A few thoughts on the iOS Journal app that debuted with the latest update of the software, 17.2:
1: Limited Tool Kit: It’s nice to see a sound recording option in there right from day one (so to speak). That said, it will be nicer still when there are helpful additional audio tools, such as editing, noise reduction, effects, maybe even music, and so forth as time proceeds.
2: Speech-to-Text Next: Unless I’m doing something very wrong, the existing audio notes in the Journal app don’t even automatically provide transcription, even though that is built elsewhere into iOS.
3: Blog Platform: As a blog advocate, I think it’d be cool if at some point one could publish some of one’s journaling to the public — not all of it, but have the option to post material online.
4: Social Opportunity: I could easily see this Journal tool, as well, becoming the foundation of an Apple social network, one that is the opposite of Threads (from Meta / Facebook) in terms of how it initially engages people — rather than blankly drawing them over from another platform (Instagram, as Threads does), it builds up from personal activity.
5: Sound Diagnosis: Right now, the main bell/whistle of the Journal app is how it nudges users to scribble down bits of their lives. This approach seems closer to Apple’s health and fitness operations than it does to any other existing Apple products. The Journal ping to write something is akin to the reminder to get your steps in or to take a deep breath. The existence of these prompts opens the door to a broader range of meditative cues, in particular — for my interests — ones that encourage the user to think about what they hear, to record sound, and to do things with sound.
6: Leaving Files Behind: For the time being, I’m just toying with Apple’s Journal app. I’m a longtime journaler, meaning I already have an idiosyncratic system that works well for me: one markdown file for each month, each day beginning as a preset list of fields (e.g., sleep, health, family, music, reading, TV, etc.) that I fill in (or erase at the day’s end if the given field ends up with nothing applicable in it). It would take something special for me to ditch my habit — all the more ingrained due to it having evolved over time — for an app, but you never know.
If you try Journal, please share your experience. Thanks.
