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Anyone tried Journal app yet?

T

thohnb

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 17, 2025
67
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Hey everyone!

I heard macOS 26 is bringing the Journal app to Mac. Has anyone had a chance to try it out yet?

Is there any difference between the macOS version (beta) and the one on iOS?

Also, are there any improvements or new features we should expect?
 
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I've started using it, I waited for the public beta so can't answer your questions fully if comparing it to the version only for earlier iOS since I updated all my devices pretty much as soon as it came out.
I have 3 days total on it so far so it's not really a source of reference or contemplation for me quite yet. On os's 26 it seems pretty similar so far.
 
I'm interested in it but I currently use OneNote since its available across ALL my devices. So far its a fine app, nothing seems to be pulling me enough that I want to switch to it, even if I was Apple OS's only. If I were an Apple Only person and not already using OneNote I could see myself using it though.
 
I'm checking it out as a substitute to Day One. In fact it's extremely similar and I wouldn't need to pay Day One's subscription. There seems to be, however, no way to import entries (from any source) into Journal.
 
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I use it but honestly it's so sluggish that it's unusable. I type reasonably fast, and it's sluggish, catching up etc. It feels like my M2 is 20 years old. This should be such a simple app, and my M2 MBA is more than capable of running it lightning fast... but nope. I hope at this point they pull Journal, because if they're going to launch with it like this, it's in a very bad place.

They're slowly fixing bugs. For a few beta's you couldn't even tap Enter and see text below the screen (it wouldn't scroll), and a new line was visually "off" from where the cursor was.

Honestly, this is the type of app someone can develop in their first year in a coding class. I don't know why it's so bad.
 
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I'm having no issues at all using Journal, speed or otherwise, on a MBPro M4Max. I've only been running the two latest macOS Tahoe beta versions, so I can't comment on its condition in the prior betas.
 
I had been using Apple Notes to journal for a while now and will typically avoid esoteric applications because they could be discontinued in the future and all your memories are stuck in them (I've used Delrina Echo Lake, and Family Album Creator way in the past). I didn't mind Apple Journal BUT I noticed that you cannot simply drag and drop photos from your computer into it, you have to go through Apple Photos FIRST which is beyond annoying and seems like an extra step that is pointless. So that's a deal breaker for me. I'll just stick with Apple Notes for now.
 
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Use Apple Notes, One Note or a markdown app. The journal app is as unpolished as contacts app in Tahoe.
 
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I'm using the Journal app and have no issues with it. Along with Control Centre, it's actually been one of the highlights of Tahoe for me! I just find it much more natural to write a diary entry with a mechanical keyboard rather than a screen.

As mentioned above, there doesn't appear to be a way to import Day One entries, but I won't hold out hope. If this feature does come to fruition then I'll drop my Day One sub.
 
I’ve used various journaling apps over the years and as someone mentioned, you can have issues if the app is no longer supported.

A few months ago I extracted my stuff from Standard Notes into Apple Notes. I wanted to try Journal but it was only on iOS and I never do long form writing on iOS.

So now Journal is available on macOS and I just can’t seem to find a good reason to use it. I have a good workflow going with smart tags for journaling in Apple Notes.
 
Apple Knowledge Navigator said:
I'm using the Journal app and have no issues with it. Along with Control Centre, it's actually been one of the highlights of Tahoe for me! I just find it much more natural to write a diary entry with a mechanical keyboard rather than a screen.

As mentioned above, there doesn't appear to be a way to import Day One entries, but I won't hold out hope. If this feature does come to fruition then I'll drop my Day One sub.
Click to expand...
Have you been able to find a way to directly import a picture into a journal entry without having to go through Photos? I don't use Photos at all so it's a wasted step.
 
Bazza1 said:
Another proprietary app that I don't have a need for. Passed on it - and deleted it on my iOS the moment it came out last year.
Click to expand...

It doesn't make a lot of sense to journal on iOS as there usually isn't a proper keyboard to type on. Journaling requires a fair bit of typing so it only makes sense to use it in MacOS or iPad OS with an attached keyboard. You could journal on your phone via dictation but journaling tends to be personal and you don't want anyone listening in on personal information.
 
