Concepts Reveal What Apple’s Journal App May Look Like

Apple is rumoured to be developing a new Journal app, to be released alongside iOS 17. While there haven’t been concrete reports on what the app may look like and provide, recent concepts have given us a broad idea of what Apple may have up its sleeve.

The iOS 17 update is expected to launch later this year. Devices compatible with the new Apple-made software will supposedly welcome a new Journal app. Reporter Parker Ortolani released a conceptual piece reflecting what he expects the app may provide. In Ortonlani’s words, he expects the app to be “a combination of Notes and Health.”

Quick concept for an Apple Journal app. I see It as a combination of Notes and Health. Meditations and reflections live here on iPhone. It would intelligently find ways to help you feel better. And you could sort through your journals by various categories. pic.twitter.com/TWjWAEZAMa

— Parker Ortolani (@ParkerOrtolani) April 21, 2023

This past week, the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple’s Journal app enables users to “compile  their daily activities as part of its efforts in the market for mental and physical health technology.” Thus, users may be able to use their iPhones and Apple Watch devices to create and catalogue traditional journal entries.

On top of writing and creating journal entries, the Wall Street Journal believes Apple is incorporating some sort of proximity feature into the app. It’s said the app will offer the ability to “detect a user’s physical proximity to other people.” This feature is supposedly used to detect the trends a user has throughout the day. Ideally, this proximity feature can detect whether the person near a user is a close friend, work colleague, family member, etc. This data may then be used to determine whether something is out of the ordinary.

This is reflected in Ortolani’s concepts. Keeping in mind that his vision of the Journal app combines aspects of Notes and the Health app, it’s easy to see the inspiration. The concepts also show off possible categories and the ability to tie in iCloud syncing. Ideally, users will be able to create and log journals on any of their devices. However, based on the concepts, the Journal app may only release on iPhone and Apple Watch.

We’ll likely learn more down the road into the lead-in of iOS 17. Apple is expected to detail its new software during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), set for June 5 to 9 2023.