Repeating timer for Apple Watch

[mk313]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a repeating timer for the Apple Watch? I've tried several, but so for all of them have either required you to start the timer on your phone, or else, they don't alert you that the timer is done, unless the screen is lit. Neither of those solutions work for me.
Thanks in advance,

 

[chabig]

Apple Watch already has a built in repeating timer, with both a visual and a Siri interface.

Set timers on Apple Watch

Use Timers on your Apple Watch to help you keep track of time.

support.apple.com

 

[mk313]

Apple Watch already has a built in repeating timer, with both a visual and a Siri interface.

Set timers on Apple Watch

Use Timers on your Apple Watch to help you keep track of time.

support.apple.com

Thanks but I’m looking for something. That I don’t have to hit repeat on but that will do it automatically.

I am looking gift something that will count down, alert me, and then start counting down again automatically.

 

[worker73]

Perhaps "Mulit-Timer"?

‎MultiTimer: Multiple timers

‎The MultiTimer app allows you to beat the clock and manage time like never before. Efficiently tackle your daily tasks with task timers, cook your favorite dish with the help of a kitchen timer, create healthy study habits with a Pomodoro timer, and so many more options to help you throughout...

apps.apple.com

 

[mk313]

Perhaps "Mulit-Timer"?

‎MultiTimer: Multiple timers

‎The MultiTimer app allows you to beat the clock and manage time like never before. Efficiently tackle your daily tasks with task timers, cook your favorite dish with the help of a kitchen timer, create healthy study habits with a Pomodoro timer, and so many more options to help you throughout...

apps.apple.com

Thank you! Not the most intuitive interface, but that does exactly what I was looking for. Much appreciated

 

[Apple_Robert]

I use the app recommended and I agree that it is not very user friendly.

I also use the stock app and it does what you are looking for. You can start a timer from the watch and when the timer is done, the watch will alert you. You can also have repeating timers if you want, so that you don’t have to set the timer up every time.

 

[mk313]

I use the app recommended and I agree that it is not very user friendly.

I also use the stock app and it does what you are looking for. You can start a timer from the watch and when the timer is done, the watch will alert you. You can also have repeating timers if you want, so that you don’t have to set the timer up every time.

How do you male the stock app repeat without having to touch the screen? That’s the part I can’t figure out. Multi timer does it but for me, the stock app will count down then start to beep. In order to get it to start counting down again, I have to touch the repeat button on the screen.

 

[Apple_Robert]

How do you male the stock app repeat without having to touch the screen? That’s the part I can’t figure out. Multi timer does it but for me, the stock app will count down then start to beep. In order to get it to start counting down again, I have to touch the repeat button on the screen.

I apologize for missing that part of your need in my previous post reply. You need to stick with the third party app.

 

[parseckadet]

OP, do you mind if I ask what your use case is? I've had an idea for an app for awhile and I'm wondering if my idea aligns with you needs. Don't want to get your hopes up though, I'm still in the idea phase.

 

[mk313]

OP, do you mind if I ask what your use case is? I've had an idea for an app for awhile and I'm wondering if my idea aligns with you needs. Don't want to get your hopes up though, I'm still in the idea phase.

I'm using it for stretching. My PT sent me a list of stretches to do, and I'm supposed to to them in 30 second increments. Having to hit repeat on my watch after every set was getting old. Multi Timer did the trick though.

 

[manu chao]

More than three years later and the situation still isn’t great. I’ve found three apps that offer automatically repeating timers on the Watch: MultiTimer, Repeat Timer, and Time Timer. The first two suffer from the fundamental flaw that they only signal the end of a timer when the Watch display is on (or not dimmed when using the Always-On-Display feature). This pretty much defeats the purpose of a timer. The third, Time Timer, sometimes signals the end of a timer while the display is off or dimmed but sometimes doesn’t (with no rhyme or reason, it worked half an hour ago, now it doesn’t work), making it also essentially useless.

All three apps also stop updating the countdown once the display dims when using the Always-On-Display, further limiting their usefulness. You can let Repeat Timer send you a notification when a timer ends, solving the screen off/dimmed issue, but then you won’t be able to see the actual countdown unless you dismiss the notification, compromisung the concept of an automatically repeating timer that doesn’t require user interaction. You can extend the time before the Watch display shuts off or dims from 15 to 70 s but this only applies to switching on the display via a tap, not to when you raise your wrist.

