The Pomodoro timer that announces your breaks out loud

The Pomodoro Technique fails at one specific moment: when you check the timer, see a notification, and lose twenty minutes. Rouse announces focus blocks and breaks by voice — so the phone stays face-down and the flow stays unbroken.

Get Rouse Free

The weak point of every Pomodoro app

The technique is sound: 25 minutes of focused work, 5 minutes of rest, repeat. The problem is the tool. A visual timer trains you to glance at your phone — and each glance is a doorway to everything else on it. A silent timer gets missed entirely, especially with a Focus mode on, which is exactly when you're using a Pomodoro timer.

Rouse closes both gaps. Voice announcements mark every transition — "Break. Five minutes." — so there's nothing to check. And because Rouse timers are built on Apple's AlarmKit, session-end alerts sound through Silent Mode, DND, and every Focus mode. Your Work Focus can't eat your break bell.

A focus routine running in Rouse with a step countdown and voice coaching

Classic 25/5 — or whatever your brain actually wants

A Pomodoro cycle in Rouse is a routine with two steps and a repeat group:

Focus — 25 minutes. Or 50, or 90. Step durations are fully custom, in minutes or seconds.
Break — 5 minutes. Voice coaching can speak a 3-2-1 countdown before the switch, so the transition never ambushes you mid-sentence.
Repeat group × 4. Wrap the two steps in a repeat group and set your rounds; each new round is announced — "Round 3 of 4." Change the break from 5 to 10 minutes once and every round updates.

The routine library's Focus category ships ready-made focus-block, deep-work, and study presets (with active practice and review phases), alongside 22 total presets across 7 categories. Preview one, duplicate it, and tune it to your day.

Built for staying off your phone

Hands-free voice coaching — transitions, round numbers, and optional elapsed/remaining-time updates at your chosen cadence.
Lock Screen Live Activity — current step and progress ring on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, with pause, resume, skip, and stop. Checking progress doesn't mean unlocking into your notifications.
Timer Check — for standalone timers, an optional follow-up confirms you actually noticed the alert, not just that it fired.
Streaks and scores — daily consistency tracking with 22 achievement badges, the same mechanics that make Rouse morning routines stick.

Your next deep-work session, narrated

One routine with full voice coaching is free. Premium unlocks repeat groups for auto-looping cycles, unlimited routines, and unlimited steps.

Download on the App Store

Requires iOS 26 or later · iPhone & iPad

Common questions

Does Rouse work as a Pomodoro timer?

Yes. Build a routine with a 25-minute Focus step and a 5-minute Break step, wrap them in a repeat group for four rounds, and press Play. Voice coaching announces every transition — "Break. Five minutes." — so you stay in flow instead of watching a clock. The routine library's Focus category also includes ready-made focus-block and study presets.

Can it announce breaks out loud so I don't have to check my phone?

Yes. Rouse's voice coaching announces step transitions, round numbers, and optional elapsed or remaining-time updates at intervals you choose, plus a spoken 3-2-1 before each switch. Your phone can stay face-down across the desk for the whole session.

Will the break alert fire if my iPhone is on Silent Mode?

Yes. Rouse timers are built on Apple's AlarmKit, the same system-level mechanism as its alarms, so a timer's end-of-session alert sounds through Silent Mode, Do Not Disturb, and Focus modes — including the Work Focus you probably enabled to concentrate in the first place.

Is the Pomodoro timer free?

One routine with full voice coaching and up to 5 steps is free, which covers a single focus-and-break cycle you can restart between rounds. Repeat groups (auto-looping work/break cycles) and unlimited routines are part of Premium — $2.99/month, $24.99/year, or $59.99 lifetime.