Meditimer

The device

The Meditimer

One dial. One button. A screen that doesn't glow.

The Meditimer, a small upright wooden meditation timer with a round screen and a side dial.
Design render · not final

Why

Almost everyone who sits down to meditate begins by picking up the one object engineered to pull them back out of it.

You unlock your phone to set a timer. Before the bell ever rings you've seen three notifications, and the session you were about to have has quietly become a different one. Then the phone sits face-down beside you, still fully capable of interrupting.

A timer should just be a timer. It should be quiet, sit out on a shelf, hold its charge, and do one thing beautifully.

What it does

  • SessionsA single sit, an interval sit, or a stopwatch with laps.
  • IntervalsEither a chime every few minutes, or your own marks placed anywhere in the sit.
  • SoundA choice of chime tones, and a physical volume slider rather than a menu.
  • DisplayE-paper. No backlight, no glow, nothing lighting up a dark room. It holds its image with the power off.
  • Hide the clockTurn the countdown off completely, so you're sitting rather than watching a number go down.
  • HistoryYour recent sessions, kept on the device.
  • ControlsA wheel you turn and press, and a back button. That is the whole interface.
  • PowerAn internal rechargeable battery that charges over USB-C.
  • BodyWood and a clean face plate, made to be left out rather than put away. (Production intent; today's prototype enclosure is 3D-printed.)

The interface

Every screen is built and running.

Meditimer screen reading Begin, with a battery indicator.
Power on
Meditimer menu: single session, interval session, stopwatch.
Choose a session
Meditimer screen setting a 25 minute session.
Set the time
Meditimer countdown showing 24:58.
Sitting
Meditimer menu: custom interval, repeating interval.
Interval modes
Meditimer screen setting total session duration to 30 minutes.
Total duration

Captured from the working simulator. Design intent, not final.

What it deliberately isn't

  • No account to create. It works completely on its own.
  • No notifications. It has nothing to interrupt you with.
  • No subscription. You buy an object, and then you own it.
  • No streaks, no scores, no leaderboard.
  • No microphone and no camera.
  • No feed, ever.

If you use GoWithin, the companion app, the timer can hand your sessions to it when your phone is nearby. That part is optional.

Where it stands

The full interface exists and runs, every screen and every menu, as a working simulator, and it has been ported to firmware. The electronics are specified end to end, the enclosure is designed, and the prototype is being built now.

The Meditimer isn't for sale yet. Leave your email to hear when it is.