Day One’s cross-device functionality

Day One’s cross-device functionality/syncing has been a big selling point for me — I paid for the premium version for precisely that reason. When Apple announced Journal at WWDC, I was excited to check it out. After all, Apple is the ecosystem company. Surely the company would prioritize the creation of an app that works on macOS and iPadOS, along with iOS.

 

I’m not saying “never.” In fact, I’m not even saying “definitely not next year.” But as I write this, the company has expressed no plan to offer the app on other first-party platforms, in spite of all the work it has done in recent years to remove the friction that comes with porting an iOS app to macOS. At the moment, Apple’s stance is that iOS is the best possible way to experience the app.

 

In the meantime, the closet it comes to cross-device syncing is its support of iCloud backups.

 

I believe that’s very much rooted in the way that content is centered. Journal is very much being positioned as a multi-media app. The concept is to go beyond the standard text journal by fully harnessing the power of digital. There’s little question that the iPhone is a more flexible content capture device than the Mac. That means photos, videos and voice recordings. It’s also a device tied to (opt-in) location-based services, which plays a factor here.

 

As you’ve likely gathered from my 7.5 years at TechCrunch, I’m a writer. And unlike a lot of people who have been doing what I do for a long time, I still love it. After I punch the clock for the day or weekend, I keep doing it. For some reason, I was initially hesitant about journaling. I don’t know. Too much earnestness feels corny to me. I also came up as a blogger, so the instant gratification of writing for an audience is now woven into my DNA.Once I forced myself to do it, however, of course I liked it. It’s unencumbered writing. And it’s writing entirely about oneself in a way I never had before. As a writer, it’s probably obvious that writing is the best way for me to process my experiences. It was a handy tool during the pandemic and a great resource for someone with an admittedly terrible memory