Apple’s Journal App Review: A Simple Journaling App With Some Smarts

Apple announced its brand new Journal app during WWDC in June this year. The app is said to help users to write down their thoughts, keep a daily log, and as Apple says, a “new way to reflect on and relive special moments”. It can also give you suggestions on what to write about, and that's done by using data from your phone. Now, that sounds scary, but it's actually not. The Journal app is currently available in iOS 17.2 Public beta 2 and will be available to all compatible iPhone users when iOS 17.2 is released.

I've been using Apple's Journal app for a couple of weeks now, and here's what I think of it.

Journal app features

I've never been one to write down my thoughts, but the Journal app made me want to. It has been proven that journaling or writing down your thoughts is good for your mental health. To me, writing things down was and is mostly associated with remembering things. And I've mostly used the good old Notes app for all note-taking endeavors. I've got notes going all the way back to my iPhone 4, which is when I first started using the Notes app.

Journaling is different though, and if you're looking to start, but don't want to use a pen and notebook, you could give the Journal app a try. You will have it with you almost all the time, since it's on your phone, and all you need to do is pick up your phone and type. But why not just use the Notes app, and why Journal?

The Journal app has a simple user interface that shows your entries and suggestions

Well, Apple's Journal app, apart from being a simple journaling app, also features some AI and machine-learning tech that make it a little bit smarter than the Notes app. When you first open the app, there's not much happening. In fact, you'll only see a ‘+' button at the bottom of the app. Tap on this button and you have three options here. You can start writing a new journal by tapping ‘New Entry' or you can choose to write using a topic suggested by Apple. These suggestions are sorted under ‘Recommended' and ‘Recent'.

Apple lets you add photos, videos, voice memos, and location tags to an entry. There's a filter that lets you choose between all your entries, entries with photos, or bookmarked entries. And that's about it.

Journal app Suggestions

Let's talk about the Suggestions feature in Journal because this is what makes it different from all the other journaling apps. When you want to write a new entry, Suggestions can help you. Your iPhone comes up with these suggestions using on-device machine learning. It uses your photos, videos, music, health data from your Apple Watch, and more to offer journaling ideas.

In ‘Recommended', you'll see some suggestions for what you can write about, along with something called ‘Reflections'. This lets you reflect on your day or life and includes questions such as ‘Write about something great in your life that you don't always think about'.

On the other hand, the ‘Recent' section, as the name suggests, simply shows you your recent activities, which may include a visit to a park nearby or a walk that you went on recently.

There's also something called Moments, which Apple says your iPhone can learn to recognise over time. After using the Journal app for a while, you will be shown these special moments or memories from your life. It will include photos or videos from one of those romantic dates, a fun outing with friends, a bike ride, a marathon, a family get-together, and so on.

Memories are what we humans live for, but to go back isn't realistically possible unless someone invents a time machine. The Journal app can give you a look back at those memories or moments and even let you write down things related to the memory. Using all the data that you allow Apple's Journal app to tap into, it can figure out memories by itself and help you write them down.

Apple is also making this available to third-party journaling apps in the form of Suggestions API. Third-party apps can also tap into the API and show you suggestions, but they only get access to what you agree to share. The processing and machine learning will happen on your phone, which means that your data will be safe. Your Journals are only uploaded to iCloud for backup, but that is also end-to-end encrypted.

You can also share from other apps currently and write in Journal. For example, I was listening to a song on Apple Music, and I wanted to write down something related to the song. I simply opened the Share sheet and was able to add the track as an entry in the Journal app. I was also able to share a web page from Safari and add it as an entry in the app.

Journal app Settings

Since the Journal app has access to all your data, it may be concerning to some. What if it suggests you write about something that you don't want to write about? Well, there are plenty of Settings that can help the app avoid such instances.

Journal app offers users plenty of control over their data

To access all the settings, you'll need to open the Settings app and scroll down to Journal. Here, you can choose what Photos the app can access and whether to include Location and Captions. You have the option to Lock the app using Face ID, which is recommended, and you can also have the app help you keep a schedule. In Journaling Suggestions, you can choose what data can be accessed by the Journal app. There are toggles for Activity, Media, Contacts, Photos, and Locations. You can turn off all these, but I wish Apple had given even more granular control over things here.

