# Focused Work - Pomodoro Timer — user reviews > 161 indexed App Store user reviews of Focused Work by Michael Tigas, rated 4.70/5 from 602 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focused-work-pomodoro-timer/id1523968394/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focused-work-pomodoro-timer/id1523968394.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 513 · 4★ 48 · 3★ 21 · 2★ 7 · 1★ 13 ## What do users think of Focused Work? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 GAME CHANGER - 👍 Good app - 👍 Good Product - 🚀 Phenomenal - 👍 Great productivity app! - 👍 Best Pomodoro Timer I have Used - 👍 I *really* like this - 👍 Really good - 👍 Better than other time trackers I've tried, intuitive, adaptable and does more than pomondero style - 👍 Loving it! 😍 - 👍 Great for ADHD workers - 👍 Incredible App that feels tailor fit for Me! - 👍 Keeps me focused - 👍 Helps me stay more focused - 👍 Awesome for blocking distractions! - 👍 Game changer! - 👍 Increased Productivity - 👍 In a sea of timer apps, Focused Work stands apart - 👍 Great for ADHD - 👍 Just what I was looking for! - 👍 Brilliant! - 👍 Great app and kind developer - 👍 Essential app - 👍 Helping me stay on track - 👍 I've tried so many focus timers, THIS is my favourite one! - 👍 BEST APP TO STAY FOCUSED!! - 👍 i love this app so much!! - 👍 Ingenious 🙏 - 👍 Solid App - 👍 Great for keeping me accountable and productive - 👍 Keep open on desk to keep focused! - 👍 Loving it! 😍 - 👍 Just What I've Been Looking For - 👍 Wonderful productivity app - 👍 Absolutely amazing - 👍 Love the focus sessions feature **Cons** - 🔒 Shouldn't be a subscription - 🐛 Reminders are annoying - 🔒 Stop nagging people for reviews - 🔒 App for iwatch is still missing in 2025. - 🔒 Could be an amazing timer - 🐛 Stuck on a session: Gap time - 🔒 love this app but sadly the widget timers don't work - 🔒 Preferences! - 🐛 Desktop doesn't sync with phone **Commonly reported bugs** - Login screen freezes - Incompatible with older devices - Stuck on a session: Gap time - Desktop doesn't sync with phone **Most requested features** - Need iwatch app - Calendar integration? - Dark mode option - Advanced analytics dashboard ## Newest reviews (19 of 161) ### 4/5 — Great *2026-07-14, version 5.2* This is a really great app. The only critique I have is that it doesn’t give us more options for chimes and sounds. I’m so used to hearing the same chime noises that my brain pretty much ignores them sometimes. ### 4/5 — Bueno pero costoso *2026-06-19, version 5.1.5* La única razón por la que no le coloco las 5 estrellas es porque me parece que su precio no es el adecuado, incluso es lo que hace que quiera buscar otra app similar más económica ### 4/5 — Almost perfect — one frustrating bug *2026-03-16* Focused Work is the best timer on the market — and I mean that. I would give it five stars instead of four, but it crashes on me whenever I close the settings. I can open the settings with no problems, but the moment I close them, the app crashes. It's a consistent and frustrating issue. Otherwise, this is the best timer out on the market, and I hope the developer fixes this bug soon. **Developer response:** Wow thank you so much for leaving this incredibly kind review Gary! 🙏 That is absolutely fantastic to hear you're loving Focused Work this much, and no worries - was more than happy to help work through issues that popped up. Appreciate it so much. Hope Focused Work continues to help with focus for many moons ahead! 🔥 ### 4/5 — Good *2025-07-29* Good ### 3/5 — Shouldn’t be a subscription *2025-05-28, version 5.1.2* There’s no syncing between Mac and iOS timers live so not sure why this is subscription based and not just a one time fee. I won’t be renewing. ### 4/5 — Reminders are annoying *2025-05-26* Great app and really helpful for keeping on task. However the little reminders that pop up halfway through each focus session are really distracting and actually break focus ### 5/5 — Best Pomodoro Timer I have Used *2025-04-22, version 5.1.2* The developer has made this timer very flexible and they are always making upgrades. They have been super responsive and open to feedback as well. I would highly recommend Focused Work! ### 5/5 — I *really* like this *2025-02-27* Having been diagnosed with ADHD late (I’m 59 today 😊) I’m constantly on the look out for anything that helps me stay focused and this app, after just a couple of days is doing it really well. It’s easy to use and offers as much or as little as you want. Thank you! ### 5/5 — Really good *2025-02-16* This app does exactly what you need it to, the free version works really well, you can choose to upgrade but it is not necessary, an overall really good app for increasing productivity ### 5/5 — Best in the market *2025-01-29* Best pomodoro app where u can easily customize your sessions ### 5/5 — Essential missing feature *2025-01-21* Just bought the yearly plan just to find out there isn’t an add session feature. So if I ever forget to record a session for when I am working my whole days productivity timing will be messed up. Such a basic feature is missing. ### 5/5 — Amazing tracker *2025-01-20* This is one of the only trackers that can actually be used without buying the paid subscription but I still recommend you buy it because of multiple great features like app blocking, toggl track compatibility ### 2/5 — App for iwatch is still missing in 2025. *2025-01-02, version 5.1* Wouldn't it have the best experience when used on the iWatch? ### 5/5 — Better than other time trackers I’ve tried, intuitive, adaptable and does more than pomondero style *2024-12-25* Great to use-I don’t have adhd but the setting for it makes you set out a goal before you start and the timing and motivational reminders work great. The UI for timing is simple