Transcend Timer vs Orbis Breathe

Transcend Timer is a timer for Transcendental Meditation. It does one thing: it holds the length of your practice so you do not have to. Three phases. Warm Up to settle in, Meditation, then Rest. Set each one once and press play — the home screen shows the plan, so starting is never a decision. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO No guided voices. No courses, no narrators, no daily episode, no library to look through. Nothing plays unless you turn it on: the start and end sounds and the haptics are all off by default, because in TM the mantra is the technique and a bell is an interruption. THE SCREEN TELLS YOU WHERE YOU ARE Each phase has its own background, ordered by brightness rather than colour. Warm Up steps down toward meditation, meditation is nearly black, and rest lifts sharply. That lift is the largest change in light in the whole session and it happens the moment meditation ends — perceptible through a closed eyelid, so you can stay where you are until it comes. If you do open your eyes to check the time, the timer is large, centred, and set in figures that do not shift as they count down. PROGRESS Two counters: days you meditated, and days you meditated twice. A monthly calendar shows the shape of your practice — missed, once, twice — and pages back through every month you have kept. Completed sessions are written to Apple Health as Mindful Sessions. APPLE WATCH Run a full session from your wrist and leave the phone in another room. The Digital Crown sets the durations. The Smart Stack shows which phase you are in and how long is left. IF YOU WANT IT Curated sounds for the start and end of meditation, with their own volume so a cue can carry through twenty minutes of closed eyes. Ambiance: one looping sound that fades in as the session begins and out across the rest phase, at a volume set deliberately lower. Eight themes, each changing all four phases together and keeping the same order of light. Night dimming for sessions in the dark. Pause and resume, counting active time only. A daily reminder, if you set one. PRIVACY No account, no sign-in, no analytics, no advertising, no network requests. Your preferences stay on your device. Health data is read only to calculate your streaks and never leaves the phone. Transcend Timer is an independent app. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any Transcendental Meditation organisation, and it does not teach the technique.

A calm place to breathe. Orbis Breathe is a small, precise breathing app. One luminous orb expands and contracts with your breath on a deep, dark screen. You pick a technique, choose how long, and breathe along while the orb, a gentle haptic, and an optional voice guide the pace. That is the entire app. No account. No tracking. No subscription. Nothing leaves your phone. Open it, breathe for a few minutes, close it. Ten techniques for different needs Coherent: Daily calm and balance. Box: Steady focus. 4-7-8: Deep wind-down. Physiological Sigh: Fast stress relief. Equal: A simple reset, anytime. Extended Exhale: Prepare for sleep. Belly: The steady foundation. Ujjayi: Calm and alert. Humming: Calm through sound. Alternate Nostril: Find your center. Each technique has its own color and rhythm, so the screen feels different depending on what you need. Voice guidance (optional) Turn on spoken guidance and a calm voice marks each breath phase. Pick the voice that suits you, or breathe in silence with just the orb and a soft haptic. Your call, every session. Built to stay out of the way During a session the screen is almost empty: the orb, a few plain words, nothing else. Tap to pause, tap again to keep going. Completion is neutral. There are no streaks, no notifications, no reason to feel guilty for taking a break. Private by design Orbis Breathe has no accounts and collects no data. There is nothing to sign up for, no backend, nothing left behind. All breathing stays on your phone. Not medical treatment Orbis Breathe is for relaxation and focus, not medical treatment. Some techniques include short breath holds. Skip the holds or stop if you feel lightheaded. If you are pregnant or have a heart or respiratory condition, check with a clinician first.