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Commerce · alternatives · 2026

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24 alternatives to Smartphone haptics for inducing calm, an alternative to meditation

Hey HN, We've been working in neurotech over the past few years, primarily focusing on improving sleep. A friend asked if I would build her a vagal nerve stimulation device. These are devices used to improve relaxation, and “vagal tone”. She didn't want to shell out hundreds for the existing solutions. I originally said no, but then I thought, what if we leveraged smartphone haptics to achieve the same effect as these expensive devices? After some tinkering, Harbor: Immersive Calm was published to the app store last week. https://getharbor.app It’s pretty basic and very MVP, no…

Harbor: Immersive Calm is a smartphone app that uses haptic vibrations and sound to promote relaxation as an alternative to meditation or expensive vagal nerve stimulation devices. Users select an immersion session and… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Smartphone haptics for inducing calm, an alternative to meditation launched in 2023; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1
    PAUSE▲375

    A relaxation and meditation app by ustwo

    2015 · pauseable.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Relieve stress and anxiety, sleep better, and improve focus

    2024 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Learn to meditate and live mindfully

    2017 · headspace.com · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    An interactive sound therapy app for meditation

    2018 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5
    Calmer▲379

    An anxiety relief app that actually works

    2025 · gocalmer.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Stress-free living begins here

    2024 · expireddomains.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    The music-guided meditation experience you can feel

    2019 · wavemeditation.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8
    Calm▲223

    Take a break and meditate.

    2013 · calm.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9
    Pulsetto▲118

    Reduce stress, improve sleep & relax in under 4 minutes

    2023 · indiegogo.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10
    INSCAPE▲105

    Change your mind to relax, de-stress and sleep better.

    2018 · inscape.life · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    A haptic meditation app

    2018 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    A bit more context - the cloth sim is part of my app, Lungy (https://www.lungy.app). It's designed to be an active meditation / relaxation app, so you can play relaxing instruments in space and immersive breathing exercises. The original Lungy is a breathing app available for iOS, that uses real-time breathing with interactive visuals. The cloth sim is a Verlet integration, running on a regular grid. For now, I have tried a couple of different cloth scenes - a sort of touch reactive 'pad', where different parts of the cloth are mapped to different sounds and a cloth that blows…

    2024 · youtube.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13
    Unwind 2▲172

    Deep mindful breathing exercises from your phone and watch.

    2020 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    Vibration-based meditations using Apple Core Haptics

    2020 · themindcompany.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Meditation app for stress relief with relaxing sounds

    2020 · zenlounge.in · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Neuroacoustic technology to help you focus, relax and sleep

    2023 · its alternatives →

  17. 17
    Serene▲74

    Research-backed mindfulness journaling, meditations and CBT

    2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18
    non▲125

    A sensory meditation app

    2018 · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    A serene white noise app for focus and relaxation

    2023 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20
    Inscape▲108

    Guided meditation and relaxation

    2016 · inscape.net · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    Amofit S▲124

    Wearable for sleep and reducing anxiety

    2022 · indiegogo.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    Personalized music to focus, relax & sleep

    2023 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Research-backed mindfulness journaling, meditations and CBT

    2021 · getserene.app · its alternatives →

  24. 24
    No Stress▲104

    Relax, recharge and revive with no stress

    2023 · balikgames.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →