Apple’s new Journal app arrived last year exclusively on iPhones, and Apple did not release versions of this app for iPads and Mac computers. This app provides iPhone users with an easy and convenient way to write diaries. In iOS 18, Apple added a set of new features to Journal to improve its user experience, and below we will mention the most prominent of these features.
1, New text formatting options
When Apple launched the Journal app in iOS 17, the text formatting options included bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. In iOS 18, the options have expanded to include the option to change the text color, which offers 120 different colors, in addition to tools for organizing text into bulleted or numbered lists, and the option to add a special box for quotes.
2, Copying audio recordings
The Journal app supports audio recordings, which allows you to record your journals in your voice instead of writing them, and in iOS 18 you can now transcribe audio recordings to get a written version of your recorded journals.
3, Search tool
The first version of the Journal app didn’t include a search tool, but Apple has added this useful tool to the app with iOS 18. You can now search directly from the app’s home page, and filters will help you narrow down your search and make it easier to find the content you’re looking for. In addition to typing in search terms, you can choose a specific category based on the type of content you’re looking for. Categories include.
- Photos
- Videos
- Music & Podcasts
- Activity
- Places
- Text Only
4, A new tool for organizing notes
The Journal app includes a new tool for organizing your journals: sort by event date. By default, the app organizes all journals you add by the date you added them, but now there’s a new option that lets you organize journals by the date of the event associated with them.
If you choose to organize content by Moment date, the app will organize your journals according to the timeline of when the events happened in your life, rather than the time you chose to write about them.
For example, if you went on a trip to Petra last week, but didn’t write down the details of the trip in the Journal app until later after you got home, the app will organize your journals for that trip by the time of the trip, not the time you wrote about what happened on that trip.
5, Journal app widgets for home screen and lock screen
There are a variety of widgets now available for the Journal app that can be added to your home screen or lock screen to make it easier to start journaling. Home screen widgets include.
New Entry widget: Displays a writing field, and has a button to quickly start writing a new journal.
Streaks widget: Shows you how many days you’ve committed to journaling within the app.
Lock screen widgets include:
- New Entry
- Journaling Suggestions
- Audio Recording
- Camera
- Photos
- Places
- State of Mind
- Streaks
Most of these widgets offer quick ways to journal depending on the type of content you want to add to the post.
6, Monitoring the psychological state
The mood-tracking features that Apple brought to its smartwatches with last year’s watch OS 10 update have arrived in the Journal app, allowing you to add your mood to your journal.
Like the Mindfulness app built into Apple Watch, the Journal app will ask you to choose how you’re feeling at the moment, with options describing your mood that you can choose from.
7, Printing tool
In iOS 18, the Journal app supports a print tool that allows you to easily print journals written in the app with one tap, or export them as PDF files.