# Rise & Shine > Natural wake-up alarm with simulated sunrise, custom photos, and sounds. (iPhone/iPad app by Peter Matthews.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rise-and-shine/id404733910 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Peter Matthews](https://appshunter.io/developer/404733913) - Category: Utilities, Health & Fitness - Price: $1.99 - Rating: 3.30/5 from 15 App Store ratings · 35 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 14.0 · 18 MB - Languages: American English, Arabic, Armenian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French (France), German (Germany) and 23 more - Released: 2010-11-26 - Data updated: 2026-06-10 - Monetization: paid - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rise-and-shine/id404733910/reviews.md ## What is Rise & Shine? Rise & Shine allows your iPhone wake you up in a more natural manner. Maybe you are affected by SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and want the benefits of waking up to a slowly fading light source. Or maybe you don’t like waking up with a jolt to the sound of your alarm every morning! Rise & Shine also has all the usual functions of a normal alarm clock and more: Light Fade up light slowly to wake you in a more natural manner – can be set to fade up to 60 minutes before alarm Flash light rapidly to wake you without the need for a loud alarm Photo Choose from your photo library and wake up to the image of a loved one! Sound Choose from 20+ built in sounds or create a playlist from your iPod music to wake up to. Clock Features a large LCD clock display with details of the next alarm - just touch the screen to see what it happening now and what will happen next. Choose from nine different clock colors Portrait and Landscape modes. Alarm Ambient, Standard, Music and Seasonal Option to fade up sound over 60 mins Torch mode – just shake the device and it becomes a torch Vibrate mode Snooze – 5 minute snooze mode can be enabled This application MUST run in the foreground. It is recommended you keep your device plugged in due to the time the application will be running. ## Key features - Simulated sunrise light alarm - Customizable photo wake-up - Extensive sound library - iPod music integration - Large LCD clock display - Torch mode via shake gesture ## Recent user reviews (10 of 35) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rise-and-shine/id404733910/reviews.md ### 2/5 — I don’t understand how it works. *2025-05-04* Too many settings and weird terminology. All I want is to have my phone increase in brightness at a certain time, over 5 minutes. No sounds. I can’t figure out how to do this. It always makes some sound, doesn’t have a “fade up” for the brightness (only a fade down). All I want is the phone to gradually get brighter at a certain time. That’s it. Can’t do it. Oh well, only $2. I will buy an actual Dawn simulator clock. ### 1/5 — It’s an alarm clock failure. *2023-07-01, version 5.2* I woke up 6 hours after I was supposed to wake up. After I woke up, I tested it by setting it to go off 30 later. It failed again. ### 3/5 — Won’t work *2022-07-18, version 5.2* Hi The alarm will only sound when I have the screen open on the actually ap Once I lock my phone it won’t sound ! What am I doing wrong. ### 4/5 — Good - missing critical element *2022-05-25, version 5.2* Great app experience, however it doesn’t seem to be able to set up recurrence - repeat on certain days of the week. ### 1/5 — Clock feature not visible *2021-01-03, version 5.1* Clock feature cannot be seen ### 3/5 — Don’t do it *2020-11-03, version 4.4* How does this work? Not user friendly - have tried multiple times to “fade up” and the light and alarm haven’t worked once. Save your $3.00! ### 2/5 — I wanted to love this, but... *2018-04-13* There are too many things that need fixing and I would think that the developer would want a better product. When you wake up during the midnight hour the clock do any read 12:30 (or whatever the minutes are). It just reads :30. The fade up when the alarm goes off doesn't actually fade up. It wakes you up very loudly. It's not all relaxing like it is supposed to be. I do find the light very effective though. ### 1/5 — Refund *2017-01-16* How do i get a refund? ### 5/5 — Great little dawn simulator *2016-11-19* Took me a little bit to figure out how to use thing but I really like it. I had been looking at $100 dawn simulator alarm clocks on Amazon so went to see if they had some apps to check out. Found this one and gave it a while. The only trick was finding out that after saving the alarm I set I had to hit the alarm "button" on the bottom right to put it in alarm mode. Like all the options in the $2 version so went ahead and got it. Thanks guys! ### 3/5 — Meh. *2016-01-08* I wanted to like this. I had a dawn simulator once and miss it, but it doesn't really do the trick. Also, landscape mode is upside down for most iPhone cases with a stand built in. I wrote the author, who promptly ignored me. Oh, well. I'll keep looking... ## Frequently asked questions about Rise & Shine ### What does Rise & Shine do? Rise & Shine is an alarm clock application designed to wake you up in a more natural manner. It utilizes features like a slowly fading light, similar to a sunrise, and customizable sounds or images to provide a gentler wake-up experience compared to traditional jarring alarms. ### What are the key features of Rise & Shine? Key features include a light that fades up gradually for up to 60 minutes before your alarm, the option to wake up to a photo from your library, over 20 built-in sounds or custom playlists, a large LCD clock display with upcoming alarm details, and a torch mode activated by shaking the device. ### How much does Rise & Shine cost? Based on the provided information, Rise & Shine is a paid application. It does not have in-app purchases or advertisements, indicating a one-time purchase price for full functionality. ### What are the compatibility requirements for Rise & Shine? The application is designed for iPhone and MUST run in the foreground. It is recommended to keep your device plugged in while the application is running due to its extended operational time. ### What are common use cases for Rise & Shine? Common use cases include waking up gently without a loud noise, benefiting from a simulated sunrise if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder, or simply preferring a more pleasant start to your day with personalized visuals and sounds. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 5.2 — 2021-01-06 Changed scroll wheels to IOS14.0 time input style ### 5.1 — 2021-01-03 Bug fixes ### 5.0 — 2020-11-15 Changes to fix bugs in recent build ### 4.4 — 2019-02-07 Fixed issue with incorrect track playing when fading sound up. ### 4.3 — 2019-02-06 Fixed issues with playlist music not working. ## More apps by Peter Matthews - [Rise & Shine Lite](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rise-and-shine-lite/id406853371) All apps by Peter Matthews: https://appshunter.io/developer/404733913 --- *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 2026-06-10.*