So last night my iPhone updated. No big deal right. Usually it’s about a securty patch and there is nothing really different after the fact.
But this morning I noticed a new app on my phone that I did not download. It’s called Journal.
I did not continue that far, but it looks like it’s a place to write about your day and add photos.
Really? In 2024, the big update to our phone is an app to help you journal? Are there not enough places to share about yourself, document your life and just write your thoughts? Really Apple?
The offcial news of this app was at the end of last year and it seems like it’s Apple trying to help us with our mental health.
But I have questions. Let’s forget that actual paper journals exist.
Why do we need another tool or website to help us share our thoughts and feelings? What is the point? What is the innovation? Doesn’t seem like there is any.
So why is Apple forcing this upon us?
The skeptic in me (and I am sure many others), is it’s a new way to gather info about us. Sure, it says it’s lockable and private – but why would Apple create something so basic and not necessary?
I just read a few more articles about Journal and keep expecting to see something cool and be like – ahhh that’s why.
But no. There is a function to help you come up with a topic. That seems odd to me. Are you writing for yourself? Then a topic should just come to mind. You are not trying to grow an audience and hit topics others want to read about. You can’t remember you did something? Probably not worth journalling about it then.
Update! Oh, well I finally found something of interest. The generated topics are pulled from your phone. That’s creepy. It will know what music you listen to and what you have been doing on your phone and suggests things to write about to do with you.
Hey Jimmy, remember when you went to Tim Hortons this morning and bought a coffee and paid for it with Apple Pay? Oh you can’t remember what song was playing on Apple Music? Don’t worry, the Journal app knows.
Now write about it for nobody but yourself (and everything that gets your user data).
Anyways. I find the whole thing weird. Why is it automatically added to my phone? Why now when there are so many other tools out there.
Is it just the AI thing of digging through your phone to pull things up to show that it knows you. Is this like that movie Her?
From CNBC:
The Journal app, which was first announced back in June, uses Apple’s Siri to intelligently suggest topics to journal about. It might, for example, prompt you to write about music you were listening to, or document appointments you had that day and workouts you completed.
The Journal app is one example of how Apple continues to invest in new iPhone features on a yearly basis to protect its iPhone franchise from competition from Google’s Android and other phone makers.
CNBC
Is this more of a plan by Apple to create a spoon fed society? As someone who literally does a form of journalling right here on this blog, it’s crazy to me that now, the most powerful tech company going, launches this app. There must be something I am missing.
Apple’s Journal app is basic right now. Nothing it does besides suggestions couldn’t be done in an old-fashioned paper journal, or even a page inside Apple’s Notes app. But the suggestions and integration with Apple’s other services set it apart from more low-tech approaches and highlight how Apple’s integration of hardware and software means that it can learn what’s important in your life without collecting your data on its servers.
CNBC
What do you think? For those who do write and journal, does this appeal to you? For those that don’t write, will this make you start documenting your thoughts and images in yet another place?