The built-in timer app of the Watch has more privileges, it will signal the end of a timer while the display is off or dimmed. It will even continue to show the countdown while the display is dimmed, though the visual countdown will not show while the display is dimmed.

In the end, it is easier just to keep my phone in my line of sight, running an automatically repeating timer with a setting that lets you keep the screen on while the app is in the foreground (I am using MultiTimer for this, it has a nice visual countdown).

—— Miscellaneous ——

• Time Timer cannot be launched via Watch face complications or the three-app launcher in the watchOS 10 widgets, requiring a trip to the full list of apps or to the list of most recently used apps (which is a shorter list but requires more vertical scrolling per app). watchOS also seems to shut down Time Timer after some time while running ‘in the background’ (ie, with the screen off/dimmed).
• Repeat Timer requires an annual subscription for timers longer than 2 min or more than six repetitions.
• Time Timer is slightly visually jarring because the visual countdown disk uses a different colour that the numerical countdown.

 

[Night Spring]

More than three years later and the situation still isn’t great. I’ve found three apps that offer automatically repeating timers on the Watch: MultiTimer, Repeat Timer, and Time Timer. The first two suffer from the fundamental flaw that they only signal the end of a timer when the Watch display is on (or not dimmed when using the Always-On-Display feature). This pretty much defeats the purpose of a timer. The third, Time Timer, sometimes signals the end of a timer while the display is off or dimmed but sometimes doesn’t (with no rhyme or reason, it worked half an hour ago, now it doesn’t work), making it also essentially useless.

All three apps also stop updating the countdown once the display dims when using the Always-On-Display, further limiting their usefulness. You can let Repeat Timer send you a notification when a timer ends, solving the screen off/dimmed issue, but then you won’t be able to see the actual countdown unless you dismiss the notification, compromisung the concept of an automatically repeating timer that doesn’t require user interaction. You can extend the time before the Watch display shuts off or dims from 15 to 70 s but this only applies to switching on the display via a tap, not to when you raise your wrist.

The built-in timer app of the Watch has more privileges, it will signal the end of a timer while the display is off or dimmed. It will even continue to show the countdown while the display is dimmed, though the visual countdown will not show while the display is dimmed.

In the end, it is easier just to keep my phone in my line of sight, running an automatically repeating timer with a setting that lets you keep the screen on while the app is in the foreground (I am using MultiTimer for this, it has a nice visual countdown).

—— Miscellaneous ——

• Time Timer cannot be launched via Watch face complications or the three-app launcher in the watchOS 10 widgets, requiring a trip to the full list of apps or to the list of most recently used apps (which is a shorter list but requires more vertical scrolling per app). watchOS also seems to shut down Time Timer after some time while running ‘in the background’ (ie, with the screen off/dimmed).
• Repeat Timer requires an annual subscription for timers longer than 2 min or more than six repetitions.
• Time Timer is slightly visually jarring because the visual countdown disk uses a different colour that the numerical countdown.

Did you look at any interval timers?

 

[manu chao]

Did you look at any interval timers?

Not specifically, I mostly searched using the term 'timer', but expanded from there via the App Store suggestions at the bottom of an app's page. Do you have any suggestions or just good search terms?

Here is a list of additional apps I tried out:

• Countdown Pretty Progress
• timer. Multi Countdown Timer
• Tabata Timer
• Trakt
• Be Focused

 

[Night Spring]

Not specifically, I mostly searched using the term 'timer', but expanded from there via the App Store suggestions at the bottom of an app's page. Do you have any suggestions or just good search terms?

Here is a list of additional apps I tried out:

• Countdown Pretty Progress
• timer. Multi Countdown Timer
• Tabata Timer
• Trakt
• Be Focused

I don't have specific suggestions, but when I read OP's description of what they wanted to do with this function, I thought what they were doing is an interval workout. So I thought they, and by extension you, might have better luck finding an app that does what you want if you looked for apps for interval workouts, rather than for timer apps.

 

[manu chao]

I don't have specific suggestions, but when I read OP's description of what they wanted to do with this function, I thought what they were doing is an interval workout. So I thought they, and by extension you, might have better luck finding an app that does what you want if you looked for apps for interval workouts, rather than for timer apps.

I’ve used an app designed for the Pomodoro technique for time management for years until they changed their pricing model. But I’ll try interval timers next.

 

[BenGoren]

I'm using it for stretching. My PT sent me a list of stretches to do, and I'm supposed to to them in 30 second increments. Having to hit repeat on my watch after every set was getting old. Multi Timer did the trick though.

