Comparison

Mini Focus Timer vs Halo

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Mini Focus Timer

This minimalist timer uses the Pomodoro technique to help you focus for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. It features a simple interface with a circular dial and a large start button, offering focus, short break, and long break phases. Track your progress with daily, weekly, and monthly charts.

Highlights
  • Minimalist Pomodoro timer
  • Focus, short break, long break phases
  • Circular glass dial interface
  • Home & lock screen widgets
  • Apple Watch complications
  • Daily, weekly, monthly focus charts
Features
Read full description

Prop up iPhone Duo and stay focused. The upper part of the half-open inner display shows the remaining time and current phase in large type, with start, pause and other controls plus the next phase below. Your timer keeps its state as you fold or unfold between the outer and inner displays. On the half-open inner display, the upright area shows just one large circular timer in the center. Focus 25, rest 5. That's it. MiniFocus is the simplest Pomodoro timer for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch — one glossy glass dial, one big start button, and a gentle ping when the phase ends. • Three phases only — focus, short break, long break • Big circular glass dial in the iOS 26 Liquid Glass tone • Home & lock screen widgets — running timer Ā· today stats Ā· quick start • Apple Watch complications — your remaining time, always one glance away • Universal — iPhone, iPad, and a paired Apple Watch app, all in one • Daily, weekly, monthly focus charts • No sign-up. No ads. No tracking. No IAP. No account, no cloud — everything lives on your device. The point isn't measuring time. It's not drifting away for 25 minutes.

About

Halo

Features
Read full description

Most Pomodoro apps go silent between beeps. Halo doesn't. Pick brown noise, pink noise, or rain, and the sound follows every focus block. When the break starts, it fades. When the next block begins, it comes back. That's the difference. WHAT'S INSIDE A Pomodoro timer with your own focus, short-break, and long-break lengths. Auto-start the next phase or step through manually. Skip or reset at any time. Three ambient beds bundled with the app, not streamed. Brown noise for heads-down work. Pink noise for reading. Rain for the last hour of the day. A completion sound picker too: Off, Default, Chime, Bell, Soft. Tag each session by subject. General, Calculus, Design, Reading, whatever you're on. See the week broken down per subject so you know where the hours actually went. A daily focus goal (2 hours out of the box, editable), a streak that counts consecutive days you hit it, a weekly bar chart, and all-time totals. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN A Live Activity and Dynamic Island keep the countdown on your Lock Screen while you switch apps. Home-screen widgets in four sizes: Today, Streak, Stats, and This week. Full light and dark mode, follows your system. English, Espanol, Francais. WHAT'S NOT INSIDE No account. No sign-in. No cloud. No analytics. No third-party SDKs. No ads. No tracking. Everything is stored on your device. Uninstall Halo and the data goes with it. Settings has a Reset all data button if you want to wipe it without deleting the app. The only permission Halo asks for is notifications, so it can tell you when a session ends. It also uses Live Activities and Background App Refresh so the countdown stays accurate. No camera, microphone, photos, contacts, calendar, location, HealthKit, or motion access, ever. Halo works fully offline. There is no network call in the app. Free. That's the whole story.

Screenshots

Mini Focus Timer4 screens
Halo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Halo at daily against Mini Focus Timer's every 8 days. Halo also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mini Focus Timer ships an update every 8 days, Halo daily. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 6 level
Mini Focus Timer versus Halo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMini Focus TimerHalo
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB39 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLim Sangjinyoussef fakih

In-app purchases

None

Mini Focus Timer

No in-app purchases

None

Halo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Mini Focus Timer free?
Mini Focus Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Halo free?
Halo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Mini Focus Timer or Halo have ads?
Neither Mini Focus Timer nor Halo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mini Focus Timer or Halo?
Mini Focus Timer ships an update every 8 days, and Halo daily. Most recently, Mini Focus Timer was updated on October 31, 2026 and Halo on November 10, 2026.

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