and intuitive and adaptable to more than a pomodoro which doesn’t work for me I prefer to leave it running and get into a state of flow. You can customise it to what you need. Some feedback for the developer: 1. A glitch where the time I’ve worked is recorded completely wrong until I tap on the record for more info. 2. Make graphs and charts to compare the time you’ve spent on things to the past with a record etc. this is already in here but could be better laid out. 3. The general UI of menus could look nicer. Other than these points I love it. I’ve tried toggle, boosted and various other time trackers but this one just ‘feels’ right. ### 3/5 — A review to get the app to stop asking for a review *2024-12-21, version 5.1.2* Im writing this review to try to get the app to stop bugging me to write a review, and because this app is a little intrusive with messages and notifications I can’t give it 5 stars. But other than that it’s a 5 star app. You can use premade pomodoro style timers or make your own custom ones. It’s helping me greatly to concentrate ### 5/5 — Loving it! 😍 *2024-12-05, version 5.1.2* So useful! Having set time sessions for work and break are easy to use and follow along :) ### 5/5 — Great for ADHD workers *2024-12-04* Pomodoro works for me. ### 5/5 — Transform Your Productivity with Focused Work *2024-11-04* I recently started using the Focused Work app, and it has completely transformed my productivity routine. As someone who struggles with staying on task, the Pomodoro technique incorporated in this app is a game-changer. The clean and intuitive design makes it incredibly easy to set up my work intervals and breaks, allowing me to maintain a clear focus on my tasks. One of the standout features is the ability to prioritize tasks for each Pomodoro session. This has helped me manage my workload more effectively, ensuring that I tackle the most important tasks first. The app also tracks my productivity over time, which provides valuable insights into my work habits and areas for improvement. Overall, Focused Work is a powerful tool for anyone looking to enhance their productivity. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to make the most of their working hours! ### 3/5 — Could be an amazing timer *2024-11-03, version 5.1.2* This app checks several of the boxes I’m looking for in a pomodoro system. Though, I can’t bring myself to use this app or pay for the subscription as it’s incredibly ugly. It needs a substantial UI upgrade. Very off-putting colors, constrained menus, odd layouts, etc. The entire experience needs to be more minimal while maintaining functionality. What’s worse, is there isn’t a single setting to alter any part of the app’s appearance, which is a very odd decision on the developers part. For instance, the green and orange glowing icons on the session structure screen. Yikes. That along with the ugly, bold purple core app color is just terrible. I also don’t understand why integrations is mentioned on this screen, it’s already in settings. There’s also a glitchy Siri thing at the bottom that is spazzing out. It’s unfortunate because having a session view screen like this that breaks down and labels each section of the pomodoro system isn’t available in other apps that I’m aware of. And it’s a bit ruined by the ugliness of it all. Also the tiny icons above the pomodoro timer wrapped in a bold red line. Why?? This is so weird. The entire top of the app is so cluttered and strange. And the bold red, uneditable color of the timer is not cool. And again, why is integrations on a tiny system menu icon that’s just cluttering up the limited space available? Integrations should be in settings and left alone. Makes absolutely no sense to keep pushing integrations. If someone wanted to use the functionality, they will… in settings. You also can’t remove the dumb tomato icon in front of pomodoro. Some of your users are over 12 and don’t want to use emojis. Weird thing to hardcode. Under appearance settings, where you’re weirdly only able to edit the font thickness (seriously), it even shows a purple timer color and yet the only available color on the actual main screen is VERY red. We also don’t need the “ready to focus?” text. Yes, we’re ready to focus, that’s why we downloaded a focus app. This isn’t to say that other pomodoro apps are much better, though some apps with limited functionality have a much better UI. This app has a lot going for it, but as a person who shys away from ugly apps, I just can’t bring myself to use it. But I do see a lot of potential here, so I’ll check back to see if UI improvements are made. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Stop nagging people for reviews *2025-02-10, version 5.1* If I want to leave a review, I will. Your app has nagged enough that I’ll leave this one. Stop nagging me while I’m working for a review. ### 1/5 — Kept nagging me to “rate & review”. *2024-02-15, version 5.0.24* Maybe it will stop now. ### 1/5 — Used to be great *2023-06-08* I'm tired of app updates that mess with my work flow. Today, it took me 5-10 minutes to get past the "new user" setup and "tutorials" and "what's new" before I could actually WORK. I've been using the app for over a year!!!! At the peak of my frustration with the endless interuptions preventing access to my preconfigured timers was this pop up box asking for a review. So, here you go. For a "focus" app, it's sometimes an amazing achievement in engineered distraction instead of tool to help me maximize my productivity and workflow. ### 1/5 — I had high hopes *2023-05-03, version 4.2.6* I’ve been looking for a pomodoro timer with greater flexibility than my current one. Unfortunately, this app has the same limitations. This app is clunky and counter-intuitive for me. I wish I could report otherwise. :-( ### 1/5 — App doesn’t run in the background after the new update *2023-05-01* The app just gets killed **Developer response:** Appreciate the review Richard! 