I would like a pomodoro timer app with the following features:
Runs on both iOS and watchOS (macOS a plus but not necessary).
Timers sync between platforms in real time. I can start a timer on my phone and pause it on my watch, or vice-versa.
Some minimal tracking of how many sessions I do a day
Bonus if I can easily tag my sessions without creating tasks
watchOS complications that update in real time. (Ideally includes large wide complications as well as small round ones.)
The best I’ve been able to do is Focus which is a $39.99 a year subscription. I wouldn’t mind the subscription if it was a really polished app, but there are many little things about it that don’t work as they should. Hard to detail all of them, but one example is that if you pause a timer you still get alerts at the time it would have finished if you hadn’t paused it.
Here’s the thing though, even with its faults Focus seems to be the only one that really checks off all the boxes (except for tagging vs. tasks). I must have installed and deleted about 30 apps at this point - because every time Focus doesn’t work quite right I find myself trying another one. watchOS support is really the weak link, very few apps have it, and those who do mostly do it poorly. Only a very few even try to sync your timers across apps. Others lack complications. Some have complications but no way to pause or skip sessions from the watch, etc.
Who would have thought that this would be so hard to do right?
PS: If this free app had apple watch complications and the ability to set the number of sessions before a long break, it would be close to perfect. Unfortunately, I really need the watch complications…
OK. I think I found the app I was looking for: TomatoFlex. It runs on iOS and watchOS. Timers sync between the two. It has simple, but effective and nicely presented tracking. And the watchOS complications update in real time. No tagging, but that’s OK, since I have everything else I was looking for without having to pay a subscription. And strangely the developers seem much more responsive and active than the subscription app.
@luhmann - I know this was written a long time ago but wondering if you are still using TomatoFlex. I’m looking for an app that I can easily start and stop on my watch. I don’t think I need anything fancy but I want an alert on my watch versus notifications on my phone. Happy to start the timer on the phone but I want the alert as a vibration on my watch.
Did you ever find a good app? I reinstalled Be Focused today, but it won’t recover my software license ( from 2018, admittedly ). I’m checking the timer market again to see if there are better options out there.
I can suggest checking a few, depending on your needs (and aversion to subscriptions):
Bluebird, flow, emphasis. These are all multiplatform with device sync, lifetime options available.
Bluebird is the most feature packed out of them, both it and flow have app/website blocking.
I use Session (available on Setapp) quite religiously and I think it covers all the points required. Really love this app and it has good Shortcuts integration and URL callbacks so you can start your focused sessions of work from other apps too if you want to get really geeky with it.
I’ve been using Flow (https://www.flow.app) - I think it meets all of the OPs requirements. They recently introduced realtime sync of timers between devices
Sessions and Flow both came up in my searches so i’ll try them eventually. I discovered that my Be Focused Pro purchase from 2018 still worked , so I’m trying that first.
Now I need to get into a situation where I can focus on one task at a time and use this tool! This week has been hectic at work and home where 1 minute after a start a pomodoro I need to switch to something else.
That’s the sweet spot right there! Getting 8 pomodoros in a day is such a challenge with the level of notifications and other inputs around us all the time - it takes lot to get the environment ready and sometimes there are bits that just aren’t in our control.