Awarded by Apple as the iPhone App of the year 2020, Wakeout! boasts over 1500 creative and fun mini exercises to keep you healthy, happy, and energetic. Looking into my current stasis of just staring at screens, either my Mac’s or iPhone’s, it was the perfect app to pick for #AppyWeek with AK. So, did it keep me moving? Was I happier and healthier at the end of the week? Only one way to find out; read on!
Wakeout! Review: Testing the iPhone App of the Year 2020
Traveling, restaurant hopping, socializing, etc., are limited currently due to obvious reasons. While I am not happy to admit it, I am desk-, sofa-, or bed-bound for almost all day long, either typing away, testing apps/products, or binge-watching some thriller movies on Netflix. And many people are sailing in the same boat! However, small steps lead to significant changes, and Wakeout! is designed to encourage you to devote 30 seconds to 2.5 minutes towards a healthier you. The best part is that the app adapts to your environment. Whether you are at the home, office, a coffee shop, or traveling, sitting, standing, or typing, there’s a regime.
How Wakeout! helps you stay fit and focussed!
Can a 30-second session help me reach my fitness goal? Well, it won’t. Wakeout! is not designed with that mindset, and that’s what sets it apart from other apps. The brief exercises are meant to break the sedentary pattern of your day-to-day life. This, in turn, helps to enhance your mood, be more productive, and reduces stress. Everything from the app’s logo to its UI carries a feel-good factor. And quite like the exercises it boasts, Wakeout! is pretty easy to maneuver.
The exercises
As soon as you enter the Wakeout! app, it encourages you to take a quick break. A random one-minute easy and fun exercise break to wake up the sleepy muscles. Next, there are the Wakeouts, a library of all exercises broadly divided into four sections:
Home WakeoutsWorkplace WakeoutsTravel Wakeouts Outdoor Wakeouts
Each section further divided into categories such as Morning Energy, Bedroom, Foot Massage, Hand Health, Animalistic, Stairs, etc. Amazingly, these sub-categories have exercises segregated as per:
Moods – Relaxing, energizing, intense, and funTime durations – 30 secondsShort Routine – 90 seconds (3 exercises) Long Routine – 2.5 minutes (5 exercises)
The idea is to allow you to choose a custom workout depending upon where you are and what you need considering the time availability. Furthermore, you can choose the default music app offers or play your tunes in the background. Although, I feel the app needs to improve its music listing. It boasts basic, happy-go-lucky instrumentals, nothing pumping or energizing.
The balancing act
Doubling as a neat little productivity app, Wakeout! also offers a timer, to enable up to 90 minutes of focus time. When the timer is done, you can choose between going back to work, a 5-minute coffee break, or a one-minute active break. The app also has a wind-down mode. Sadly, the section contains just one activity set, nothing like the currently available sleep aid apps in the market.
The quirk
I totally love how the developers have smartly and subtly incorporated colors and elements to makes things fun. Everything from the name of the exercises to the tutorial carries a swag. Some of my favorites exercise titles are Show Me The Money, Scrambled Eggs, and Wipe Shoulders off. What’s more? As you complete an activity, Wakeout! shows your activity levels with some uber-cute animations. Totally Adorbs!
The Companions
To make things more fun and approachable, Wakeout! brings plenty of tricks to the table: Apple Watch App – Picking your iPhone for a 30-second Wakeout! can be more distracting than helpful. So, if you happen to own an Apple Watch, you can squeeze in exercises from your wrists. Reminders – The aim is to inculcate a habit of taking active breaks. And for that, Wakeout! enables you to set up to 4 reminders throughout the day. And though I don’t understand the logic of sticking to just four reminders, the company promises that more options are on their way. Home Screen Widget – A small-sized widget that will take you to an active one-minute workout in a tap.
Things I didn’t like about Wakeout! – Exercise breaks
The silent tutorials do not instruct properly when you should breathe in or out. Plus, once the novelty of things mellows down, it gets dull and boring. There is a definite lack of encouragement and inspiration. And for some reason, Wakeout! doesn’t log the activities in the health app. So, your iPhone and Apple Watch will consider you inactive during that time. Though it works as a tremendous habit-forming app, I now consciously take breaks between my long sessions. You could try this one out if you end up sitting for hours. It will surely help you break the circle and inculcate a habit of moving.
Did Wakeout! win AK over?
In just a week, I have consciously started to take breaks. So, if you sit stationary for hours at a time for work or leisure, this might be the critical break the vicious circle and inculcate some habit. Although I must say that it works as a tremendous habit-forming app, I expected to fall head over heels for it. Overall, the $4.99/month price tag is justified for a few initial months, and later you can decide whether to continue and skip.
AK Meter
User Interface: 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌜 Ease of access: 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌜 Features: 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌝 Fun quotient: 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌝 Exercise: 🌝 🌝 🌝 🌝 Fresh content: 🌝 🌝 🌝 Price: Free (In-app purchase starts at $4.99) Download
What is #AppyWeek with AK?
Apps can make our like super smooth. And I love discovering apps that are helpful, fun, innovative, and easy to use. But finding the right app isn’t an easy task. So, I pick an app and use it thoroughly for the whole week. Each feature and element is tested on various criteria to observe the app’s overall performance. In the end, I share my honest experience to help you decide whether the app is perfect for you or not. So, do follow this space for more exciting and unique apps. Until then, read these previous editions:
AppyWeek with AK: Enhance your podcast listening experience with PodbeanAppyWeek with AK: Sheroes – A social network for womenApp of the Week: Hopscotch makes programming bite-sized for kids#AppyWeek with AK: Is ClickUp the ultimate project management app?
