A breathing pacer accurate to the second.
Box at 4-4-4-4. 4-7-8. Coherent at 5.5 breaths per minute. Wim Hof. Two minutes, and a number at the end.
Refresher is a breathing pacer for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. It runs box breathing at 4-4-4-4, 4-7-8, coherent at a 5.5 second inhale and a 5.5 second exhale, the Wim Hof method and five more. With an Apple Watch it brackets each session with a heart rate reading, and it writes your mindfulness minutes to Apple Health.
Four in. Seven hold. Eight out.
The pacer expands. Nothing to read, nothing to count.
Held exactly, every round. Fewer rounds if you'd rather; the seven seconds stay.
The long phase. On 4-7-8 it's twice the inhale.
Heart rate before and after, kept in your history. Needs an Apple Watch.
What each pattern is for.
Eight of them run on a pacer that holds each phase exactly. Timer is a plain countdown with a bell. With an Apple Watch, every session is bracketed by a heart rate reading, and the minutes go to Apple Health. Five are there from the start. Three open up as you go, with one free try each. Premium adds Builder and the tuning: your own timings on coherent and extended exhale, and on Wim Hof the breaths per round, their speed, every retention and the round count.
| Technique | Pattern | Access | Phase ratio | Reach for it when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box | 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 | Included | Equal phases, a hold at both ends | |
| 4-7-8 | 4 · 7 · 8 | Included | The longest exhale of the fixed patterns | |
| Coherent | 5.5 in · 5.5 out | Included | Adjustable from 3 to 10 seconds per phase | |
| Wim Hof | 3 × 30 + 60/90/90s | Included | Seated or lying down, never in water. Every number tunable with Premium | |
| Timer | Your duration | Included | No pacer, just a bell | |
| Physiological sigh | 1.8 · 1.0 sip · 6.0 | 1 free try | One breath, right now | |
| Alternate nostril | 4 · 4 · 4, both sides | 1 free try | A longer, deliberate sit | |
| Extended exhale | 4 in · 8 out | 1 free try | The exhale is the whole point | |
| Builder | Your pattern | Premium | You already know the numbers |
Your heart rate, before and after.
With an Apple Watch on, a session opens with a reading and closes with another. Heart rate tracking is a switch in Settings, and it starts off. The delta is the point. It turns two minutes into something you can check.
Measured on Apple Watch. The delta lands on the completion screen and stays in your history. When there's no reading, the app shows nothing rather than a zero.Your HRV alongside the days you practise. A 30-day trend, read from Apple Health. It's not a per-session number, and the reason is below.Written to Apple Health. Each session goes in as mindfulness minutes. Your history syncs through your own iCloud, not through us.No account needed. Nothing to create and nothing to log into. No ads and no ad SDKs. Purchases are handled by Apple.
A session, the patterns, and what you have done.
One app, four places.
The instrument
Every technique, and a voice that counts each phase in your language. Or none at all.
On the wrist
Once installed it runs a session and takes the heart rate reading without the phone in reach.
Live Activities
The session stays visible while it runs. Widgets and Siri start the next one.
Full size
Universal, with the same history and the same numbers as the phone.
What people ask before installing.
What is a breathing pacer?
A pacer sets the timing of each phase so you follow a rhythm instead of counting. Refresher expands and contracts a visual through inhale, hold, exhale and pause, on the exact timings you set. You watch it rather than tracking numbers in your head.
Which technique should I start with?
Box breathing at 4-4-4-4 if you want equal phases with a hold at both ends. 4-7-8 if you want the longest exhale of the fixed patterns. Coherent, at a 5.5 second inhale and a 5.5 second exhale, if you want one steady pace with no holds.
Do I need an Apple Watch?
Not for the pacer. You do need one for the heart rate reading and the HRV trend, because an iPhone has no heart rate sensor. Heart rate tracking is a separate switch in Settings and it stays off until you turn it on.
Is box breathing the same as square breathing?
Yes. Both name the same 4-4-4-4 pattern: four seconds in, four held, four out, four held. Refresher lists it as Box.
How long should a session be?
As long as you like. Two minutes is the span the app is built around. The shipped defaults run nearer five minutes, and you set the round count yourself on every technique.
Pick the pattern, not the mood.
If you already know which technique you want, the app's job is to run it exactly and hand you a number afterwards. That's the whole product.
Download on the App Store