Apple Journal has been one of my most-used apps since it came to the Mac last summer. iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate introduce a few welcome changes to the Journal app that make it even better.

Apple highlights new features for the Journal app

Insights are a big part of the Journal app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These include streaks for making daily and weekly entries.

Apple says the Journal app includes more intuitive journaling streaks as part of the OS 27 updates. This includes the ability to manually switch your current streak indicator in the app between daily or weekly (automatic), daily, and weekly.

The Journal app expanded from iPhone to iPad and the Mac with iPadOS 26 and macOS 26 Tahoe. It includes iCloud Sync between devices, but sync state can be unclear at times.

Apple is adding a visual iCloud sync status for Journal entries in iOS 27, making it easier to see when entries are updating. This will briefly appear when it’s active in the part of the app that displays the number of entries within a journal. Sync also seems to be a bit better overall as part of the new update.

Additionally, Apple is expanding the number of attachments each entry can include with increased attachment limits in Journal in iOS 27. This has been a pain point for users previously, so it’s great to see this area improve.

Apple also highlights time stamps for Journal entries as part of iOS 27. This refers to the time of day when an entry was created. For me, I create my own time stamps within an entry that I update throughout the day, though it’s nice to see attention in this area.

Launching the Journal app for the first time also flags two features specifically in iOS 27:

• Reflect With Writing Prompts Generate dynamic writing prompts to help you reflect and write more.
• Create Richer Entries Tell a fuller story with more attachments, edge-to-edge photos, and the exact time of day.

The dynamic writing prompt feature is especially interesting as it can be based on what you’ve already written. For example, the Journal app may encourage you to write more about a specific detail that you jotted down in an entry.

iOS 27 is currently available in developer beta. A public beta version will follow in July ahead of the official release this fall.