After missing the launch of iOS 17, Apple finally introduced the Journal app for iPhones with iOS 17.2 last December. It was touted as a way to “help users reflect on and practice gratitude through journaling” to “improve well-being,” but nine months later, it’s still a rather basic offering compared to the alternatives that have long been available on the App Store.
Apple has already announced some changes to the Journal app with iOS 18, but it seems the company is also looking into how it could integrate its much-vaunted Apple Intelligence into the app.
Evidence of this is a new Apple patent discovered by The Mac Observer. The entry was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and shows a number of ways in which the Journal app could benefit from Apple’s artificial intelligence in the future.
After using the Journal app regularly for a week, our editor Josh Render stopped using it, in part because journaling required the user to take initiative. The patent suggests that AI could make the Journal app work around user apathy by nudging users more proactively when it suspects something noteworthy has happened.
For example, you might be prompted to create a journal entry if your iPhone detects that you took many photos in the same location in one session.
It also looks like Apple might change the way days are tracked, with an interesting new timeline-like structure. The image suggests you’ll be able to insert photos and music between text entries to relive memorable days in style.
If you’re looking for inspiration, Journal could also use generative AI to give you inspiration as a starting point. It could ask questions like “How was your run?” or “How was the meal at the restaurant?” to spark creativity.
It also displays a homescreen widget with the words “What did you enjoy about this day?” Mac Observer speculates that this is used as a prompt to create new entries rather than displaying current reminders, given Apple’s “privacy first” philosophy (though the screenshot below highlights a reminder that already exists, so maybe not).
Finally, Mac Observer points out that some of the images attached to the patent appear to show a tablet rather than a phone, suggesting that Apple may be considering bringing Journal to the iPad in the long term.
It’s important to note that these are just concepts in a patent and not necessarily something Apple plans to do with the Journal in the near future. In fact, the Journal wasn’t even mentioned when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman summarized Apple Intelligence’s current capabilities and limitations.
In fact, the scope of features already promised for Journal in iOS 18 is much more limited. Think easier navigation, additional insights, mindfulness minutes, and the ability to transcribe entries.
But at least this patent is evidence that Apple is thinking about how Journal could be improved in the future, even if it won’t be one of the standout features of iOS 18 when it launches with the iPhone 16.
