A new report says that Apple may be planning to add its own journaling app to iOS 17, bringing a serious mental health upgrade for users when it arrives later this year.
Apple will announce iOS 17 at WWDC 2023 on June 5, and we’re expectantly waiting iPhone software upgrades alongside all of the other usual WWDC announcements.
Apple has made some efforts to help improve a user’s relationship with their device and overall mental health, such as Screen Time, but a journal app could be massive improvement.
Journaling app for iPhone
As WSJ (opens in new tab) reports, Apple “is planning an iPhone app to let users compile their daily activities as part of its efforts in the market for mental and physical health technology,” a lot like the journaling app Day One. The report says the app “underscores the company’s growing interest in mental health.”
The new app will take data from Apple’s other apps, for example, your physical proximity to other people. It’s codenamed “Jurassic” and “is designed to help users keep track of their daily lives” by analyzing behavior and suggesting topics to write about.
Journaling in this way can help manage anxiety, reduce stress, and cope with depression, the University of Rochester Medical Center claims. Journaling helps users prioritize problems, fears, and concerns, track symptoms to help recognize the triggers of anxiety and provide opportunities for positive self-talk.
It could perfectly complement Apple’s Breathe app, which is used on all of its best Apple Watch models to help users take a breath and focus throughout the day.
iOS 17 is not expected to be a major upgrade to iPhone, but there are reports of introducing third-party app stores to the iPhone, as well as a redesigned Control Center. The highlight of WWDC 2023 will be the Apple VR Reality Pro headset, Apple’s next mixed-reality headset.
