Apple journaling app will be part of iOS 17; Day One being Sherlocked, says

I wonder if Sparky will switch…

2 Likes

I can’t think this new Apple app would catch on that fast if it is ONLY on iOS 17. You’d want to use it on your Mac as well. But the article doesn’t seem to address Mac OS version. I’m guessing it will be on both, but very weird if not. I’d want to sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac(s)

1 Like

For me iOS is almost exclusively a viewing / searching platform. I don’t use it to “make entries” all that often. Maybe a couple times a month? So it’s much more important to have a strong macOS app. With that being said, Apple’s recent macOS apps have been bottom of the barrel in terms of quality, so I don’t hold high hopes that this journaling app will be anywhere near as well rounded as Day One. I hope to be proven wrong though. :blush:

Can you name even one free Apple app for which a superior third-party alternative does not exist?

2 Likes

Apple Health

and 20 more characters

3 Likes

I don’t want anyone to be Sherlocked, but I’ve wanted to directly enter some health self-rating into Apple Health for awhile, so I hope this will essentially provide that.

Based on experience, I wouldn’t expect early versions of an Apple journaling app to have anything like the range of features of something like DayOne. In fact, if apps like Reminders and Notes are anything to go by, that might remain the case for a long time.

As for DayOne being Sherlocked, the large range of actively developed task management and note-taking apps suggests the opposite. Maybe this will provide some stimulus to paid-for journaling apps to keep upping their game

2 Likes

Well that would be Day One’s fault. While the app is well done and oft updated it’s not really a part of an easy to understand ecosystem.

The silver lining though is the hardest part of journaling is staying consistent and if Apple can provide a baked in solution that gets people journaling with regularity it might actually increase the perceived value of such tools.

5 Likes

I too hate to see a developer have his or her app Sherlocked. That said, I hope this rumor is true (I guess I don’t hate it enough not to use Apple’s Sherlocking app :slightly_smiling_face:). I currently use Apple Notes for journaling but would prefer a free app baked into the OS. However, I’d would not be as interested if there was not also a Mac version.

1 Like

What is “superior” depends a great deal on how closely an app meets the needs of the user and the value proposition. One of the big lessons I’ve learned from spending time on this forum and experimenting with apps is that all of them require compromises in terms of GUI, ecosystem integrations, features, the ROI, stability and reliability, and more. For some users and use cases, selected native apps are superior, in other cases third party apps are superior. I am convinced that more features in and of themselves do not a superior app make — and I realize that you are not necessarily claiming that — I’m just making an observation. :slightly_smiling_face:

4 Likes

For me I don’t expect Apple apps to be best in class but they should be good citizens on the platform they own. It amazes me how bad Apple’s own apps are. There will almost always be better or more niche 3rd party apps but Apple should be a case study in best practices and they just simply aren’t anymore. It’s sad. :pensive:

Good point, as recently proven by the Apple Music Classical on the iPad and the non-existing Apple Music Classical on the Mac. All of which after two years of development.

Same for me. I’ve used Pages and Evernote at varying points to make my journal entries, and it’s always been on a Mac. I will occasionally make entries using my iPhone while traveling, but my interest in this app will hinge on Mac access.

1 Like

As with most things in life, you have to consider the financial incentives.

Will it create more lock-in? Yes

Will it create a lot more work on Apple’s part? Probably not that much. It’s mainly piecing together data that other apps and sensors are already aggregating.

Can it be monetised? Probably, once the advertising frog has been boiling for a while.

I have a personal attachment to DayOne. I created a journal for my daughter as she battled (and beat) cancer when she was young. She doesn’t know it exists yet, but one day she may want to read it. She may want to forget about it completely.
Either way, DayOne has a very special place in my heart.

4 Likes

Of course, I don’t know the story, but I can’t imagine how difficult that was and how grateful you must be that she is well. I suspect that one day (no pun intended), that journal will be a precious gift to her.

3 Likes

What does being SHERLOCKED mean?

1 Like

Wiktionary:

“In the computing verb sense, refers to the software Sherlock, which in 2002 came to replicate some of the features of an earlier complementary program called Watson.”

Since then the term is used when Apple implements a feature/App that was first implemented by a third party.

4 Likes

I’m assuming this will be like every other stock Apple app for me. Okay, that’s exaggerating a bit, but it usually goes like this.

  1. Get excited, download the app
  2. Open the app. It looks good, appears to be well thought out
  3. Use the app. Smile because the initial impressions are very good and it just feels great
  4. Go to use a feature that every other app in the world has – can’t do it in the Apple version.
  5. Go online, search for a solution, see numerous posts about the same thing but the answer is “that feature isn’t currently offered I guess”
  6. Go back to the app I was using

:man_shrugging:t2:

1 Like

Day One is an excellent app. I think the odds of Apple’s offering being competitive are slim, but I suppose it depends. Will we get Apple Notes, or Apple Home? We won’t know what they are thinking until they release it.

1 Like

“In the computing verb sense, refers to the software Sherlock , which in 2002 came to replicate some of the features of an earlier complementary program called Watson .”

Okay, I get it, this is some techie dictionary. But I don’t think it’s very accurate. For example, Apple Pages. We never say Pages sherlocked MS Word. Or Apple Aperture sherlocked Adobe products. Why not? Because these new Apple products offered some competition (more or less successful) to the already existing products.

Realistically it seems sherlocked really means a much bigger fish (Apple) created a product which essentially eliminated a much smaller fish (Watson makers).

We don’t say Apple sherlocked WidgetSmith. Instead they bought WidgetSmith. The resulting product, Shortcuts, did eliminate the need/availablilty of WidgetSmith.

So … is Day One being sherlocked? I doubt it. After all Day One is folded into a much bigger company right now: Automattic. So is Apple really overpowering a small 2-3 person company with little revenue? No. I’d say Apple is competing with Automattic in terms of journaling, but certainly not sherlocking. Sounds like Paul Mayne is complaining too much. If anything the competition should help Day One get better quicker … none of us would complain about that given their recent 1-3 year track record. Hopefully Paul will stop crying wolf, start behaving like an adult, and help make Day One an even better product.