iPhone Journal App Could Be Enhanced with Apple Intelligence

After missing out on the iOS 17 launch, Apple finally brought the Journal app to iPhones with iOS 17.2 last December. It was pitched as a way to “help users reflect and practice gratitude through journaling” to help “improve well-being,” but nine months later, it remains a fairly basic offering compared to the long-standing alternatives available on the App Store.

Apple has already announced some changes to the Journal app coming in iOS 18, but it looks like the company is also considering bringing the much-hyped Apple Intelligence technology to the app.

Proof of that is a new Apple patent spotted by The Mac Observer. The filing, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), highlights a number of ways the Journal app could leverage Apple’s AI branding in the future.

After a week of religiously using the Journal app, our writer Josh Render dismissed it, in part because it required the user to take the initiative in the journaling process. The patent suggests that the AI could allow the Journal app to bypass user apathy by being a bit more proactive in nudging them when it suspects something noteworthy has happened.

Screenshots from the magazine patent

(Image source: Apple / USPTO)

For example, you may be prompted to add a journal entry when your iPhone detects that you have taken multiple photos in the same location during one session.

It also looks like Apple may be changing up the way you log your days with a cool new timeline-style structure. The image suggests you’ll be able to insert photos and music between text entries to look back on memorable days in style.

Screenshots from the magazine patent

(Image source: Apple / USPTO)

If you’re struggling to find inspiration, it sounds like Journal could also offer some starting point inspiration via generative AI. It could prompt questions like “how was your run?” or “how was the food at that restaurant?” to get your creative juices flowing.

Screenshots from the magazine patent

(Image source: Apple / USPTO)

There’s also a widget on the home screen that says “What did you like about your day?” Mac Observer speculates that this is more of an incentive to create new posts rather than showcasing recent memories, given Apple’s privacy-first philosophy (though the screenshot below highlights an existing one, so maybe not).

Screenshots from the magazine patent

(Image source: Apple / USPTO)

Finally, Mac Observer notes that some of the images included with the patent depict a tablet rather than a phone, suggesting that Apple may consider bringing the Journal app to the iPad in the long run.

It’s important to note that these are just concepts in the patent, and not necessarily something Apple has planned for Journal anytime soon. In fact, when Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman summarized Apple Intelligence’s current capabilities and limitations, Journal wasn’t even mentioned.

In fact, what’s already been promised for Journal in iOS 18 is much more limited in scope. Think easier navigation, additional insights, mindfulness minutes, and the ability to rewrite entries.

But this patent is at least evidence that Apple is thinking about how to improve the Journal app in the future, even if it won’t be one of the headline features of iOS 18, which will launch alongside the iPhone 16.