Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
When Apple announced the Apple Journal app in 2023, I was pretty excited. As an old-school physical journal aficionado, I’ve tried loads of journaling apps going back to the early days of smartphones and I have my favorites. However, more apps that bring new ideas and features to the mix are always welcome. To be fair, I didn’t expect to swap out my preferred app. But swap out I did. Two years later, Apple Journal is still on my iPhone 16 Pro Max and has become an important, though somewhat infrequent part of my use thanks to its deep Apple-ecosystem cross-platform access.
Apple Journal leans on wellness, the other leans on going all-in on AI.
Now that Google has joined the conversation, things are different. Android and Pixel phones are my preference. Arriving alongside the Pixel 10, the Pixel Journal app is clearly meant as a competition to Apple Journal and brings similar ideas. You can write short daily reflections, attach media and revisit your thoughts with some insights. Sounds straightforward enough? Yet, the apps have a few fundamental differences in approach. Compared to Apple Journal’s stripped-down, wellness-focused positioning, Pixel Journal tosses AI in the mix in a bid to push you towards active insights. But does it actually make a difference in what matters most? Let’s find out.
How comfortable are you with letting AI read your private journal? 38 votes I don't mind at all. 26 % I don't mind it as long as the AI runs on-device. 47 % I want the option to switch off AI. 13 % I don't want AI anywhere near my journalling app. 13 %
Apple Journal vs Pixel Journal: The ecosystem approach
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
Like most Apple apps, Apple Journal is deeply entrenched in its ecosystem. It connects to Photos, Fitness, and HealthKit, giving you contextual prompts that feel occasionally thoughtful, usually timely, if not a bit overbearing. For example, after a run tracked on Apple Fitness, the app might suggest reflecting on how you felt or what stood out during the workout. When used to its max, Apple Journal is designed to blend into your daily routine. It encourages mindfulness naturally without making it feel forced. In actual use, I’m not the biggest fan of proactive nudges, but that’s just me. The ability to create multiple journals has been fantastic. It has allowed me to segregate personal reflections, holistic logs, and more, which makes it adaptable over time. You can even have a separate journal chronicling each holiday or trip you take. Each journal can develop its own personality, which encourages long-term engagement and thoughtful separation of ideas.
Apple's multiple journals let you separate work, personal reflection, and trips — Pixel Journal only supports one.
Like Apple Journal, Pixel Journal can read data from Health Connect and other Google apps, so your steps, workouts, and health trends can inform journal prompts. However, it treats this data differently. Health is just one input among many, including calendar events, photos, and location history. So far, I haven’t seen nudges toward logging how I felt after a workout or actively integrating my fitness data into the journal. The option is there, but it’s not forced on you, which I appreciate. Regardless of what you enter, the local AI generates prompts and summaries based on these inputs — more on that shortly.
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