NEN: Focus Timer
Pomodoro for study & deep work
Free · In-App Purchases
Calm focus blocks, built-in breaks, Apple Watch control, widgets, and a one-time NEN Pro lifetime unlock.
NEN is a calm Pomodoro-style focus timer for iPhone and Apple Watch, built for deep work, study sessions, real breaks, and distraction-resistant routines.
Start a focus session, move through short and long breaks, and keep your attention on the work in front of you. NEN is built around a simple Pomodoro-style timer flow with a quiet visual style, clear session progress, and useful controls when you need them.
Use NEN for deep work, study blocks, writing sessions, coding, reading, or any routine where you want a focused rhythm without extra noise.
Features:
- Focus, short break, and long break sessions
- Clear timer progress and round tracking
- Focus categories for different kinds of work
- Block selected apps during focus with NEN Pro
- Apple Watch controls
- Live Activities and widgets
- Session history and progress insights
- Optional NEN Pro lifetime unlock for deeper focus tools
NEN is made for people who want a focused timer that feels calm, native, and easy to return to every day.
more Minor improvements and refinements.
4.1.1 15 Sept
NEN now opens more reliably on iOS 17.5 and above, so you can return to your focus timer without getting stuck on the opening screen.
Improved
Settings now feels cleaner and more consistent across supported iOS versions, with aligned icons, compact rounded sections, and previews that keep comfortable space from the screen edges.
Completed and stopped focus sessions are protected if saving is interrupted. NEN keeps the session ready and shows Save so you can try again instead of silently losing it from History.
Fixed
A confirmed NEN Pro purchase stays unlocked even if optional setup information cannot be saved immediately. NEN explains what happened and lets you retry without purchasing again.
Private iCloud sync remains reliably available across your iPhones.
4.0.0 2 Sept
Closing NEN no longer means losing your place. If NEN is accidentally closed during a focus or break timer, reopen it to find the same session waiting in a paused state at the time you left it.
Improved
Saved app-blocking choices are now honoured automatically when Focus starts or resumes. Shields are released whenever you pause or close NEN, while ordinary app switching keeps your focus timer, blocking, and Live Activity running together.
Fixed
Live Activities are cleaned up more reliably when NEN closes, reducing stale timer confusion. Focus-to-break prompts are also preserved, so you can continue your Pomodoro routine without restarting the cycle.
This update also adds separate Focus and Break tick controls and makes important permission information easier to find in Settings.
3.1.0 31 Aug
You can enable a subtle tick for each second of a Focus timer and Break timer. Ticks are off by default and respect Silent Mode.
New
• Turn Focus timer ticks and Break timer ticks on separately in Sound & Haptics.
• Hear ticks only while an active timer is visible on your iPhone. Apple Watch stays silent.
Improved
• Settings now uses clearer named sections, making timer controls, appearance, sound, permissions, help, contact, privacy and terms easier to find.
• Navigation and external links now use distinct affordances, so every row is clearer about what it will do.
3.0.0 26 Aug
Simplified Chinese and Italian are now available throughout NEN, so your focus routine feels natural in more of the languages you use.
New
• Use the timer, onboarding, settings, notifications, accessibility labels and App Shortcuts in Simplified Chinese or Italian.
• See the same clear session progress on iPhone, Apple Watch, widgets and Live Activities.
• Follow natural focus, short-break and long-break guidance throughout every round.
Improved
• Longer labels fit cleanly across compact iPhone and Apple Watch layouts.
• Time, duration, history and insights use formats suited to your region.
NEN follows your device’s language settings automatically. Your existing routines, categories, history and NEN Pro purchase remain unchanged.
2.9.0 13 Aug
Keep Screen Awake now follows your timer more reliably, so your display stays on during an active focus or break and releases promptly when you pause, stop, or finish.
Improved:
• Return to NEN after locking your iPhone or switching apps and your current focus or break remains accurate.
• Live Activities, app blocking, notifications, and Apple Watch status stay aligned with the latest timer state.
