A new iOS app called Awake, designed specifically for heavy sleepers who must complete missions to turn off their alarms, launched Monday. The app is only available to users with the iOS 26 update, which also came out on Monday.
Unlike traditional alarm clocks that can be silenced with a simple tap, Awake is intended to actively engage users’ brains to ensure they fully wake up. Once the alarm sounds, users must complete a series of interactive missions to turn it off.
These tasks include a variety of challenges, such as rotating the iPhone, completing a set of push-ups, or tackling math problems, puzzles, or even language lessons. By incorporating physical and mental activities, Awake aims to help break the cycle of hitting snooze and encourage a more active start to the day.
While other similar apps exist, such as Alarmy, Challenges, and Mathe Alarm, among others, Awake sets itself apart by offering additional features. One of these is a “Morning Briefing,” which offers a customized summary of information the user chooses the night before, including the weather forecast and events from a calendar.
There’s also a Block integration, which prevents users from accessing social media immediately upon waking. A future feature will allow people to listen to new podcast episodes as soon as they open their eyes.
Additionally, Awake includes a sleep planning function that helps improve sleep quality by allowing users to enter the desired amount of sleep and preferred wake-up time. It then calculates the best time to go to bed.
Leo Mehlig, the indie developer behind the popular daily planner app Structured, says he developed Awake in response to high demand from Structured users. Mehlig jumped on the idea after Apple announced iOS 26, which provided developers with access to a new Alarm Kit framework to create alarm and timer apps with features like full-screen alerts.
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“I just felt like there had to be something better than a standard alarm clock for people who struggle to get up in the morning,” he told TechCrunch. “So we always had [planned for it], but we basically sidelined it. And then when I saw the [Apple] keynote, I saw the Alarm Kit, I was like, ‘OK, now we need to build this.’”
Awake is available for free, with a premium subscription option for $1.75 per month or $19.99 per year, which unlocks additional missions such as getting up to turn on a light, scanning a QR code, and walking a certain number of steps. One mission even requires users to recite a mantra.
Looking ahead, Mehlig envisions incorporating a feature called “Wake Up Check,” which will double-check if people are truly awake after completing a mission. By using the step counter, the app will track users’ movement after the mission; if no movement is detected, it will send a notification. If the user does not respond within a few minutes, the app will trigger another alarm to ensure they don’t fall back asleep.
