# Focus Timer: a Pomodoro study and work timer for iPhone, built and run by ODEL

> How ODEL built Focus Timer, a Pomodoro timer for iPhone with Flow mode, tasks, ambient sounds, widgets and Siri shortcuts, using Capacitor, React and a custom native plugin.

Focus Timer (Study Pomodoro Timer & Focus) is an iPhone app for working in timed focus sessions, designed, built and published by ODEL. It runs classic Pomodoro sessions with scheduled breaks and an open-ended Flow mode for long deep work, plans tasks inside the timer, plays ambient sounds, tracks progress and achievements, and offers Home Screen widgets, quick actions and Siri and Spotlight shortcuts. It is built with Capacitor, React and Vite, with a custom native plugin for the timer and background session alerts. It is available in 8 languages and sells subscriptions plus one-time timer themes and support purchases. It shows how ODEL ships a web-technology app that still feels native on iPhone.

## The problem

Students and professionals want to work in focused blocks with breaks, and to see which task they are on. Many timers lack scheduled breaks or a place for the current task. Focus Timer combines both with an open-ended mode for long sessions.

## What ODEL built

- Pomodoro focus sessions with scheduled breaks
- Flow mode: an open-ended timer for deep work
- Task planning inside the timer
- Ambient sounds
- Progress tracking, achievements and session history
- Home Screen widgets, quick actions, Siri and Spotlight shortcuts
- Session alerts while the app is in the background

## Technology

- **App**: Capacitor 7, React 18 and Vite
- **UI**: Radix and shadcn components
- **Native features**: Custom native plugin (focus-timer-native), app shortcuts, local notifications, widgets
- **Purchases**: cordova-plugin-purchase (StoreKit)
- **Localization**: i18next, 8 languages

## Launch and growth

- Live on the App Store for iPhone (iOS 15.0 or later)
- Available in 8 languages
- Version 1.0.5 released 2026-10-14 with Flow mode, Siri and Spotlight shortcuts, background alerts and no daily timer limit
- Free download with Pro subscriptions, one-time timer themes and optional support purchases

## What we learned

- A Capacitor app can reach native features (background alerts, widgets, shortcuts) through a small custom plugin. For a client with an existing web app, this can be a faster route to the App Store than a full rewrite.
- Removing a limit can be the update people notice: version 1.0.5 dropped the daily timer limit.
- Mixing subscriptions with small one-time purchases, such as themes, gives users more than one way to pay.

Product page: https://www.odel.dev/app/focustimer

Start a project: https://www.odel.dev/services#start (form) or info@odel.dev. ODEL quotes each project after a short discovery call; it does not publish fixed prices.

Page: https://www.odel.dev/work/focustimer