Journal app - Should you use it?

Yes, if you're someone who already keeps a journal. The Journal app lets you add media to your moments, and that's great. If you're new to journaling, you should still give the Journal app a try. The suggestions feature is really powerful, the app is easy to use thanks to the simple user interface, your data is safe, and you can protect everything with Face ID. However, it's currently only available on the iPhone and on the iOS 17.2 Public beta 2. Apple did not mention if it's coming to iPad or Mac, but who knows, it might. There's also no search option to find an entry.

Overall though, I'd totally recommend using the Journal app on your iPhone app to journal. It's been great!

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Apple’s Journal App Review: A Simple Journaling App With Some Smarts

Apple announced its brand new Journal app during WWDC in June this year. The app is said to help users to write down their thoughts, keep a daily log, and as Apple says, a “new way to reflect on and relive special moments”. It can also give you suggestions on what to write about, and that's done by using data from your phone. Now, that sounds scary, but it's actually not. The Journal app is currently available in iOS 17.2 Public beta 2 and will be available to all compatible iPhone users when iOS 17.2 is released.

I've been using Apple's Journal app for a couple of weeks now, and here's what I think of it.

Journal app features

I've never been one to write down my thoughts, but the Journal app made me want to. It has been proven that journaling or writing down your thoughts is good for your mental health. To me, writing things down was and is mostly associated with remembering things. And I've mostly used the good old Notes app for all note-taking endeavors. I've got notes going all the way back to my iPhone 4, which is when I first started using the Notes app.

Journaling is different though, and if you're looking to start, but don't want to use a pen and notebook, you could give the Journal app a try. You will have it with you almost all the time, since it's on your phone, and all you need to do is pick up your phone and type. But why not just use the Notes app, and why Journal?

The Journal app has a simple user interface that shows your entries and suggestions

Well, Apple's Journal app, apart from being a simple journaling app, also features some AI and machine-learning tech that make it a little bit smarter than the Notes app. When you first open the app, there's not much happening. In fact, you'll only see a ‘+' button at the bottom of the app. Tap on this button and you have three options here. You can start writing a new journal by tapping ‘New Entry' or you can choose to write using a topic suggested by Apple. These suggestions are sorted under ‘Recommended' and ‘Recent'.

Apple lets you add photos, videos, voice memos, and location tags to an entry. There's a filter that lets you choose between all your entries, entries with photos, or bookmarked entries. And that's about it.

Journal app Suggestions

Let's talk about the Suggestions feature in Journal because this is what makes it different from all the other journaling apps. When you want to write a new entry, Suggestions can help you. Your iPhone comes up with these suggestions using on-device machine learning. It uses your photos, videos, music, health data from your Apple Watch, and more to offer journaling ideas.

In ‘Recommended', you'll see some suggestions for what you can write about, along with something called ‘Reflections'. This lets you reflect on your day or life and includes questions such as ‘Write about something great in your life that you don't always think about'.

On the other hand, the ‘Recent' section, as the name suggests, simply shows you your recent activities, which may include a visit to a park nearby or a walk that you went on recently.

There's also something called Moments, which Apple says your iPhone can learn to recognise over time. After using the Journal app for a while, you will be shown these special moments or memories from your life. It will include photos or videos from one of those romantic dates, a fun outing with friends, a bike ride, a marathon, a family get-together, and so on.

Memories are what we humans live for, but to go back isn't realistically possible unless someone invents a time machine. The Journal app can give you a look back at those memories or moments and even let you write down things related to the memory. Using all the data that you allow Apple's Journal app to tap into, it can figure out memories by itself and help you write them down.

Apple is also making this available to third-party journaling apps in the form of Suggestions API. Third-party apps can also tap into the API and show you suggestions, but they only get access to what you agree to share. The processing and machine learning will happen on your phone, which means that your data will be safe. Your Journals are only uploaded to iCloud for backup, but that is also end-to-end encrypted.

You can also share from other apps currently and write in Journal. For example, I was listening to a song on Apple Music, and I wanted to write down something related to the song. I simply opened the Share sheet and was able to add the track as an entry in the Journal app. I was also able to share a web page from Safari and add it as an entry in the app.

