As a pixel fan, this is why I will not use the Pixel Journal app

Two years after Apple launch its newspaper application on the iPhone, Pixel Journal made its debut on the Pixel 10 series to give Pixel owners their own ready -to -use journalization application – and it looks good! Pixel Journal works entirely on devices, uses AI to help you think of journalization prompts, follows your progress, etc.

For some people, Pixel Journal could be the perfect application. But as much as I like everything related to Pixel, I will stay away from Pixel Journal and I use another journalization application instead.

Looking at what Google shared on Pixel Journal, one of the things that first struck me is how basic the application seems. The user interface and aesthetics seem as clean and elegant as you expect from Google, but the actual functionalities seem to be lacking.

We know that Pixel Journal will allow you to fill the entries with text, photos and extracts from your exercise / physical activity throughout the day. You can lock your newspaper to continue to keep your eyes away, see a count of various journalization statistics (such as your total entrances and the longest number of words), and see a month’s view of your newspaper entries with emojis indicating your general mood for this day / entry.

And … that’s about it. As a frequent journalist myself, I can’t help but notice how much it is missing. Where is the option of having several journals? Is there no way to visualize newspaper entries with a gallery or a card view? What types of text formatting controls exist, if applicable? Are there models to help me organize my thoughts?

A greater problem is the availability of Pixel Journal. The application first launches on the Google Pixel 10 series and, probably, will arrive at older pixels at a later date. But for the moment, Google has said nothing about the contribution of Pixel Journal to other Android phones, Android tablets or Desktops.

It is this material exclusivity that is one of my largest deterrents for Pixel Journal. I like journalization applications because of the flexibility they can offer – the possibility of journalist on any phone, tablet or computer / laptop that I use. If I note a short entrance, I am sure that the Pixel 10 would be enough. However, if I have a plot To write, I want to sit with my laptop, equipped with an appropriate keyboard and a Large display. I will not get this option with Pixel Journal, and it is a speech alone.

Then there is the AI ​​elephant in the room.

Google was frank on Pixel Journal using the Gemini Nano models of Pixel 10 to create newspaper prompts generated by AI-AI. Not only will that, Gemini be able to analyze your past entries and suggest new things to write according to them.

It may be just me, but the idea of ​​an AI reading my newspaper and telling me what I should write feels … badly. I have no doubt that it can stimulate new ideas for journalization, but it’s a step too far that I am not ready to take.

Another great concern that I have about Pixel Journal may not be fully justified, but it is something that I cannot shake – and it is the longevity of Pixel Journal.

Most times, we have seen Google throw and kill products on a whim. Whether it is Stadia, Google Podcasts, Pixel Pass or dozens of other projects that have come over the years, Google has a long and a history of killing the things it launches.

Although there is no indication that this will happen to Pixel Journal, it is difficult for me to trust the writing of my deepest and personal thoughts in an application created by a company with the history of Google. The idea of ​​building months or years of newspaper execution, just so that Google firm one day Pixel Journal, is not something I want to put myself.

Now, could you make this same argument for a Google product? Of course. However, that does not prevent me from using the Pixel, Google Keep weather, Google tasks or so many other Google applications. But for something as personal and sacred as a newspaper, I need the assurance that it will be long term – and I don’t have that from Google.

If I will not use Pixel Journal, which newspaper application will I use instead? The one I have been using for six years: the first day.

I started using the first day in 2019 as part of a New Year resolution to keep a regular newspaper after having done it since my childhood. I did not know how I heard myself, but I was (especially) coherent, and it is transformed into something quite special. I now have a little capsule time that collines my life in recent years, and each time I have spent it, I am happy that Joe has made this resolution one day in December 2018.

Although you can start using Pixel Journal on the Pixel 10 and live a similar experience, there is so much that the day offers that Pixel Journal does not. These are small things like a card view of my newspaper entries and my lots of formatting tools, but these are also large features like being able to use the first day on almost any phone, tablet or computer that I want.

And, even more critical, there is the confidence I have on the first day. Journal Journal has existed since 2011. It has been 14 years of operation without any sign of exceeding, and it is important for me. In addition to the expected export tools, the first day even allows you to order physical impressions of your newspapers, guaranteeing that you can record and save your writing as you wish.

I am certainly interested in seeing how Pixel Journal evolves in the coming weeks and months, and maybe one day he will reach the point where I want to try. But at the moment, I will look at the touchline and journalization elsewhere.