.
In fact, what’s already been promised for Journal in iOS 18 is far more limited in scope. Think easier navigation, added insights, mindfulness minutes and the ability to transcribe entries.
But at the very least, this patent is proof that Apple is thinking about how Journal could be improved going forward, even if it’s not one of the marquee features of iOS 18 when it launches with the iPhone 16.
