JoyaTimer vs Practice Time! Interval Timer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
JoyaTimer
This app helps you precisely time bell strikes, inspired by a Japanese New Year's tradition. It allows customization of strike intervals and counts, with a special mode to ensure the final strike lands exactly at midnight. Features include sound and vibration alerts, with additional modes for quick starts and timing challenges.
- Customizable strike interval and count
- Joya Mode for precise midnight timing
- Sound and vibration alerts
- Device stays awake while timer runs
- Compass for orientation
- Start Now and Game Mode (Beta)
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JoyaTimer is a specialized yet simple timer app inspired by a Japanese traditional New Year’s Eve event called “Joya no Kane”. At many Buddhist temples across Japan, priests strike the temple bell 108 times on New Year’s Eve. The final strike should sound exactly at 0:00 a.m. on January 1st. This app helps you ring the bell at precise timing with sound and vibration (iPhone only). I originally made this app for New Year’s Eve 2011 and actually used it. It was convenient, so I decided to publish it. Key Features • Set the interval (seconds) between strikes (default: 20 seconds) • Set the number of strikes (default: 108) • “Joya Mode” (default: ON) automatically calculates and displays when you should start the first strike so that the last strike finishes exactly at midnight • Sound alerts at the configured interval, plus vibration support (iPhone only) • If Joya Mode is OFF, you can pause the timer • While Joya Mode is ON, the Start button disappears after starting to prevent accidental taps • The device will not sleep while the timer is running (please watch your battery) • Compass: find north on the timer screen (supported devices only) Tip When you press Start, it counts as the first strike. If you plan to ring 108 times, setting the count to 109 and ignoring the first “strike” can make the operation easier. How-to Video https://youtu.be/CQwCRaXpC9I New Features from Ver. 7 • Start Now (Beta): quick-start support for late-evening use • Game Mode (Beta): timing challenge for accurate bell strikes • End-time setting: choose when the ringing should finish Improvements after Ver. 7 • (7.1) Improved judgement accuracy and score display • (7.1) Enhanced mic threshold tuning and effects • (7.2) Enhanced scoreboard and high-score effects • (7.3) Internal code optimization and maintainability improvements Notes / Important • Please make sure your iOS device clock is accurate • Airplane Mode is recommended (the app is configured not to run in the background) • Test and simulate the timer in advance • If pressing Start exactly at the first strike is difficult, set the count to 109 and begin from the second alert • “Time Correction” was added in Ver. 2.9 because it is hard to adjust iOS clocks at the second scale. If your device is 5 seconds ahead of actual time, set it to “-5”. Since Airplane Mode is recommended, network time sync (e.g., NTP) is not assumed; manual correction works best • If you find any bug, please contact the support page (Facebook page) Sound List (sound number mapping) Sound quality is not good yet; we plan to re-record in the future. 1. Electric sound 2. Big bell (Electric) 3. Big bell in Jyousenji temple (bad sound due to a crack) 4. Bell in Jyousenji (Large Kin) 5. Bell in Jyousenji (Medium Kin) 6. Sawari in Jyousenji
Practice Time! Interval Timer
Create and save custom interval timers with unique names and descriptions. Personalize the look with themes and backgrounds, and set timers to repeat automatically. Share your creations with others and explore presets made by the community.
- Customizable presets
- Name and description for presets
- Themes and background images
- Automatic timer repetition
- Unlimited timer cycles
- Preset sharing
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Practice Time is an interval timer that allows you to create and store highly customizable presets for quick and easy use. Features: - An elegant user interface. - Presets can be given names and descriptions. - The ability to customize a preset's look with themes and background images. - Set timers to automatically repeat after each cycle. - No limit on the number of timers a preset can have. - Share your presets with other users of the app, and use their presets. Practice time was developed to be a general purpose timer - it is ideal for use in activities such as high intensity interval training or productivity techniques. Some examples: - Pomodoro timer - 7-min workout - Tabata workout - Repetitive practice sessions - Cooking recipes
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Practice Time! Interval Timer at 50% against JoyaTimer's 0%. Practice Time! Interval Timer also leads on rating (3.0 vs 2.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). JoyaTimer's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. JoyaTimer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Practice Time! Interval Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.
Practice Time! Interval Timer holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of JoyaTimer's written reviews are positive against 50% of Practice Time! Interval Timer's.
JoyaTimer ships an update every 2 months, Practice Time! Interval Timer every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on August 26, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | JoyaTimer | Practice Time! Interval Timer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.0 (2 ratings) | 3.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daishin Ueyama | Amr Kafina |
Customer experience
JoyaTimer
Practice Time! Interval Timer
In-app purchases
JoyaTimer
- Donate a cup of coffee.$0.99
Practice Time! Interval Timer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is JoyaTimer free?
Is Practice Time! Interval Timer free?
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Which is updated more often, JoyaTimer or Practice Time! Interval Timer?
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