More than three years later and the situation still isn’t great.

Surprised nobody has yet mentioned WorkOutDoors. Especially for the stretching, as it’s trivial to configure WOD to speak out loud (using the Siri voice) both the name of the activity you’re about to start as well as the remaining time. Infinitely flexible and configurable. Perhaps not the best graphic design in the apple store, but literally everything else about it is superlative.

I can’t think of any activities that would need a repeating timer that wouldn’t also qualify as some sort of physical activity. But, if you really do have something like that, you can always create a “workout” and either let it record an embarrassingly small calorie expenditure to Apple Health or delete the workout when you finish. And, knowing WOD, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there’s a switch you can toggle to have it automatically not save a given routine to Health in the first place.

Ian, the developer, is quite active in a thread dedicated to the app in this same forum. I’ve yet to see him take longer than a day to reply there.

Cheers,

b&

 

[manu chao]

I don't have specific suggestions, but when I read OP's description of what they wanted to do with this function, I thought what they were doing is an interval workout. So I thought they, and by extension you, might have better luck finding an app that does what you want if you looked for apps for interval workouts, rather than for timer apps.

I looked at first five results for ‘interval timer’, one of them “IntervalTimer” by Nova Mobile/Polycents has a Watch app. It is definitely more suited for the OP’s and my purposes, allowing also for subdividing intervals. On top, it has a clear and pleasant design. Most importantly, it does signal the end of a timer while the screen is off or dimmed.

It however suffers from the presumably general third-party app limitation in that the countdown doesn’t update once the display dims (in Always-On mode), which is a short 15 s after a wrist raise and 70 s after a tap to wake (only the built-in timer app apparently has the privileges to keep showing the countdown). However, being able to subdivide intervals and select different signal sounds for the mid and end of the timer can overcome that limitation if all you want is to be able to ”see” the “mid” point.

Some nitpicking, IntervalTimer can only be launched by going to the full list of apps (not via complications or the three-app launcher in OS 10 widgets). In principle, going to the most recently used apps can be quick but that depends on how many apps you use and I don’t like looking for something in a ‘list’ that is ‘sorted’ differently every time I look at it. Maybe the best solution is to use the custom order grid view for all apps, but that probably requires a thoughtful arranging of all apps to ensure you find what you want quickly. Also, the visual countdown is only available in the phone app and ’counts down’ the complete exercise time, not per interval.

Last but not least, the app costs about $/€ 10 per year for its Premium version (there is also a Plus version for half that price but I cannot see what features it has). Overall, I wish third-party apps would get the ability to update their screen while the screen is dimmed. Ideally that would be configurable per app as well an always-on aspect (the Return to Clock is already customisable per app).

In the end, not having the Watch app show the countdown (after 15 or 70 s) isn’t much of an improvement over not seeing the countdown on your phone because it sits outside your field of view. Certainly not a €10/year worthy improvement. Though I like the subdividable intervals with different sounds, I might look for a phone app that does this.

 

[manu chao]

Surprised nobody has yet mentioned WorkOutDoors. Especially for the stretching, as it’s trivial to configure WOD to speak out loud (using the Siri voice) both the name of the activity you’re about to start as well as the remaining time. Infinitely flexible and configurable. Perhaps not the best graphic design in the apple store, but literally everything else about it is superlative.

I can’t think of any activities that would need a repeating timer that wouldn’t also qualify as some sort of physical activity. But, if you really do have something like that, you can always create a “workout” and either let it record an embarrassingly small calorie expenditure to Apple Health or delete the workout when you finish. And, knowing WOD, I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there’s a switch you can toggle to have it automatically not save a given routine to Health in the first place.

I had a quick look, that app is definitely overkill for my purposes (and I see no free trial).

 

[veryuniqueusername]

I use an interval app called “seconds” for this. It is a great interval app that I have been using for over ten years.

My use case is what I call throughout the day exercises. I set a 30 minute interval on my watch. When it expires, I stop what I’m doing, do three minutes of exercise then return to work. By the end of the day, I’ve done a complete workout without ever working up a sweat.

I use the seconds app on my phone to time my exercises and prompt me for the next one. For example, I will do 50 seconds of pull-ups followed by 50 seconds of pushups followed by 50 seconds of overhead presses with ten seconds between each. I have a series of such intervals programmed and I select a different one for every 30 minute workout.

Ed