Hardcore Focus is an iPhone focus timer that blocks distracting apps for the session and tracks when your attention slips. It is not a 25-minute Pomodoro clone. You start an open-ended session and work until you are done.
How the focus timer works
- Start — one tap. The screen stays awake. Optional Apple Music focus playlist.
- Daily goal — default two hours, fully customizable. The point is a finish line, not a guilt meter.
- Distraction tracking — app switches over three seconds count; a glance does not. Zero-distraction sessions are celebrated.
- Pause / resume — when life happens.
- Live Activity + Dynamic Island — the timer stays on the lock screen without unlocking.
This is the same app as the app blocker. Blocking and the timer are one session, not two products.
Apple Watch
The Watch companion can start a focus session, complete habits, and show streaks. It is not a standalone Mac-class app — it rides the same iCloud data as the iPhone.
What else is on the day
The timer is one piece. The app also has tasks (including Apple Reminders import), habits that can auto-complete from Apple Health, a Shutdown ritual at the end of the day, and widgets.
It is not a one-task-per-day app. You can plan multiple tasks. The constraint is the session: one focus block, apps blocked, timer running.
Compared to Forest / one sec / Opal
- Forest is a gamified timer. Leaving kills a tree. It does not block Instagram.
- one sec adds a breathing pause before an app opens. A 2023 PNAS study found that kind of friction cut problematic opens by about 57%. It is not a session timer.
- Opal is a screen-time dashboard with scheduled rules. Hardcore Focus is built around this session, this goal.
Best iPhone app blockers (2026) and Hardcore Focus vs one sec.
Price
Hard paywall, one subscription: $3.99/week, $8.99/month, $49.99/year with a 7-day annual trial. No account. App Store.