As a kid I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' place. They had that grandfather clock you never see nowadays. When it struck twelve I knew it was lunchtime and my Grandma had almost certainly cooked something delicious. Later, when I started school, I was given a Casio with an hourly beep. Then I got my first Symbian smartphone and the very first app I installed was a cuckoo clock. Now I've written my own iPhone app that brings back those good times at my grandparents' and lets you know the time without having to look at the screen.
Long story short Tinny(not) is the result. It's an hourly chime and speaking clock for iPhone. It rings the hour from your lock screen with the app closed, using one of 14 built-in sounds, or a voice that speaks the time aloud in whatever voice you have installed. The name is a joke about the one thing people feared it would sound like - it is Tinny and it is not tinny.
It is free, not just free to try. The hourly chime and 5 of the built-in sounds cost nothing for as long as you use the app. The speaking clock, custom notification text and the rest of the sounds come as a single one-time purchase. No subscription.
The main controls carry VoiceOver labels and announce their state: the chime switch, the hour grid, the sound list, the custom text field. What I like is you can turn off Lock Screen, Notification Centre and Banners for the app and leave sounds on and the whole thing becomes sound-only so there is nothing to read and nothing to miss.
Each quarter hour can have its own sound, set right from the hour grid, or stay silent if you would rather not hear it. You can also import a recording of your own in case you want something more personal than the built-in sounds.
The whole app is just 9MB. It is available on the App Store - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tinny-not-hourlychime-bell/id6762549292.
If something does not read right with VoiceOver or you just have a question, please, mail to: [email protected]
Comments
Sounds
Does it has those sounds from the grand father clock, I like them very much. Also big Ben? Is it on the app store and what is the name, how much is it?
@Holger
Sure, it does have. And many more. Just give it a try - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tinny-not-hourlychime-bell/id6762549292. 5 of the built-in sounds cost nothing
question
Hi,
question: Will this app shine every quarter hour? I have an app that's similar that will chime every quarter hour. Also, does this app have the old digital watch beep?
@JC
Yeah, it chimes on the hour, every 30 minutes, or every 15. And it does have beep sound. Did you try it?
no
no. however, it sounds interesting. I'll think about it.
Eldar S.
Please give me the name and not the link, using my window PC to check applevis. I do nnot use my phone or iPad to do. Thanks and be cool.
@Holger Fiallo
Here it is - Tinny(not): HourlyChime & Bell
A small accessibility issue…
Thank you for this app, which works quite well overall, particularly thanks to the alarm volume being perfectly audible.
However, I would like to report an accessibility issue with VoiceOver. When I select an option, such as “Hourly” or “Every Day,” VoiceOver does not announce that the option has been selected or indicate its selected state. This makes it difficult for VoiceOver users to know which option is currently active.
I’m using iOS 26.6.1 on an iPhone 13 Pro Max.
@Laurent
Thank you for the kind words, and especially for taking the time to report this.
I'll certainly work on fixing that issue. It'll be in the next update.
If you notice anything else that doesn't read the way it should, please let me know. I'd rather hear about it.