You know, I need to try that app again, merely to write thoughts that come to mind from time to time.

I don’t share on social media, so maybe this will be a way for me to write me thoughts, i.e., talking out loud to no one in particular…
 
Bazza1 said:
Another proprietary app that I don't have a need for. Passed on it - and deleted it on my iOS the moment it came out last year.
Click to expand...
Yes, if it's too proprietary and they end up discontinuing it, all your journals could be stuck in that discontinued app. At the very least you'll have to arduously export all your journals into a new program. Worst case scenario is the app is no longer supported and doesn't work under a new OS and you've lost all your valuable memories.

Ideally you want to choose something super universal like MS Word that will be a supported format for decades, and also something you can password protect for your privacy. However MS Word isn't as inspiring to use as Journal, and it's more important to write the Journal than to read it, for cathartic reasons.
 
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I really wanted to use this app with my Apple Pencil, but it has been extremely glitchy and slow. I really don’t know why they can’t make this better. I also don’t understand why they can’t give some templates with lines.

I’ll possibly keep using Notes or another third party app.
 
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groove-agent said:
Yes, if it's too proprietary and they end up discontinuing it, all your journals could be stuck in that discontinued app. At the very least you'll have to arduously export all your journals into a new program. Worst case scenario is the app is no longer supported and doesn't work under a new OS and you've lost all your valuable memories.

Ideally you want to choose something super universal like MS Word that will be a supported format for decades, and also something you can password protect for your privacy. However MS Word isn't as inspiring to use as Journal, and it's more important to write the Journal than to read it, for cathartic reasons.
Click to expand...

If a user really likes the structure and format of Journal and that helps them write, then that's fine - but the proprietary nature of it means - having done the cathartic bit - there's no way of exporting it to a more...universal (and cross-platform) application for safekeeping. Not advocating just Word here - any program that has a history and on a medium that isn't going to disappear with the 'next best thing' or technical glitch.

Otherwise, Journal's proprietary nature all wrong for the reasons you state in your first paragraph.
 
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Hard to beat "plain text files stored in a folder, with the date as the filename".

Could always save a given post in the folder as an rtfd (Rich Text Format Directory) if wanting to insert any images/attachments in a given journal post.

Wherever possible in computing life, do not trap your content into any proprietary or specialized formats.
 
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Bazza1 said:
Well, there's always pen and paper. Studies show a more direct connection to brain and the hand-written word, while properly stored, the product has been shown to last centuries.

😉
Click to expand...

100% agree!
I was just giving a digital solution also.

Right there with you on pen/paper though.

To me, the most important aspect of some journaling is "getting it out of my head".
Where and how that happens is of less concern to me.

I've read some journal entries from long ago and I honestly don't recognize myself and my style, etc.
That's when it occurred to me how little value I find in retaining the old entries forever.

I feel similarly about very old emails.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
100% agree!
I was just giving a digital solution also.

Right there with you on pen/paper though.

To me, the most important aspect of some journaling is "getting it out of my head".
Where and how that happens is of less concern to me.

I've read some journal entries from long ago and I honestly don't recognize myself and my style, etc.
That's when it occurred to me how little value I find in retaining the old entries forever.

I feel similarly about very old emails.
Click to expand...
I’m borderline ADHD so typing quickly is the only way to keep up with my brain. I could never hand write my thoughts it would feel like it would take forever and I would lose ideas because I couldn't hand write them out fast enough.

I do however really appreciate the ability to use the pencil to draw out ideas in my head. The organic nature of hand writing feels very satisfying. I do love the pencil integration in iPad OS, ESPECIALLY how it smooths out my crappy south-paw handwriting.

I wish the iPad could be my daily driver, but there are so many apps that aren't available for it (ex. Xcode). I feel this is the final hurdle for iPad that they need to solve ... if they're willing to.
 
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groove-agent said:
Have you been able to find a way to directly import a picture into a journal entry without having to go through Photos? I don't use Photos at all so it's a wasted step.
Click to expand...
I noticed that under Tahoe 26.0.1 that you can now paste images into Journal, but you still can't drag and drop pictures via Finder. At least there's a work around for such an obvious shortcoming.
 
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