• Reopening NEN safely recovers an active session without duplicate or stale timer effects.
Fixed:
• Restarting your iPhone no longer restores a timer from before the restart.
• Stale app-blocking callbacks can no longer clear the protection for a newer focus session.
2.7.1 29 Jul
NEN now speaks Japanese.
Choose Japanese for a calmer, more natural focus experience across iPhone, Apple Watch, widgets, Live Activities, notifications, Siri, and App Shortcuts.
Changing languages now feels seamless, so your timers and custom categories stay just as you left them. This update also brings smoother performance and improved support for the latest iOS and watchOS.
2.7.0 15 Jul
New changes and updates
• Added full iOS 27 and watchOS 27 compatibility.
• Improved Live Activity countdowns in compact Dynamic Island layouts.
• Improved Apple Watch complications for tinted and accented watch faces.
• Added Apple-required privacy manifests for iPhone, Apple Watch, and widgets.
Fixes and bugs addressed
• Fixed cramped countdown displays in compact Dynamic Island layouts.
• Fixed visual inconsistencies when timer layouts or appearance settings change.
• Improved reliability across timers, widgets, Live Activities, and Apple Watch.
2.6.2 14 Jul
This update keeps NEN running smoothly with reliability improvements and small refinements.
2.6.1 6 Jul
Focus, short breaks, and long breaks are now easier to tell apart at a glance. The timer progress strip now uses leaf, moon, and sun markers on iPhone and Apple Watch, with compact overflow handling that keeps markers readable.
2.6.0 2 Jul
Your timer now speaks your settings more clearly. Focus blocks, breaks, long breaks, and round counts now match the durations you chose, so "Focus block 1 of 4" is easier to understand.
Fixed: About now shows the correct iPhone model.
2.5.1 16 Jun
Timer recovery is cleaner when you leave NEN or your iPhone locks. If a focus session or break finishes while you are away, NEN now returns to the right next step without keeping the screen awake unexpectedly. Completion alerts still follow your iPhone, Focus, and Apple Watch settings.
2.4.1 10 Jun
Your focus timer now keeps going when your iPhone locks. Keep screen awake is off by default, so NEN can follow your normal lock settings. Turn it on only when you want the display to stay awake during a focus or break. Completion alerts still follow your iPhone notification, sound, Focus, and Apple Watch settings.
2.4.0 7 Jun
Getting started with NEN is clearer now. After updating, you may see a short, skippable intro that explains focus rounds, real breaks, and optional app blocking in plain words before you start your timer.
NEN still opens around the timer first. There is no required setup, no forced Pro purchase, and app blocking stays optional: it only blocks the apps you choose during focus. Calls are not blocked by NEN, and timer alerts still depend on your iPhone, notification, Live Activity, Focus, and Apple Watch settings.
2.3.0 5 Jun
More iPhones can now use NEN. This release lowers compatibility to iOS 17 and watchOS 10 while preserving the calm iOS 26 experience.
Improved
- Focus, short break, and long break sessions now run on supported iOS 17 and iOS 18 devices, with the same calm timer flow on iOS 26.
- Apple Watch controls, widgets, Live Activities, onboarding, insights, history, and NEN Pro screens were checked across older and latest simulator runtimes.
- App Store details now explain NEN more clearly as a Pomodoro-style focus timer for deep work, study, breaks, and Apple Watch focus sessions.
Fixed
- Lower-iOS fallback paths now avoid iOS 26-only tab APIs where needed, while keeping the modern iOS 26 tab behavior intact.
2.2 4 Jun
Breaks are easier to follow. When a break ends while NEN is open, you will now feel a gentle tap and hear a soft sound, so it is clearer when to start focusing again. If NEN is in the background or your iPhone is locked, you will still get the normal notification.
2.1 3 Jun
NEN now opens straight to the timer with a simpler first-run experience, clearer focus-session wording, easier focus length changes, and updated App Store screenshots for the timer-first flow.
2.0 2 Jun
Minor improvements and refinements.
more Version 4.1.1 15 Sept
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