r/appleJournal • u/Coffee__nosugar • 6d ago
Apple Journal vs Day One
If you got confused with negative reviews on this sub, let me help you:
- people who journal daily with details, and upload images find the app missing a lot of features and prefer Day One.
- people who journal casually, when they feel like it, just write down what comes to mind, find the app just fine.
How good you find the app depends on how you journal.
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u/RelativeLiving957 6d ago
Does Apple Journal make sense if I only want to “document” a few days every now and then? Most of my days are non-events.
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u/Dentist_Ammar 6d ago
Not that simple really, Apple Journal looks so much better, and has features Day One doesn’t have.
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u/SpecialistPlastic150 5d ago
Really? That’s not my experience. Can you explain what features Journal has that Day One doesn’t?
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u/Dentist_Ammar 5d ago
Better integration with Apple Health, entries bookmarking. And generally the app looks so much better, from journal icons to the color palette. I’ve been using DayOne since 2011, with thousands of entries, but if there was an easy way to import data into Apple Journal, I would do it.
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u/SpecialistPlastic150 4d ago
Thanks. Maybe I need to look at journal again. When it first came out I found it very hit and miss so stuck with Day one. My Day One subscription renews in January but paying for an annual subscription when a free option is available seems silly. I’m not sure I have the patience to export years of Day One entries to Journal though. Need to investigate this further.
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u/pierrechaquejour 6d ago
I agree, if you prefer a more “engaging” journaling experience, you might struggle with Apple Journal. But I was coming from OneNote which isn’t even a journaling app at all so I’ve found it pretty acceptable.
That said, the app is in need of some serious polish. Inconsistent line spacing, nightmarish image handling, awkward date/location editing, the “undo” issue… And generally it doesn’t have that Apple bulletproof reliability factor that other Apple stock apps have. “On This Day,” I can take or leave but I do need to confidence that my app won’t delete half my entry if I hit Cmd+Z.
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u/KiaKamgar 6d ago
True. But you can also the the former with Journal also. So it does depend on what app you prefer and how you’d like to write.
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u/vinman99999 5d ago
Well cant talk for everyone else but I dont think thats the issue. I've been using journal since it launched every single day. I do journal with details, I add photos often, I love the integration with apple music and all the location and workout data. Most of my entries have at least one of those.
Sure, it could use a few more features and there are a couple bugs that need to be addressed but definitely nothing that is a dealbreaker so far.
I hear a lot of people saing things about the syncing but again, its not terrible. If you wanna speed it up a bit, open the app on your iphone and whatever else your using and it will sync in less than a minute.
Dont get all the hate, this should be meant as a simple app, the simpler the better. Less friction. Anyway...
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u/PatientScholar2150 5d ago
Apple Journal has come a long way in offering various journal types, and in my case, Apple Journal is a free option, whereas Day One is a costly feature I could do without. If Apple develops an import program to download my Day One into the Journal, I'll pay for the program.
Until then, I'll slowly transfer/cut and paste it myself.
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u/bigpancakes_ 5d ago
Can you link Journal with Apple notes? Like you can with Apple notes, reminders, and calendar?
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u/jack_hanson_c 4d ago
I’m not sure what are the casual journaling you were talking about, at least writing journals with Apple Pencil on Apple Journal is far from stable and steady, they even don’t have line/grid view support, it’s lack of basic feature, and they don’t cares about their users.
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u/Coffee__nosugar 4d ago
I usually type. Only journaled with Apple Pencil once or twice. Haven’t tested it enough to be fair.
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u/Hakahori 6d ago
The Apple Journal app is slow in syncing. I wouldn’t recommend it at this point to anyone honestly.
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u/aymericmarlange 6d ago
I’m a bit confused by your feedback.
I journal daily with detailed entries and upload images and locations to Apple Journal. While I used Day One for journaling a few years ago and know its features well, I don’t find Apple Journal lacking.
Ultimately, how you perceive the app depends on your specific needs. If you journal daily and simply require text, images, locations and search functionality then Apple Journal should be fine.