What Apple Journal does well
Apple Journal is free from Apple and syncs between iPhone, iPad and Mac through iCloud. It's at its strongest with rich entries. Photos, videos, drawings, places and your state of mind can sit right inside the text. Journaling Suggestions groups your outings, photos and workouts into ideas for an entry, and Apple says the data used for them stays on your iPhone. Apple also lists Journal data among the iCloud categories that are end-to-end encrypted by default.
- Multiple journals, each with its own name, color and icon
- Streaks and insights, with reminders on a schedule you set or smart notifications
- Writing prompts from Apple Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro or later, up to three per entry
- Print entries, save them as PDFs or export every entry as one ZIP file
Where Dawn Light is different
Dawn Light starts from your voice. You tap the sun and talk, and your words appear on screen as you speak, written down on your device by Apple's speech model. An entry can be a minute or half an hour. Recording, transcripts, search, tags and iCloud sync are free with no limit.
- Start a recording from Control Center, the Lock Screen, the Action button or Siri
- Speak any language your device's speech model supports
- Keep the recording with each entry, or only the words
- With Plus, each entry is laid out as what happened, how it felt and what's next, using Apple Intelligence on your device
Feature by feature
Checked against Apple's iPhone User Guide, Apple Support articles and the App Store listing in October 2026. Apple updates Journal with each iOS release, so check Apple's guide for the latest.
| Feature | Apple Journal | Dawn Light |
|---|---|---|
| Download | Free | Free, with optional Plus |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad and Mac | iPhone and iPad, Apple Watch recording with Plus |
| Record your voice in an entry | Yes | Yes |
| Transcription languages | English only, not the Singapore or India locales | Any language your device's speech model supports |
| Words land in the entry | Tap Add Transcript to Entry | Automatically, as you speak |
| Start a voice entry from outside the app | Record Audio from the Home Screen icon | Control Center, Lock Screen, Action button or Siri |
| Photos | Photos, videos, drawings and places | Photos |
| Tags | Not in Apple's guide, multiple journals instead | Yes |
| Calendar of past entries | Yes | Yes |
| Search | Text and categories such as Photos | Every word, title, tag, name and place |
| Reminders | A custom schedule or smart notifications | One daily reminder |
| Lock with Face ID | Yes | Yes |
| Sync | iCloud, across iPhone, iPad and Mac | Your private iCloud, across iPhone and iPad |
| AI features | Writing prompts with Apple Intelligence | Summaries, titles, mood, a weekly recap and Ask, with Plus |
| Export | All entries as a ZIP file, or PDFs | Markdown, JSON and PDF, with recordings and photos |
Who should pick Apple Journal
- You like to write and want photos, videos, drawings and places woven into each entry
- You journal on a Mac as well as iPhone or iPad
- Streaks and insights help you keep going
- You want Journaling Suggestions to remind you of your outings and workouts
- End-to-end encryption in iCloud matters to you
Who should pick Dawn Light
- You'd rather talk than type, on a walk or at the end of the day
- You speak a language other than English, or more than one
- You talk for longer than a quick note and want every word kept as text
- You want to find something you said months ago by searching for a name or place
- You want short summaries of each entry, made on your device
Moving from Apple Journal to Dawn Light
You don't have to choose once and for all. Apple Journal can export every entry, and Dawn Light can read that file. Entries keep their dates and photos, and importing the same file twice adds nothing the second time.
- On your iPhone, open Settings, tap Apps, then Journal
- Tap Export All Journal Entries, then Export. Save the ZIP file to Files
- In Dawn Light, open Settings and go to Your data
- Tap Import from Day One or Apple Journal and choose the ZIP file
Questions about Apple Journal and Dawn Light
Can Apple Journal transcribe voice recordings?
Yes, in English only, excluding the Singapore and India locales, as of October 2026. You record in an entry, review the transcription, then tap Add Transcript to Entry to put the words into the text.
Does Apple Journal back up to iCloud?
Apple says Journal entries are stored and synced in iCloud, but they aren't included in iCloud backups of your iPhone. To include them in a device backup, Apple says to make an encrypted backup on a computer. You can also export a ZIP of every entry.
Can I use Apple Journal and Dawn Light together?
Yes. Some people write and add photos in Apple Journal and talk in Dawn Light. Dawn Light can import an Apple Journal export whenever you want everything in one place.
Sources
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Add formatting, photos, and more in Journal
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Write in your journal
- Apple iPhone User Guide: View and search your journal entries
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Build a habit with Journal
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Protect your journal entries
- Apple iPhone User Guide: Change your Journal settings
- Apple Support: Back up, export, and print Journal entries on iPhone
- Apple Support: iCloud data security overview
Try journaling out loud
Tap the sun and talk in your own language. Dawn Light writes down every word on your iPhone as you speak, and it can bring your Apple Journal entries with you.
Get Dawn Light freeUnlimited entries, transcripts, search and iCloud sync. For iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Works with iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and watchOS 26 or later.