# Sōon — Ambient sounds & timed pauses

> Ambient sounds & timed pauses (iPhone/iPad app by Yoji Hirabayashi.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soon/id6758863805 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Yoji Hirabayashi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1875364025)
- Category: Lifestyle, Utilities
- Price: $3.99
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 26.1 · 28 MB
- Languages: American English, Arabic, Finnish, French (France), German (Germany), Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish and 2 more
- Released: 2026-02-10
- Data updated: 2026-10-12

## What is Sōon?

A small headphones app for when the world is a bit much — and when you need a quiet break.

Sōon plays nine ambient and colored noises. Pick three favorites, put them in order, set a timer if you like, and listen. No accounts, no subscriptions, no endless catalog — just the sounds you actually use.

When you're ready to step away for a minute or two, Pause gives you three fixed patterns from the home screen — one to five minutes, with visual timing and gentle phase cues. If your sounds are playing, they pause while the session runs and pick back up when you're done. You can use Pauses on your own too, with no audio at all.

Apple Watch keeps your favorites in sync and plays from your wrist, even without your iPhone nearby. Headphones required throughout.

Also: widget, quick actions (long-press the app icon), Lock Screen and Dynamic Island controls, AirPlay, Siri and Shortcuts, dynamic app icon, and full accessibility support — VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion.

We don't track how you use the app or who you are. Optionally save completed Pauses to Apple Health — off by default, entirely up to you. Listening History syncs with iCloud if you want it to — off by default. Export your full history as a JSON file from Data & Privacy any time.

Features

• Clean, minimal sheet UI — one tap to start listening; Reduce Motion supported (system setting and in-app switch)
• No account. No subscription.
• Nine curated ambient tracks — Purring and Heartbeat with synced haptics on iPhone; Heartbeat tempo 45–100 BPM
• Pauses — paced-breathing sessions with fixed patterns; sōon provides the pace, not guidance; audio pauses and resumes; optional Apple Health log
• Timer — stops playback automatically, with an optional notification
• Apple Watch — favorites sync; play from the wrist without iPhone; Now Playing on the watch face; pure playback by design
• Lock Screen and Dynamic Island controls, AirPlay, Light and Dark Mode with dynamic app icon; language follows iOS Settings
• Listening History — on-device; optional iCloud sync (off by default); export as JSON from Data & Privacy
• Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, quick actions, Siri and Shortcuts
• Accessibility — VoiceOver, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion; statement at https://kanso.fi/soon/accessibility.html

## Is Sōon safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess Sōon.

## Is Sōon legit?

Sōon appears legitimate, with a few gaps. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Sōon is 65 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 3.1 — 2026-09-10

3.0 reshaped how sōon looks and moves. 3.1 is the companion pass — reliability, feel, and a few surfaces that needed to finish cleanly.

Heartbeat and Purring can use synced haptics on iPhone while sōon is open and playing (the display stays awake so they can continue). One control in Favorites covers both. Apple Watch stays pure playback — no track haptics on the wrist.

Pauses settle for a short beat before the first phase counts. When another app takes audio, sōon yields and stays paused until you tap play. Cold install seeds Favorites as Purring, Heartbeat, then Heavy Rain. Small chrome and timer fixes throughout.

### 3.0 — 2026-08-07

Until now, every update added something. This one is different.

3.0 is the first version built without a feature list to chase. Every surface that felt unfinished got finished. Every detail that felt off got fixed. The result is an app that looks and moves the way it always should have.

The playback background is no longer a shape — soft, formless light now. The Favorites sheet is rebuilt from the ground up. When a Pause session ends, the comet trail settles into a quiet hanabi as the session closes.

Everything else — toolbar, timer, Listening History, small interactions throughout — is steadier and cleaner than before.

Same app. Finally itself.

### 2.1.0 — 2026-07-30

• Catalog: Heartbeat joins the nine ambient tracks (Coffee Shop steps aside), with a BPM you can adjust while it plays.

• Listening History can sync with your private iCloud — off by default. We never see it.

• Lock Screen: circular widgets to play your first favorite or open Pauses — plus clearer artwork on Home Screen and Now Playing.

• Polish for Pause, accessibility, and everyday listening.

### 2.0.0 — 2026-07-14

• New: Take a Pause. Tap the toolbar button, choose a paced-breathing pattern — Even · 5–5 (1 min), Triangle · 5–5–5 (2 min), or Square · 4–4–4–4 (5 min) — then tap Start.

• Optionally save completed Pauses to Apple Health (Mindfulness). Off by default.

• About these patterns — reference copy and citations from the Pause sheet.

• Home Screen quick actions — long-press the app icon for Pauses and Play.

• Pause sheet — swipe between patterns; the picker stays in sync.

• Updated toolbar and reorganised settings.

• Fixes and improvements to the timer, Pause layout stability, and accessibility. Landscape favorites toolbar remains open.

### 1.3 — 2026-05-27

• Listening History – Listening History is now easier to find and explore, with clearer structure and dedicated sub-pages for your usage details. We’ll continue refining this experience in upcoming updates.
• Expanded language support – the app UI is now localized in 12 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), English, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Thai, and Ukrainian.
• Siri playback support (English only) – You can now start and control playback with Siri, including track-specific requests like “Play heavy rain on soon app” and controls like “Pause in soon app”.
• How to Use Siri page – Added an in-app help page under Listening History with currently supported Siri commands and quick usage tips.
• Watch experience refinements – Improved watch interaction smoothness and playback flow for a more consistent wrist experience.

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## More apps by Yoji Hirabayashi

- [Ilma](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ilma/id6805546485)
- [HELBoard](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helboard/id6810588815)

All apps by Yoji Hirabayashi: https://appshunter.io/developer/1875364025

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*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 2026-10-12.*