Journal app Settings

Since the Journal app has access to all your data, it may be concerning to some. What if it suggests you write about something that you don't want to write about? Well, there are plenty of Settings that can help the app avoid such instances.

Journal app offers users plenty of control over their data

To access all the settings, you'll need to open the Settings app and scroll down to Journal. Here, you can choose what Photos the app can access and whether to include Location and Captions. You have the option to Lock the app using Face ID, which is recommended, and you can also have the app help you keep a schedule. In Journaling Suggestions, you can choose what data can be accessed by the Journal app. There are toggles for Activity, Media, Contacts, Photos, and Locations. You can turn off all these, but I wish Apple had given even more granular control over things here.

Journal app - Should you use it?

Yes, if you're someone who already keeps a journal. The Journal app lets you add media to your moments, and that's great. If you're new to journaling, you should still give the Journal app a try. The suggestions feature is really powerful, the app is easy to use thanks to the simple user interface, your data is safe, and you can protect everything with Face ID. However, it's currently only available on the iPhone and on the iOS 17.2 Public beta 2. Apple did not mention if it's coming to iPad or Mac, but who knows, it might. There's also no search option to find an entry.

Overall though, I'd totally recommend using the Journal app on your iPhone app to journal. It's been great!

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Facebook, YouTube Said to Be Warned Against Misuse of Deepfakes by Indian Government

India's government on Friday warned social media firms including Facebook and YouTube to repeatedly remind users that local laws prohibit them from posting deepfakes and content that spreads obscenity or misinformation, two sources told Reuters.

The warning was conveyed by deputy IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a closed-door meeting where he said many companies had not updated their usage terms despite 2022 rules that prohibit content "harmful" to children, obscene or that "impersonates another person".

It comes amid growing concerns over deepfakes — realistic yet fabricated videos created by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms trained on online footage — which a top minister this week said this week India is drawing up rules to address.

Chandrasekhar said the companies must raise awareness of the rules by reminding users every time they log in that they cannot post such content, or by issuing reminders. 

He said otherwise he will issue directions forcing them to do so, said the two sources, who declined to be named as the meeting was private.

The minister described it as a "non-negotiable" demand of the Indian government during the meeting, said one of the sources.

India's IT ministry said in a press statement all platforms had agreed to align their content guidelines with government rules.

Facebook and Chandrasekhar did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Alphabet's Google, which owns YouTube, said in a statement it was committed to responsible AI development and has robust policies and systems to identify and remove harmful content across its products and platforms.

The Indian government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have raised concerns over deepfakes in recent days. 

During a virtual summit of G20 nations on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi called on global leaders to jointly work towards regulating AI, and raised concerns over the negative impact of deepfakes on society.

Countries across the world are racing to draw up rules to regulate AI. India has been tightening regulations of social media companies, which count the South Asian nation as a top growth market. 

Last year, the government privately criticized the companies for not removing what it described as fake news on their sites, which it said had forced it to order content takedowns.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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Is the iQoo Neo 7 Pro the best smartphone you can buy under Rs. 40,000 in India? We discuss the company's recently launched handset and what it has to offer on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Sam Altman Returns as OpenAI CEO; Bret Taylor to Chair ChatGPT Board

Sam Altman's return as OpenAI's chief executive will strengthen his grip on the startup and may leave the ChatGPT creator with fewer checks on his power as the company introduces technology that could upend industries, corporate governance experts and analysts said.

OpenAI is bringing Altman back just days after his ouster as well as installing a revamped board that could bring sharper scrutiny to the startup at the heart of the AI boom, but strong support from investors including Microsoft may give Altman more leeway to commercialize the technology. 

"Sam's return may put an end to the turmoil on the surface, but there may continue to be deep governance issues," said Mak Yuen Teen, director of the centre for investor protection at the National University of Singapore Business School.

"Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. The danger is the board becomes a rubber stamp," he said.

OpenAI's new board will boast more experience at the top level and strong ties to both the US government and Wall Street. 

