Apple’s Journal app is coming to iPad and Mac with big upgrades

Apple’s Journal app is coming to the iPad and Mac as part of iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe, and several brand new features will be included too—even on iPhone.

Journal app is included with iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe

Journal first debuted in iOS 17.2 as a brand new iPhone app, but many expected it to go cross-platform as early as iOS 18 the following year.

It’s taken longer than expected, but soon, Apple’s Journal app will no longer be iPhone-only.

iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe both include Journal as a new pre-installed app.

It’s currently available in the beta versions of these updates, so users can expect to get Journal on their iPad and/or Mac this fall—likely in mid-September.

Journal looks and works like you’d expect on Apple’s larger-screened devices.

There’s a collapsible sidebar where you’ll find access to features like Insights, settings, and more. Otherwise, most screen real estate is dedicated to your journal entries, and to the editor while writing.

Keyboard shortcuts are built in, easily accessible from the new iPadOS 26 menu bar. And there’s even Apple Pencil support.

It’s fantastic to see Journal arrive on iPad and Mac, as I’ve previously had a hard time going all-in on the app without an iPadOS version. That’s already started to change since I installed the iPadOS 26 beta.

New Journal features in iOS 26 and more

Beyond coming to the iPad and Mac, Journal also gets a variety of other strong upgrades this year across all platforms, including iPhone via iOS 26.

Here’s what’s new:

• Multiple journals: You can now create multiple different journals to organize your entries.
• Inline images: Images can now be added inline with your entry’s text, rather than being limited to the dedicated media section.
• Drawings & handwriting: Whether you have an Apple Pencil or not, you can now add drawings and handwriting to journal entries.
• Map view: Entries can be viewed on a new map interface based on where you wrote them.
• Improved search: Apple has upgraded Journal’s search function to make it work better.
• Recover deleted entries: There’s now an option to recover entries you recently deleted.

All of these changes, combined with being able to access Journal across Apple’s three biggest platforms, add up to an especially big year for the Journal app.

Are you excited for Journal to hit the iPad and Mac? Which new iOS 26 features matter most to you? Let us know in the comments.

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