The Clocks Reviews

Displays time great, but the programmers have zero concept of human factors so the interface to access functions is useless. If you accidentally use a motion to close the clock you disappear down their rabbit hole of commands that are all gestures that have no rational logic. And since mostly you just want to see the time, which this does better than the native Apple clock, it really destroys its utility. Alarms, world time, etc are all done almost infinitely better with the native Apple app; the only thing this does better is display time better. But you occasionally jam it up because the programmers have yet to discover how to program menus, necessitating wasting more time than a time display is worth. Get something else unless you like wasting time with your time app.

Wow, it is left me literally in the dark several times now. I do not know why but the alarm does not sound until I open the banner message only then the alarm comes on after I was supposed to wake up. I’ve even tried, leaving the phone connected and volume all the way up. Which I normally absolutely would never do so that no one could call or text and wake me. But again I was trying to figure out how to get What is the the alarm to sound.
I’ve looked at it and even TheClocks support doesn’t open correctly. Not at all helpful and cost me time
Otherwise, I like the ability to leave a clock on for part of my business that is very helpful. But is it worth keeping multiple clock apps just to have?
Bummer because I erased the factory app and I’m not sure how to get it back⏳

New to this and love the interface options, but for one thing I cannot fathom. The alarm only runs for two minutes? I sleep deep and have watched the alarm a few times when I wake before it. The actual run time for the alarm alert (music or beeps or both) only stay on for two minutes. I can unfortunately sleep right through that. Then it’s done and if I sleep past the sounds for two minutes , now the alarm is off and I am not awake. Also when I add both music and beeps for an alarm it seems to only play the music but not the beeps. Is an alarm clock that does not run more than two minutes really by design?

First of all, for such a small app, it does a lot that I needed to do. The reason I got it was because I wanted a clock on my phone that would stay on all night. The built-in iPhone clock times out and there are times where I need to be able to see what time it is. This clock stays on all night, gives me five alarm options and allows me to choose the music I want to wake to.
The only downside is that the alarm only goes for two minutes and, if you are a heavy sleeper, may not wake you up. Also, there have been times where it randomly does not go off. It illuminates like it is and has the snooze option or turn off option, just no actual alarm. If I close out TheClocks and reopen it, it comes back to life and works like normal. I would recommend TheClocks for anyone looking for a bedside clock/alarm clock. I also use it in meetings where I need to have the time visible. I would just make sure you completely close out TheClocks each day when you’re done rather than let it hang out in the background to fix the occasional error.

I use this in so many different ways. I do a lot of executive and public briefings in rooms that unfathomably have no clock or where it's facing the wrong way, I lead meetings and conduct other events where being mindful of time is important. I travel so time in different zones is also important.

Of course, there's the usual needs of desktop clock because the time on my computer can get obscured or is too small to claim my attention (In a meeting driven work life, time is a constant factor.), bedside clock, bathroom clock to keep watch as I get dressed (amazing how a hot shower at 4am can lull away time), or using the second hand on the analog to time intervals during my workout. I literally use this on every IOS device I own. It's that good.

I absolutely love being able to resize and re-position the clocks to suit different needs. I shrink the size in meetings and enlarge for easier viewing when I'm m presenting for example. The dimmer is awesome. The color is too. Fancy picture or moving backgrounds shine too bright in a dark room and/or are too distracting for most of my uses. I have no desire to turn my time into yet another "social media" event. The simplicity of this clock is honestly one of its most beneficial features.

So why 4 stars? The alarm. It's touchy. I have too be very careful to make sure it rings and/ or rings loud enough to wake me. Otherwise, easily in my top 3 must have apps!

I've noticed that all of the low (1-2) star reviews are people who simply don't know how to use this.

"Clock style randomly changes and you can't change it back"

Swiping left/right changes the clock style.

"Can't change the brightness."

Rubbing up/down raises and lowers the brightness respectively.

"No alarm when device is locked"

From what I've experienced, alarms do go off when my tablet is locked. However, it's only the default, built in alarms. Not any music you may have chosen for a custom alarm.

"too confusing"

If you messed around for more than 10 seconds, you'd find TheClocks is very simple with 2 main screens.

The first which displays the time in whatever style clock you've chosen, and the second where you actually set your alarms.

These can be switched to by the buttons that show up on the bottom left (when on the clock screen) and upper left (when on the alarm screen) corners when interacting (even simply just tapping the screen) with TheClocks .

IMO this is a very good, nearly perfect app.

I say "nearly" as I've had 1 problem.

The alarms seemingly randomly decide to stop going off. This seems to be fixed by restarting TheClocks and turning any alarms off and on again.

Other than that, everything's been great.

And it only requires iOS 5.1.1, which is perfect for me since I only have a gen 1 iPad.