The board fired Altman last week with little explanation and attempted to move on by naming an interim CEO twice. However, pressure from Microsoft — and the 38-year-old's strong loyalty among the 700-plus OpenAI employees that caused nearly all of them to threaten to leave the company — led to Altman's reinstatement as of Wednesday. 

"Altman has been invigorated by the last few days," GlobalData analyst Beatriz Valle said. But that could come at a cost, she said, adding that he has "too much power now." 

Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce who also played a key role in forcing through Elon Musk's $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,66,530 crore) purchase of Twitter as a director, will be chairing the board.

Other members include former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a Harvard academic and longtime economic aide to Democratic presidents.

"The fact that Summers and Taylor will join OpenAI is quite extraordinary and marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes in the company," Valle said.

Summers, who also sits on the board of Jack Dorsey's fintech firm Block, has in recent months been vocal about the potential job losses and disruption that could be caused by AI.

"ChatGPT is coming for the cognitive class. It's going to replace what doctors do," he said in a post on X in April. 

OpenAI's previous board consisted of entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, as well as Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, who also sits on the new board.

It was not immediately clear if any of the other directors would remain, including Sutskever, who joined in the effort to fire Altman then signed onto an employee letter demanding his return, expressing regret for her "participation in the board's actions." 

OpenAI on X said it was "collaborating to figure out the details" of the new board.

Microsoft declined to comment. Summers and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sutskever, Altman and Taylor could not be immediately reached for comment.

Some analysts say the management fiasco will ensure that OpenAI executives proceed cautiously, as the high-flying startup will now be subject to more scrutiny. Several noted that companies such as Facebook parent Meta have flourished with a powerful CEO despite concerns about corporate governance.

"Sam definitely comes out stronger but also dirtied and will have more of a microscope from the AI and broader tech and business community," Gartner analyst Jason Wong said. "He can no longer do no wrong."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/a08jU73

Sam Altman Returns as OpenAI CEO; Bret Taylor to Chair ChatGPT Board

Sam Altman's return as OpenAI's chief executive will strengthen his grip on the startup and may leave the ChatGPT creator with fewer checks on his power as the company introduces technology that could upend industries, corporate governance experts and analysts said.

OpenAI is bringing Altman back just days after his ouster as well as installing a revamped board that could bring sharper scrutiny to the startup at the heart of the AI boom, but strong support from investors including Microsoft may give Altman more leeway to commercialize the technology. 

"Sam's return may put an end to the turmoil on the surface, but there may continue to be deep governance issues," said Mak Yuen Teen, director of the centre for investor protection at the National University of Singapore Business School.

"Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. The danger is the board becomes a rubber stamp," he said.

OpenAI's new board will boast more experience at the top level and strong ties to both the US government and Wall Street. 

The board fired Altman last week with little explanation and attempted to move on by naming an interim CEO twice. However, pressure from Microsoft — and the 38-year-old's strong loyalty among the 700-plus OpenAI employees that caused nearly all of them to threaten to leave the company — led to Altman's reinstatement as of Wednesday. 

"Altman has been invigorated by the last few days," GlobalData analyst Beatriz Valle said. But that could come at a cost, she said, adding that he has "too much power now." 

Bret Taylor, former co-CEO of Salesforce who also played a key role in forcing through Elon Musk's $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,66,530 crore) purchase of Twitter as a director, will be chairing the board.

Other members include former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, a Harvard academic and longtime economic aide to Democratic presidents.

"The fact that Summers and Taylor will join OpenAI is quite extraordinary and marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes in the company," Valle said.

Summers, who also sits on the board of Jack Dorsey's fintech firm Block, has in recent months been vocal about the potential job losses and disruption that could be caused by AI.

"ChatGPT is coming for the cognitive class. It's going to replace what doctors do," he said in a post on X in April. 

OpenAI's previous board consisted of entrepreneur Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, director of strategy at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, as well as Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo, who also sits on the new board.

It was not immediately clear if any of the other directors would remain, including Sutskever, who joined in the effort to fire Altman then signed onto an employee letter demanding his return, expressing regret for her "participation in the board's actions." 

OpenAI on X said it was "collaborating to figure out the details" of the new board.

Microsoft declined to comment. Summers and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sutskever, Altman and Taylor could not be immediately reached for comment.

