Pause: daily mindfulness ٤+

OK, so here’s the deal. I use this just like those old “ocean wave” toys. (The ones that came in a plastic tube, and were filled with a thick blue liquid and a clear liquid. You tilted them from one end of the tube to the other to make “waves”.) With this app, i don’t close my eyes, and I pay no attention to the “too fast” or “too slow” because I don’t care what the developer had in mind, I just want to play with the colors. It does fill the screen, but, if you move around toward the corners you will see that the circle is still there. Then you can start playing with it, making it bigger and smaller, and moving around. It’s a not perfect app. I’d like a little more control of the size of the circle, and the colors, but I enjoyed it.

I've done mindfulness work in a lot of settings, but I don't often have time or the structured environment to really settle down for a long stretch-- but I still need that pause (apt name). Yes, this is very simple, but I appreciate that; it's what I was looking for. If you do want something more complex, then this may not be the best choice.

What this is good for (for me): tense moments during the day when I need a breather. The first time I used it, I was frustrated because I felt like the blob expanded too fast, like it was giving too many directions, etc. I realized that was my mind focusing too much on the details of the app and being distracted from mindfulness practice: once I let all that go and let myself fall into the soothing aspects, it worked beautifully.

Your degree of satisfaction may vary depending on how much you're willing to let go of focus on design details and drift I to mindfulness practice-- and that is purely an individual preference. It is too bad that there isn't a brief trial period or demo so that users could see which side of the line they fall on before paying. My best advice is to ask yourself whether or not you're typically bothered by function or if you can set that aside.

Pro tip: this mindfulness app is great for using at work. It's so unobtrusive that no one will have any idea what you're doing-- if they even notice.

I find the app really lovely. The initial blob is not something you’re following so much as something you’re leading. The aggregating color helps bring my focus to the session.

Once the screen was filled with color, I began exploring the colors. The first time it filled with a gradient from blue to green to gold to orange from bottom to top. I found myself exploring these gradients and the way the direction of my motion changed my perception of them and how my finger obscuring parts of the gradient would make different colors stand out. This was all surprisingly engaging.

That said, there are a few things this app really needs to rise to the next level for me:

1) Some sort of audio or haptic feedback for when you’re moving too fast. It instructs you to close your eyes and then puts feedback on screen in text. :\
2) Update to support the full screen of iPhone X. Seeing black bars is distracting and using the full screen of the X would make the experience much more immersive.
3) An Apple Watch app. This would be a great place to offer feedback while the user’s eyes are closed.
4) Siri support to start a new session without needing to locate the app.