Compared to other Clock applications, which charge a little bit more and have ads. I think this one is great. The only thing missing is a feature to show the date on top of the time, a stopwatch and possibly a floating time feature. I would pay extra for the aforementioned and potentially additional features. As it is a free app. TheClocks is significantly better than others. As for complaints logged by others: I love the alarm volume as opposed to default LOUD alarm standard in iPhone; there is a method to adjust iPhone alarm volume, but I digress

I had my IPad for a decade but hardly had reason to opt for it over my laptop or phone (i.e., it didn’t get much use). But a recent series of scheduled power outages that rendered my dedicated bedside alarm clock the equivalent of a door stop, I sought a more intelligent solution. I considered my IPad for that solution and found it in the Clocks app. TheClocks with its daily programming capability, selection of displays, selection of alarm sounds, and the ability to adjust the intensity over a broad range completely outclasses the standard one dimensional alarm clock. In fact, both bedside alarm clocks that I’ve tolerated over the years as “good enough” solutions when the powers not interrupted have been decommissioned in favor of the far more capable Clocks app-powered IPad. Thanks to the Clocks app I now utilize my IPad every day of the week whether it’s waking me up or I just need to know the time. I will NEVER again opt for a dedicated bedside alarm clock and plan to take my Clocks app-powered IPad with me on travel so I don’t have to deal with the hotel alarm clock.

As a clock it has the basic minimum feature set to meet the definition of its purpose: it is just... a CLOCK !

What makes this program great is it gives you the time clearly and quickly in the format you prefer with zero clutter.

What makes it exceptional is the set & forget config. On initial launch, make it do what you want with a solid set of features and controls... then rejoice that you never have to deal with that again until/unless you wish to reconfigure.

I’m a ham radio operator, it’s brilliant to have a clock that launches instantly and clicks the time down to the second... in UTC, local, etc. It is WWV IN MY POCKET !

When I’m operating QRP in the field and need to accurately log contacts, this works right now. When I need to run around the house and set clocks, this is the tool of choice.

Grab a copy and have a look. If you need the time right now, your way, this is it.

73 de KD9COJ

I give this 5 stars because it comes closest to what I need. I purchased and tried several others and ended up using this one.

I give a lot of presentations and what I need is an app that shows the time in very large white on black numerals so I can monitor it while I’m talking. I typically know whether it’s morning or night so I don’t need it to show AM/PM.

Surprisingly, such an app does not exist anymore. They all use lots of space to show AM or PM, as if anybody really needs to see that. Or they insist on telling me what day it is, which is wholly unnecessary.

But this one shows AM/PM rather small and otherwise has very large no-nonsense numerals.

If I could turn off the AM/PM and stop the blinking of the hour:minute separator I would consider it perfect.

And I really wonder why there’s nothing out there for people who simply want to see the time.

Anyway I appreciate what the developers have made available and I recommend this.

I keep my phone on a nightstand charger at night and use my phone as an alarm clock. The clock options in TheClocks are beautifully designed. I especially love the analog face and the flip clock is a cool retro look, too. There is also a digital clock. All faces come with options to customize. The clock faces are dimmable to very low light or super bright. And there is no white light bar on the bottom-(it’s there for a second when you put the phone in the charging stand)- a big plus for me, as I like my bedroom to be completely dark for sleeping. Love TheClocks!

At first when I saw TheClocks it sounded promising and thought maybe it’s a start. Later on trying TheClocks, I find it simple to use but great to use it. It features 6 types of clock 3 with 2 types. You can choose to see seconds or no seconds. When you triple tap you can lock it and what’s nice is that it shows you the date. You can choose 6 time zone at once. And other simple things on TheClocks are shake to turn flashlight on/off, change color of the time, swiping up and down for brightness, triple taps to lock/unlock. Anyways great app :)

Apple’s clock should be able to display a digital clock face for viewing across the room, but it doesn’t. I needed to show the clock at the back of a small room for presentations… this was perfect!

But let’s talk about that screen orientation feature… why did you program it that way!?! I love it! 🤣

TheClocks lets you enlarge and shrink the clock as well as change the viewing angle. It doesn’t restrict the clock size to the size of the screen, and it doesn’t restrict the angle to the standard angles. You can put the phone on a stand, rotate the clock so that it’s several degrees off level, distinctly off center, and leaves parts of the numbers off the side of the screen. It’s disturbing to many people, and that makes it hilarious to see who sits squirming through presentations because they can’t handle the clock display.

“Can you fix your clock?”
“Sure…” and make it worse.

Best clock app ever. 👍🏻😁

For a free App, it's easy to install and use. The interface is very simple, but that's all I was looking for. An analog clock with second hand to set the exact time on my automatic wristwatch. It runs well:no crashes so far. I only use about once a week. It let's you select analog or digital: for each you can choose minutes only or seconds, too. You can also select a variety of time zones. It would be nice if they allowed you to customize the appearance. For example, it'd be quite cool to have the ability to create a mirror image of my white face Ebel automatic. Or perhaps I could emulate my dream watch, a Panerai, for a weekly reminder of what I might someday afford if I play my cards right.😁 Last, its FREE! I'd be willing to buy it or even lease yearly as long as the price wasn't more than a few bucks. I'm not sure how the developers are supporting it: mine hasn't yet run any ads. It it did, goldangit! I'd gratefully read 'em all. Well maybe I would...😷

First, a little drawback: ads, which eventually appear at the bottom of the screen of the free version, are so bright as to distract from seeing the time at night.

