Short answer: the timer is the easy part — the Clock app will do. What breaks a pomodoro on iPhone is the phone itself, so pair the timer with an app block that lasts exactly as long as the round.
The 25 minutes aren't the problem
Pomodoro is simple: 25 minutes of work, 5 minutes off, a longer break after four rounds. Every timer app gets that right. The round fails in the minute you reach for the phone to check one thing, because a timer only counts; it doesn't stop you. The fix is to make the check impossible for the length of the round, not to rely on remembering not to.
Run it with Circuit
Circuit isn't a Pomodoro timer: it doesn't run cycles or call breaks. It blocks the apps you pick, on Apple's Screen Time, for as long as you say. That makes it the other half of a pomodoro.
- Pick what to block once. Social, video, games, news — whatever you reach for. Leave your notes, your editor and the timer itself alone.
- Start the round with one hold. Hold the Breaker with Focus (30 minutes) selected, from the app, a widget or Control Center. Thirty is a pomodoro with the five minutes it takes to get going; Quick (15 minutes) is there for half-rounds.
- Want exactly 25? In the Shortcuts app, add Circuit's Trip the breaker action and set Minutes to 25. Put it on your Home Screen or run it with Siri, and every round starts with the same tap.
- Watch the clock without opening anything. The remaining time sits on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island for the whole block.
- The break is the block ending. When the time is up the apps come back on their own. Start the next round when the break is over.
Two extras for the rounds that matter. Strict Mode (Pro) means a block can't be ended early at all; without it, ending early asks for a breath, a wait or a typed sentence first. And Circuit can play rain, fire, waves, brown noise or a slow pulse, started with the block.
Get Circuit — blocks up to 30 minutes, a pomodoro's worth, are free.
Questions people ask
What is the Pomodoro technique?
Work for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and after four rounds take a longer break of 15–30 minutes. Each 25-minute round is one pomodoro.
Is Circuit a Pomodoro timer?
No. Circuit blocks apps; it doesn't run work-and-break cycles or start breaks for you. What it adds to Pomodoro is the part a timer can't do: the distracting apps stay shut for the whole round. Its quick blocks are 15 and 30 minutes, and the Shortcuts action takes any length from 15 minutes, 25 included.
Can I use Circuit together with another Pomodoro app?
Yes. Keep the timer you like and start a Circuit block at the start of each round. Just don't block the Pomodoro app itself.
Is it free?
Blocks up to 30 minutes are free, which covers a pomodoro. Longer blocks, more than one schedule and Strict Mode are in Circuit Pro.
Ready to trip the breaker?
Free includes one schedule and the Breaker up to 30 minutes.