u/ConfidenceClear1016

In its documentation, Apple states that battery life depends, among other things, on on-screen activity, background activity, notifications, network usage, and tasks such as syncing or retrieving data.

The high battery usage of the Journal app may therefore stem from the fact that the app is very active when opened. For example, it indexes content, analyzes suggestions, loads attachments, updates, syncs with iCloud, and processes media and metadata associated with entries.

If the app remains active in the background for a long time, its battery usage may also increase.

Frequent notifications and app wake-ups can also increase its battery usage; the iPhone may be logging every activation related to a check or an update. This doesn’t necessarily mean the app is poorly optimized. It just means that, given the amount of data and actions involved, the app consumes a lot of power. 

What do you think ? 

Over time, I’ve noticed that I’m using my iPhone for more and more tasks. No doubt the fact that screens are getting bigger and bigger has something to do with this trend.

Whether for personal or work-related tasks, I don’t turn on my Mac or open my iPad—I just use my iPhone, which, conveniently, I always have with me.

Since multitasking is also more complicated on a smartphone, I do one thing at a time, and I feel like I can focus better on what I’m doing. Plus, I don’t think I’m using my iPhone more—I’m just using it better…

I’d like to know if anyone else here is in the same boat ?

This is likely due to the 17 Pro Max’s cooling chamber…

I ran a quick test: using Journal for a quarter of an hour on the iPhone Air and the 17 Pro Max. Same tasks: writing, downloading photos, editing, and searching.

I did the same thing with Day One.

The results regarding battery impact speak for themselves: 

Apple Journal on the iPhone Air: 10%

Apple Journal on the 17 Pro Max: 5.8%

Day One on the iPhone Air: 5.5%

Day One on the 17 Pro Max: 4.6%

On iPhone…

There seem to be fewer bugs when creating or editing entries. Editing works fine, too.

However, Journal’s battery drain is terrible ! I used the app for 44 minutes, and it drained 23% of the battery ! That’s huge !! Plus, the iPhone Air gets hot quickly and even scorching at times…

Since beta 1, I’ve sent numerous feedback messages to report the issue. So far, to no avail...

Finally, I’m a French speaker, and the app’s system language has switched to English 🤔

Having previously owned an iPhone 13 Pro (which I kept for four years and really loved), I bought an iPhone Air in mid-November 2025. What a change! I loved it straight away…

However, I started to get annoyed by the limited battery life on the odd city break, and by feeling restricted when taking photos at concerts, and so on.

In short, at the end of April, I switched to a 17 Pro Max. Great battery life (though not quite as good as I’d hoped) and an ultra-convenient, multi-purpose camera. Of course, the phone is heavy and bulky…

And as for the photos… it’s a strange feeling.

I’ve just been looking through the photos I’ve taken over the past year and… the ones I’m happiest with, with two or three exceptions, were all taken with the iPhone Air.

No frills – I often just photographed what I saw, no more, no less, moving closer to my subject when possible. If not, never mind. It’s hard to put into words, but beyond the phone being easier to handle, the photos seem more natural to me.

Has anyone else felt this way ?

The icing on the cake: I’m on the verge of getting another Air 🙃 Even though I’m on the eve of a holiday where hiking and visiting exhibitions are on the agenda. If I do give in, I’ll get a MagSafe battery to go with it (just in case…)

Am I being reckless ?

After using Day One for 13 years, I’ve been using only Apple Journal since last April. Day One’s AI and pricing policy have something to do with it !

Although Journal still has its flaws and shortcomings, I really appreciate its integration into the Apple ecosystem and its design. 

But I’m wondering: between the two, which one is more sustainable, better at protecting my data, and easier to export ? 

There’s been an improvement in Apple News battery consumption on iOS 27 beta 2.

The phone (17 pro max) heats up much less; after half an hour of use, it’s barely noticeable.

As for battery consumption, it’s better:

- Before, one minute used up 1% 😳

- Now, three minutes use up 1%.

That’s three times less. It’s not great, but it’s better... 

That’s crazy!

A quick test: I used Apple Journal and Diarly for 12 minutes straight on my iPhone 17 Pro Max while performing the same tasks: writing the same text, saving it, editing the same photos, navigating the app, etc.

Apple Journal used up... 13% of the battery!!!

And Diarly… 2%!

No comment...

Isn't that the solution ? Creating a Shortcut that displays entries from this day throughout the years ?

I tried using natural language, but it doesn't work…

If anyone has any ideas about what instructions to enter in the Shortcuts app, I'd love to hear them 😃

iOS/iPadOS/macOS 27 introduced the following features to Apple Journal :

- Sync status for journal entries

- Increased attachment limits (54) in the journal

- Timestamps for journal entries

- More intuitive journaling sequences

That’s nice, really. But it’s a bit underwhelming…

No sign of “On This Day”! Worse, the most annoying bugs don’t seem to have been fixed… It’s still a hassle to place photos where you want them in an entry. Handwriting remains a disastrous experience: slowness, entire paragraphs disappearing… On Mac, it’s still not possible to jump directly to a specific date 🙄

This “amateurishness” is incomprehensible coming from a company like Apple 😣

I really like the “industrial,” “raw” look of the iPhone 17 Pro (Max). Is it so fragile that a protective case is necessary ?

Thanks for sharing your experiences…

I use Apple Journal regularly (several times a day) on my iPhone 17 Pro Max. And despite the cooling system, the app makes my phone get really hot!!

Has anyone else noticed this ?

Is there any word on whether Apple is addressing this issue ?

Am I the only one experiencing this ? As soon as I use the Apple Journal app, the back of my iPhone Air heats up immediately and gets hotter and hotter the longer I use it. Obviously, this also takes a toll on the battery life !

It’s a nuisance, as it’s one of the apps I use most…

It would be great if Apple could fix and optimise this...