Apple announced a new Journal app in June at WWDC 2023 as part of iOS 17. At the time, the company said the app would become available later this year, and now we know that it will be released soon with iOS 17.2. However, one thing that wasn’t clear was whether Journal would work with devices other than the iPhone. Now we know that’s not the case.
Apple’s Journal app is only available on iPhone
With the release of the first iOS 17.2 beta on Thursday, Apple has made a preview of the Journal app available to developers. However, contrary to what some might have expected, Apple’s Journal app won’t be available on iPad and Mac at launch.
Users who have installed iPadOS 17.2 beta or macOS 14.2 beta have noticed that the Journal app can’t be found on the iPad or Mac, only on the iPhone with iOS 17.2. By digging into iOS 17.2 code, 9to5Mac can confirm that the Journal app is only compatible with the iPhone at this point, and it seems unlikely that it will be made available for other devices in the near future.
This is corroborated by Apple itself, since only the iOS 17 webpage mentions the existence of the Journal app. There’s nothing about the upcoming app on the iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma webpages.
There are some code leftovers that suggest Apple has been developing iPad and Mac versions of the Journal app, but it all seems quite experimental and unlikely to be ready in time for the release of iPadOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2 in the coming months. If I had to make a guess, I’d say that Apple will hold the iPad and Mac versions for iPadOS 18 and macOS 15.
More about the app and iOS 17.2
For those unfamiliar, the Journal app provides an “all-new way to appreciate life’s moments and preserve your memories.” The app provides suggestions of moments you might want to remember and write about based on your photos, music, workouts, and more. All data is processed on-device and never sent to Apple.
Third-party apps will have access to a Journal app API to provide suggestions as well.
iOS 17.2 also brings some new features for Apple Music subscribers, such as collaborative playlists and a new “Favorites” playlist that is automatically generated based on the songs you’ve marked as favorites. In addition, the update comes with the Journal app, a new Translate option for the Action Button, and some new Home Screen widgets.
The update is expected to be released to the public by the end of the year.
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