Buff Timer vs AlarmK

Key Features • Flexible Countdown • Set hours, minutes, and seconds with precision • Large, easy-to-read display—even from across the room • Built-in & Custom Sounds • Three high-quality siren sounds included • Record audio directly in the app and name your files • Delete recordings you no longer need • Versatile Repeat Modes • Single play or infinite loop • Specify a fixed number of repeats (perfect for interval training or Pomodoro) • Background Support • Continues working when the app is in the background or the screen is off • Instantly stops the alarm on command • Intuitive Interface • Clean Material 3 design • Large buttons and clear labels for effortless use • Lightweight & Power-Efficient • Native background audio mode minimizes battery drain

The morning before an exam, the first day at a new job, a 6 AM flight. Some mornings you simply can't sleep through. AlarmK is a mission-based wake-up alarm built on iOS 26 AlarmKit. Because it uses system-level alarms, it rings through Silent and Focus modes. To dismiss it, you complete a mission: scan a QR code by your bathroom door, solve a math problem, or shake the phone. With the QR code or objects away from bed, you must get up. ▶ Why AlarmK - AlarmKit-based system alarms: same permission model as Apple's Clock app, rings through Silent and Focus - Mission wake-up: QR/barcode, math, memory, typing, number order, shake, squats, walk, object hunt. 9 missions (chain up to 5, with a practice mode) - Object hunt: register things around your home, such as the washing machine or kitchen sink, then photograph the ones picked at random when the alarm rings. Checked on your iPhone, never saved - Deny the system alarm permission and AlarmK won't save an alarm it can't ring. It says why and takes you to Settings - Wake Report: 7-day wake patterns, mission success rate, streaks ▶ Critical Mode for the mornings that matter An eight-item night-before checklist: AlarmKit permission, iPhone charging, Silent mode, Focus mode, a saved QR/barcode for this alarm, Apple Watch pairing, a Clock-app backup alarm, and notification permission. iOS gives apps no way to read the ringer switch, and AlarmK doesn't read your Focus status, so those two rows tell you how tomorrow's alarm will be delivered instead. The Clock backup is yours to make. AlarmK never creates one; tick that row once you have. The reliability score counts only rows that settled on a clear pass or fail. Anything not ready says so on the spot. ▶ Live Activity & Dynamic Island As the alarm gets close, a countdown appears on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. When a mission alarm fires, tap the secondary button to jump straight into it. The same countdown appears in the Apple Watch Smart Stack. ▶ Widgets · Siri · Shift work - Home and Lock Screen widgets show your next alarm and countdown - Siri & Shortcuts: set alarms, check the next one, start a nap timer, skip an occurrence, all without opening the app - Shift rotations (N days on / M days off), optional Korean public-holiday skip, and a fixed-instant option for dated alarms - An optional bedtime reminder and the wake check guard both ends of the night ▶ iCloud sync Your alarm definitions sync via your own iCloud (private database). Switch iPhones and your alarms come with you. Your alarm data is never sent to our servers, and we can't see it. ▶ Honest about the limits - A phone that's powered off, has 0% battery, or has alarm permissions denied, no alarm app can wake you. AlarmK focuses on flagging those risks before they bite. - If the system alarm permission is denied, AlarmK refuses to save or switch on a new alarm rather than let it fail quietly at 6 AM. Alarms saved before the permission was turned off keep trying as notifications. With the ringer switch on Silent they may make no sound, and a Lock Screen card tells you where you stand. ▶ Privacy - Camera and motion permissions are used only during missions and object setup - QR scans are verified on-device, never transmitted - No third-party analytics: no Google Analytics, no Facebook SDK - QR secrets sync end-to-end encrypted in your iCloud Keychain (device-only if you turn iCloud Keychain off) ▶ FAQ Q. What happens if I turn off iCloud? A. iOS removes the synced alarms from this iPhone, and AlarmK cancels their system alarms. Signing back in to the same account restores alarms that had already synced. Q. My alarm didn't fire. A. First check that the system alarm permission, notification permission, and notification sound are all on. Opening the Critical Mode checklist reviews those plus battery and charging, Silent mode and Focus, and points at whatever isn't ready. --- Privacy Policy: https://alarmk.com/privacy Support: https://alarmk.com/help