🙏 Be sure to check out Focused Work 5 which just released, it's a complete rebuild of the app and I have noticed the app sits in the background for days on my iPhone. Enjoy 👍 ### 1/5 — love this app but sadly the widget timers don’t work *2023-02-27* Almost everything about this app is perfect, except for one glaring issue: the widgets that are supposed to continuously update the time left in the session simply don’t work and have never worked, at least for me. Serious bummer, as I have to have to run the app full-screen on a separate device out to get real value out of it. If this (critical) piece worked, the app would be excellent! Great shortcuts/focus support, generally uses the platform to the fullest, and its thoughtful design makes it far and away the obvious choice for this kind of app. I’ve built out whole workflows around the app assuming this would eventually be fixed, but they ultimately go unused because the whole “having a working session timer always visible” thing is sort of the whole point of the app for me and has never been fixed (in my usage). :/ Given how serious this bug is, I’m going to one-star the app for now, hoping it finally gets fixed and I can get some value out of my subscription and the time investment I’ve made. ### 1/5 — Preferences! *2023-02-24, version 4.1.7* I really wanted to like this app but the pop-ups that interrupt me are super-frustrating. It's also really irritating that I cannot change preferences during a session. I've been trying to figure out how to end a session so I turn the durned notifications off for about 10 minutes. I give up. I'm just going to delete the app and keep looking for a better solution. ### 1/5 — love this app but sadly the widget timers don’t work *2023-02-22, version 4.1.7* Almost everything about this app is perfect, except for one glaring issue: at least for me, the widgets that are supposed to continuously update the time left in the session simply don’t work and have never worked, at least for me. Serious bummer, as I have to have to run the app full-screen on a separate device out to get real value out of the app. If this (critical) piece worked, the app would be excellent! Great shortcuts/focus support, generally uses the platform to the fullest, and its thoughtful design makes it far and away the obvious choice for this app. I’ve built out whole workflows around this stuff, but they ultimately go unused because, the whole “having a working session timer always visible” thing is sort of the whole point of the app for me and has never been fixed (in my usage), so I’m going to one-star it, hoping it finally gets fixed and I can get some value out of my subscription and the time investment I’ve made in the app. ### 1/5 — Desktop doesn’t sync with phone *2023-01-23* …or my Pro subscription, for that matter. Plus, the UI is a little TOO clean. You need to dig through tiny context-less menu icons and scroll all the way down to find the site/app blocker. **Developer response:** Hi there, appreciate the review! To activate FW Pro on other the devices, scroll down to the bottom of the Upgrade to Pro screen and tap the "Already purchased?" button, and it should be activated shortly after.  Also, all created sessions and productivity data should sync between each device - providing they're using the same iCloud account.  Great feedback too r.e. the UI, but I am curious whether this is regarding the iOS app or the Mac app. I'm always open to new ideas and trying to strike that balance between a clean but functional UI. Feel free to swing an email to focusedworkapp@michaeltigas.com.au Thanks! ### 1/5 — Not blocking sites *2022-03-25, version 1.11.6* The entire reason I paid for this app was to block time wasting websites like Facebook and Reddit but it’s not blocking anything. I turned on the extension in Safari. I’d like my money back. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Could you support apple watch? *2026-05-11* I want to keep me focused with apple watch. ### 5/5 — Awesome *2026-05-07, version 5.1.5* Helps for locking in! ### 5/5 — Wonderful *2026-03-19* Essential for an organised person ### 5/5 — Amazing app *2026-02-24* Love it ### 5/5 — Sehr gut… *2025-12-28* vor allem, wenn man wirklich schnell abgelenkt wird und gute Hinweise benötigt, um weiter zu kommen. ### 5/5 — GAME CHANGER *2025-10-01, version 5.1.5* I cannot for the life of me focus for a prolonged period of time at work, unless I am using this app… it’s genuinely the only thing that helps me zone in and run through my to do list. It’s simple to use, I love the positive little reminders during the focus times, and genuinely I walk away every time doing more work in the Pomodoro session than I have collectively all week. ### 5/5 — Good app *2025-09-22, version 5.1.5* Nice value ### 5/5 — Good Product *2025-08-28, version 5.1.5* The time management interface I did not know I needed. ### 5/5 — Phenomenal *2025-06-26, version 5.1.4* Focused Work is easily one of the best apps available, and one of only a handful of indispensable apps. Highly recommended. ### 5/5 — Great productivity app! *2025-06-08* I tested out about 10 productivity apps with pomodoro timers. I found Focused Work to be the best to meet my needs. It’s flexible enough to create all different kinds of timers and can also be customized with Apple shortcuts and custom timers. So great basic timers and can be customized. The interface isn’t quite as slick as some of the competitors in this space, but I always prefer function vs. glitz. Definitely give this app a try! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-23.*