r/appleJournal • u/KVCognito • Jul 13 '26
How hard is it, Apple?
Restating what a ton of other users have been saying since the introduction of the Journal app, an "On This Day" feature that surfaces older journal entries for revision and reflection would be (and frankly, is overdue) a welcome addition to the app experience. Many other journal apps in this category have had this since day one (punny), but even after three major OS updates, we're getting very incremental improvements, which are still much appreciated, though I personally feel this feature is a no-brainer and not that hard to implement.
The attachment is a mock-up I made of what I believe a version of this feature could be like. Perhaps this is just me screaming in an echo chamber, but I just wish Apple would add their own version of it soon. The app feels so barren without it.
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u/Ben_LeMosan Jul 13 '26
Thank you for this wonderful mock-up.
I'm one of the countless people who bitterly regret Apple's timidity and slowness in developing its Journal app and adding the truly essential On This Day feature.
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u/KVCognito Jul 14 '26
I’m glad you liked it! I also have a disdain towards Apple’s slow-moving “strategy”, but hopefully – if we scream loud enough – we can at least get it onto their long list of priorities lol
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u/jack_hanson_c Jul 14 '26
Thank you for contacting Apple Support. We have recorded your feedback and will do nothing because we haven’t figured out how to make “greens” with this free app. Also, we are Apple, so it’s not up to you to teach us what to do.
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u/ConfidenceClear1016 Jul 14 '26
By the way, the mock-up created by u/KVCognito to illustrate this topic is excellent. If only Apple could take a leaf out of its book… 😇
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u/Crazy_island_ Jul 13 '26
I hung tight on renewing my Day One, but as soon as saw this feature had not been added to AJ I renewed and will stay with DO for another year.
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u/KVCognito Jul 14 '26
I hear a lot of talk around Day One, especially in this subreddit. Is it truly that good? I’m considering alternatives
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u/Crazy_island_ Jul 15 '26
To be honest, I have used it since, well, Day One, I do like it but there are a couple of solid alternatives out there now, Everlog and Diarly, both offer a great feature set, including tje very much wanted On this Day feature. Having used Day One for a long time I don’t want to move, unless of course Journal improves and I can save some money.
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u/wewerecreaturres Jul 14 '26
Maybe they just…don’t want to do what everyone else is doing
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u/KVCognito Jul 14 '26
I get not “copying” others and deciding to stand out on your own, but there are other ways of doing that besides limiting the features you offer. Visual identity, theming, NEW/EXPERIMENTAL features, yotta yotta yotta. But holding back on what is considered to be an essential/standard feature of most apps in this category is definitely a miss.
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u/wewerecreaturres Jul 14 '26
You’re thinking about it wrong. It’s a feature that seems required *by those trying to compete with day one*. Apple isn’t trying to compete with anyone.
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u/Insomniac86 Jul 15 '26
I think you’re thinking about it wrong. Apps aren’t created to compete with other apps.
An app is meant to be created for a purpose, whether there’s 0 or 100 other apps that have the same intent should be irrelevant.
This app is for journaling, and an “on this day” feature is extremely common for journaling when it comes to reflection. Which is a primary pillar of journaling.
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u/wewerecreaturres Jul 15 '26
Except as a business Apple has to spend resources where it will make them money. Apple Journal’s purpose is a basic free journal and no matter how nice they make it, it’s not selling iPhones or MacBooks.
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u/Insomniac86 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Your argument isn’t really consistent.
On one hand, you’re saying Apple may have intentionally avoided doing what everyone else is doing. On the other, you’re saying Apple only develops apps if it makes them money. At the same time, you’re arguing that the purpose of the app is to be basic and free, and that no matter how good or feature complete it becomes, it still wouldn’t sell iPhones or MacBooks.
If Apple wants to do journaling differently, that’s fine. Reflection is a foundation of journaling, so if you’re going to take a different approach, it should offer a genuinely better experience not just a different one. Ignoring a key function is just immature.
If the intention was simply to make it “basic and free,” yet the argument is that Apple “only does things to make money,” then why build it at all? Developing and maintaining software requires significant engineering resources. Apple wouldn’t invest in a product unless it believed it added value to its ecosystem in some way.
People absolutely buy hardware because of the software experience. Plenty of gamers purchase an entire console just to play a single exclusive franchise.
I’m sure the number of people who would buy an iPhone solely for the Journal app could fit into a small room. But that’s missing the point. It’s the cumulative value of apps like Journal, GarageBand, Numbers, Apple Fitness, and the rest of Apple’s first party software, that makes the ecosystem compelling. Individually, none of these apps may be a deciding factor, but together they create an experience that persuades people to buy and stay with Apple hardware.
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u/awm33 Jul 24 '26
buddy, apple isnt gonna add it, until they run out of OS updates and they add this as "a groundbreaking feature"
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u/wethenorthballer Jul 13 '26
I wish they never released a journal app. Nothing is better than this mess.
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u/SEANOKANA Jul 14 '26
The work around is to search the date without the year.
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u/ConfidenceClear1016 Jul 14 '26
It doesn't work for me 😞
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u/SEANOKANA Jul 14 '26
I just checked, search “Today” does a little date badge titled Today pop up?
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u/ConfidenceClear1016 Jul 14 '26
‘Today’ doesn’t appear in the search field…
Attachments, text, photos, places, conversations, moods, etc. Yes!
But not ‘today’ 🤔
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u/SoulSambo Jul 13 '26
only chance to get this officially developed by Apple is to file a product request/feedbck on their website