Some analysts say the management fiasco will ensure that OpenAI executives proceed cautiously, as the high-flying startup will now be subject to more scrutiny. Several noted that companies such as Facebook parent Meta have flourished with a powerful CEO despite concerns about corporate governance.

"Sam definitely comes out stronger but also dirtied and will have more of a microscope from the AI and broader tech and business community," Gartner analyst Jason Wong said. "He can no longer do no wrong."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

---

From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/a08jU73
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Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Leaked Render Suggests Full Design and Key Specifications

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G is expected to launch in the market soon. The phone is likely to succeed the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G, which was unveiled this year in March with an IP67 rating. The launch timeline of the succeeding smartphone has not been tipped yet. The company has also not given out any details on the Galaxy A35. However, ahead of any official announcements, design renders of the Galaxy A35 and some of its key specifications have surfaced online.

A MySmartPrice report has shared leaked renders and a 360-degree video showing the design of the purported Samsung Galaxy A35 5G model. The phone is seen with rounded corners, a flat display with slim side and top bezels, and a relatively thick chin. There is a centre-aligned hole-punch slot at the top of the panel for the front camera. The screen is said to be 6.6-inch in size.

Leaked Samsung Galaxy A35 5G render
Photo Credit: MySmartPrice/Onleaks

 

The back panel of the Galaxy A35 5G appears to have a triple rear camera unit placed in a similar vertical alignment as seen on the preceding Galaxy A34 model and many other 2023 Samsung models. The three camera units are placed in vertically arranged separate circular slots in the top left corner. The brand name is engraved towards the base.

Further, the right edge of the Galaxy A35 5G is seen with a slight bump where the volume rocker and power button are placed. The report adds that the handset is likely to measure 161.6mm x 77.9mm x 8.2mm in size. If the frame bump is taken into account, the handset is said to measure 78.5mm in width. No other specifications about the smartphone were hinted at in the report. More details can be expected closer to the launch of the handset.

Samsung's Galaxy A34 5G was launched in India in Black, Light Green, Light Violet, and Silver colour options. The 6GB + 128GB of the phone is listed at Rs. 26,999, while the 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB variants are priced at Rs. 28,999 and Rs. 30,999, respectively.

---

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/aZUk02F

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Leaked Render Suggests Full Design and Key Specifications

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G is expected to launch in the market soon. The phone is likely to succeed the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G, which was unveiled this year in March with an IP67 rating. The launch timeline of the succeeding smartphone has not been tipped yet. The company has also not given out any details on the Galaxy A35. However, ahead of any official announcements, design renders of the Galaxy A35 and some of its key specifications have surfaced online.

A MySmartPrice report has shared leaked renders and a 360-degree video showing the design of the purported Samsung Galaxy A35 5G model. The phone is seen with rounded corners, a flat display with slim side and top bezels, and a relatively thick chin. There is a centre-aligned hole-punch slot at the top of the panel for the front camera. The screen is said to be 6.6-inch in size.

Leaked Samsung Galaxy A35 5G render
Photo Credit: MySmartPrice/Onleaks

 

The back panel of the Galaxy A35 5G appears to have a triple rear camera unit placed in a similar vertical alignment as seen on the preceding Galaxy A34 model and many other 2023 Samsung models. The three camera units are placed in vertically arranged separate circular slots in the top left corner. The brand name is engraved towards the base.

Further, the right edge of the Galaxy A35 5G is seen with a slight bump where the volume rocker and power button are placed. The report adds that the handset is likely to measure 161.6mm x 77.9mm x 8.2mm in size. If the frame bump is taken into account, the handset is said to measure 78.5mm in width. No other specifications about the smartphone were hinted at in the report. More details can be expected closer to the launch of the handset.

Samsung's Galaxy A34 5G was launched in India in Black, Light Green, Light Violet, and Silver colour options. The 6GB + 128GB of the phone is listed at Rs. 26,999, while the 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB variants are priced at Rs. 28,999 and Rs. 30,999, respectively.

---

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 alongside the Galaxy Tab S9 series and Galaxy Watch 6 series at its first Galaxy Unpacked event in South Korea. We discuss the company's new devices and more on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/aZUk02F
via IFTTT