However, a solution is to upgrade to the premium version with a one-time purchase of $6 (in year 2024), which eliminates the ads. To me, this is a small price to pay for quality software.

This program is very good; it's just the sort of replacement for which I was looking. (After having upgraded my old iPhone to a new model, I then discovered that my old third-party clock application was no longer available.)

By the way, after noticing that this new (to me) "The Clocks" program permits the dimming or brightening of the display, but does so in an uneven fashion, there is a built-in solution . It's to change the setting called "Brightness Control" from "Hardware" to "Software". Then the process of swiping to dim or brighten becomes smooth (rather than jerky).

Thanks for the nice application.

UPDATE: I thought I had not reviewed this, so came here to do so. Discovered I had and ... can't change a thing about this review. I still use it every day, it's still awesome and I still think it's perfect! TheClocks [still] has a spot on my phone's first page and I don't see that changing, ever. Again, thanks for the awesome app!!
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I use this clock every morning whilst getting ready for work (I don't have a clock in my bathroom). The simplicity of TheClocks, combined with the awesome graphics, make this the perfect clock (I love the second hand's accurate shadows). And, not having ads is the best. I'd pay for TheClocks! It's a beautiful, yet functional app that is one of my faves. Thanks for the excellent work.

TheClocks is the *only* reason I take my iPad on trips and vacations. Let me explain:

I have the first iPad and a couple years ago no apps would support it, websites wouldn’t render, etc. Functional it’s fine, it’s just old. I was going to mount it and make it a dynamic photo frame, but I’m to lazy. So now it is my clock.

My iPad is on a shelf in my room with TheClocks running almost 24/7. I take my iPad on every trip so I can have my clock where I want it. Not next to the bed in a hotel where I have to turn around to see it and then it’s so small it’s hardly readable from across the room. Now I just put my iPad up and I have a huge analog clock the size of an iPad screen I can read from anywhere and I can put it where I want it.

TheClocks is the only reason my iPad is used instead of laying in a drawer.

I love TheClocks. It does one thing and does it well, exactly what anyone would want from a product. I wish I could pay or donate to say thank you, but there is no way to. And the other reviewer is correct: there are no ads, not one, not ever. It doesn’t ask for weird permissions to spy on you either. It’s truly free.

It's sort of humorous when you look at the home screen of my old iPhone that I use as a constant alarm clock besides my bed. It is just page after page of alarm clock apps. I've tried nearly every one, paid and free. They all are just not quite right. They each have one fundamental flaw that makes it annoying to use it as a constant alarm clock. Either ads you have to pay to remove monthly or poor graphics or bad ui or an over complexity of features or a too busy, uneditable display. Well, my quest is finally over. This one takes the cake! It's BEAUTIFUL. Simple. Ad free. Does what it's suppose to. Doesn't read "unable to update" (Alarm Clock HD!!!) because it needs to run 24.7 and is having memory issues. Perfection!!!! Love the HD precision of the lavender digital clock without blinking dots or distracting seconds. Perfection. Sheer perfection.

Whatever I am, I really, really want a nice clock. TheClocks, Clocks, is it for sure. It has exactly the features I want, or the ability to disable features. It offers a second hand that goes, jump, jump, jump. Alternatively the second hand can move smoothly. I really like it smooth. Not many clock apps let me choose.

Speaking of "clock apps," I have tried many. Many, over the years, and this is the cream of the crop. That is why I am taking time out of my busy day to rave about it, to let you know my exuberance for TheClocks , Clocks.

It allows me to choose an analog face or a digital face. Maybe in the digital face there are some nice numbers, I don't know since I use the analog face. The only digital face that I noticed uses these really stupid numbers that are incomplete and look like somebody printed them with a paint- on-the-curb stencil. I assume one can choose a decent, legible font also.

I can dim the clock face. I can show a bezel around it or not. I can have the face be all black with white lettering or the reverse. Basically, what I am trying to say I guess, is that this programmer has thoughtfully given us the ability to configure all of the things that are important to me.

My suggestion is that you give up trying app after app after after like I did. Take it from me that you will be happy if you get Clocks and use it, and spend the rest of your time doing romantic or world changing things.

Hello, TheClocks is great I don't know if I can say enough how good the clock is and specially how far the customization can go to.
However there is one key feature missing for me, the LANDSCAPE mode. The solution would have been; unlocking the phone's rotation and by triple clicking within the CLOCKS App having the display to remain horizontal. But when you go to the home screen or just multitasking and then resuming to TheClocks causes a displacement which leaves half of it covered under the display.
I'm on iPhone 6s and I hope this will be fixed.