Focus/Rest vs OpenFocus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus/Rest
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Focus/Rest is a premium Pomodoro timer designed to help you stay productive with a stunning, physics-driven interface. SET YOUR RHYTHM Spin the control wheel to dial in your focus and rest durations. The responsive wheel features real inertia — flick it and watch it coast to your perfect time. Switch between Focus and Rest modes with a single tap on the glass lens. STAY IN THE ZONE Once your timer starts, a breathing glass lens pulses gently as time counts down. When the period ends, the next one begins automatically — Focus and Rest cycle endlessly until you decide to stop. No interruptions, no tapping "next." DYNAMIC ISLAND & LIVE ACTIVITY Your timer lives in the Dynamic Island and Lock Screen. The countdown continues seamlessly even when you leave the app, automatically cycling through Focus and Rest periods. Tap controls right from the Dynamic Island — play, pause, stop, or switch modes without opening the app. FEEL THE TRANSITION Custom haptic patterns mark each transition: an energising pulse when Focus begins, a calming wave when Rest starts. Your body learns the rhythm before your eyes even see the screen. CRAFTED DETAILS • Glass morphism lens with real-time parallax driven by device motion • Breathing glow animation that follows your timer • Rotatable control wheel with physics-based inertia • Color-coded modes: purple for Focus, green for Rest • Multiple alert sounds with per-mode customization • Works in portrait and landscape MINIMAL & FOCUSED No accounts. No subscriptions. No ads. No tracking. Just a timer that respects your time as much as you do.
OpenFocus
This minimal timer app starts counting down the moment it's opened, offering a distraction-free way to manage focus and break intervals. It provides customizable durations, multiple visual themes, and optional features like long breaks and daily goals, all without ads or in-app purchases.
- Instant start timer
- Customizable focus/break durations
- Optional long breaks
- 7 color themes
- 4 timer faces
- Lock Screen & Dynamic Island integration
- Reliable alarms
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OpenFocus is a minimal pomodoro timer that starts the moment you open it. Free, forever. No ads. No in-app purchases. No account. No subscription. Setup-free at launch — yet there when you want to tune it. — Features — Starts instantly The focus timer is already counting down by the time the screen appears. No start button. No mode to pick. Custom focus and break durations Default is the classic 25/5. Open the settings sheet (when stopped) to set focus (5–90 min) and break (5–30 min) independently, in 5-minute steps. Long break (optional) Pomodoro Technique–style long break. After every Nth completed focus (configurable, 2–8), the break extends to 3× its normal length. Off by default. 7 color themes Choose from mono, ink, sea, forest, sand, rose, dusk. The chosen theme applies app-wide and also to the Lock Screen Live Activity and Dynamic Island. 4 timer faces Pick how the countdown looks: ring (default hairline), digital (bedside-clock LCD), flip (mechanical split-flap tiles), or analog (single-hand). Digital and flip can rotate to landscape with a tap — handy when you prop the phone up on a desk. Adjust on the fly Settings open mid-session too. Color, face, daily goal, and keep-awake change instantly. Focus and break durations stay locked until you fully stop the timer, so the running countdown never desyncs from what you see. Daily session counter The app counts completed focus sessions per day (auto-resets at midnight). Optionally set a daily goal (1–20) to see progress like "today · 3 / 8" — leave it at 0 and only the count is shown. Keep screen awake (optional) When on, the screen stays on while the timer is in the foreground. Useful for the "place phone on desk and watch the countdown" workflow, without changing your device-wide auto-lock. Auto phase switching When focus ends, break begins. When break ends, focus begins. The cycle continues without you touching the screen. Lock Screen & Dynamic Island Built on iOS Live Activities. Check the remaining time from your Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island without opening the app. Beautifully animated Each theme has its own focus and break colors. Smooth color crossfades on phase change, subtle haptics, Apple-grade SF Symbol morphing — every transition feels native. Reliable alarms Powered by iOS 26 AlarmKit. Notifies you at the end of every focus and break interval, even in the background, even on silent. Privacy first We don't collect anything. Settings and timer state are stored only on your device. No network requests, no analytics, no tracking. — Best for people who — • Want to try the pomodoro technique without setup overhead • Like a single tap to start — but still want to tune their own cadence and look • Are tired of cluttered timer apps • Believe in minimal tools done well — Not for people who — • Need statistics or reports • Want task management built in OpenFocus is built by subtraction, not addition. Minimal at first. Quietly customizable when you ask for it.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenFocus at none against Focus/Rest's 1. Focus/Rest's advantage is iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support 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. Focus/Rest sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. OpenFocus asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Focus/Rest | OpenFocus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Davyd Habshydze | YOSHIKI KOAKUTSU |
In-app purchases
Focus/Rest
- Pro Unlock$0.99
OpenFocus
No in-app purchases





