Apple made a sample of the Journal app accessible to developers with the release of the first iOS 17.2 beta on Thursday. However, contrary to popular belief, Apple’s Journal app will not be available on iPad or Mac at launch.
Users who have loaded iPadOS 17.2 beta or macOS 14.2 beta have discovered that the Journal app is not available on the iPad or Mac, but only on the iPhone running iOS 17.2. By looking into the iOS 17.2 code, 9to5Mac has confirmed that the Journal app is currently only accessible for the iPhone, and it appears doubtful that it will be made available for other devices in the near future.
This is supported by Apple, as only the iOS 17 webpage indicates the Journal app’s existence. The iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma websites include no information regarding the future software.
There are some code remnants that imply Apple has been working on iPad and Mac versions of the Journal app, but it all appears to be fairly experimental and unlikely to be completed in time for the next releases of iPadOS 17.2 and macOS 14.2. If I had to guess, I’d believe Apple will keep the iPad and Mac versions of iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 on hold.