Onigiri - Minimal Timer 4+

Simple but flexible enough for what I need. I love that you can choose to show or hide the time in the menu bar, as well as the option to show the floating display. The only thing I would change would be to have different alarm sounds or alert options. E.g., It would be great if there was a visual alert without sounds. So, maybe the floating display would change color or flash?

I was so going to give this app 5 stars because it is pretty much a perfect minimalist timer, exactly what I had been looking for. Imagine my surprise when I looked at some of the reviews that said they had to pay to use the app. I tried searching for any information in the app store advertising or within the app itself but there was no mention of a fee. Not to mention people were stating wildly different fees from $60 to $10. That's wild. So I just waited... and sure enough, after some time, the app stopped working and asked for a $9.99 fee. Normally I'd happily pay a fee to use an app I really like, but to be blindsided like that is NOT COOL. Just be honest and upfront. Make this a paid app or be CLEAR that it is a trial. I don't even know how long the trial was for. There is just no information at all. It completely ruins the experience of this app because it just feels like tricky sneaky tactics. JUST BE HONEST. Is it so hard? I've paid for good timer apps before. I'm going to have second thoughts about this one because I don't appreciate the sneakiness. How am I to know if the price won't change again? Really disappointing. I'm givine 2 not 1 star because it really is a nice little app. Shame.

Update: They changed the price from $20 to $6 - yay.

I'd still love to see some minor changes I've mentioned below. Mostly the required interaction after the timer to 'stop' even after the beeps play out, and the amount of beeps themself.

------

This app deserves a couple of enhancements to take it to utter perfection.

(Use cases: pomodoro timer, tea brewing timer)

1. Being able to change the range of time. 2 hours, for me isn't useful, and because the slider is fixed width, it requires more precision than I'd like to get specific times. Being able to change the time to 1 hour, for example, would benefit usability and flexibility for users.

2. Timer-beep. Beeping 9 times is a little much. It's reminding me of old microwaves. In actuality, I only really need 1 distinct sound and that’s it.

3. End of timer. This is a little tricky, but when the timer goes off, the app opens allowing you to stop the timer. If the sound plays out, the app is still open and the ‘stop’ button is still present. I think if the sound plays out, the app doesn’t need to be open anymore, nor the ‘stop’ button.

If you only have one sound, this removes the necessity for an interaction from the user, thus the app doesn’t need to open or require two inputs: one for stopping timer, and one for hiding/closing the app.