I stopped looking for the perfect meditation app and built my own using AI and it was done in under 5 minutes

Date:
Tue, 04 Aug 2026 16:20:26 +0000

Description:
I couldn't find a meditation timer app I liked, so I built my own with Google AI Studio and it did it in under 5 minutes.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter One thing Ive never been able
to find is the perfect meditation app on my iPhone . All I need is a timer that counts down from 10 minutes, which is my preferred session time, and looks nice, but I just cant find an app I like that does that.

The free apps Ive tried either didnt look right, had too many confusing features, or were full of ads that try to get you to upgrade to extra functions after 30 days. Ive ended up resorting to using the Timer function
in the basic iOS Clock app from Apple . That works OK, but it doesnt give off the vibes Im looking for, and it doesn't have any additional features. Its also a bit fiddly to use. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Maybe AI can help? Thats when I thought that if you cant find the app you want, then these days theres nothing to stop you just making your own using AI. So why not?

A bit of research led me to the conclusion that Googles AI Studio was the
tool I needed for this, so I fired up my MacBook, headed over there, and clicked the Get Started button once it had loaded. You may like I used AI to make the browser extensions I couldn't find for Chrome I made 5 Gemini Gems
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Youre initially presented with an empty prompt box, just like you would be in Gemini or any other AI chatbot . So, I started to type.

I want a meditation app timer that will count down from 10 minutes when I press a button. It will have soothing graphics and play mellow beats when it counts down , and then I noticed that Google was adding suggestions into the prompt for me. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me
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It suggested , "and allow users to customize the background soundscapes and session duration settings. That wasnt a bad idea at all, so I accepted the suggestion.

AI Studio started to think about its task, and in just 38 seconds it had come back with a design preview for me to accept or change. Its initial immersive UI design looked perfect, so I accepted that.

The next thing it showed me was the actual finished app, and it looked great! It had everything I wanted beautiful calming design, an obvious button to press, a session time selector, and it played chill beats during the session. But it had also added a lot of really useful options, like soothing theme choices, a lead-in time selector, a paced breathing guide, and interval chime bells. And all in a non-intrusive way that kept the app's core functionality simple. I was impressed. What to read next Google's speedy new AI image model changes everything Googles new Create My Widget tool is the first step in generative UI ChatGPT and Siri AI tried to get me fit, but Id only use one of them again

The whole thing had taken just 238 seconds to produce. Thats under 5 minutes. (Image credit: Google) Deploying your app The question now was: how to get
the app from existing inside AI Studio and onto my iPhone? That is where I wanted to run it, not on my MacBook. Thats what the Publish button in AI Studio is for. It publishes your app to a unique website address . Its
public, so you can go there now and use my app yourself, if you like.

One option for running the app on my iPhone was to simply click on the URL in the iPhones web browser. Interestingly, it worked in the iOS Chrome browser, but not in the native Safari browser. Further research revealed that the reason for this was Safaris default third-party cookie block. Safari blocks third-party cookies by default via Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP).

It turns out that this is pretty easy to fix; just go to your iPhone Settings

Apps > Safari . Turn off the toggle for Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.

I did that, and now my app ran fine in Safari as well as Chrome.

I could make a bookmark for my app and continue to run it in my iPhones browser if I wanted, but its much better to choose the Add to Home Screen option because this makes your app feel much more like a stand-alone app on your iPhone. It runs it without any of the browser furniture on screen at
all.

To do this, choose the three-dot menu in Safari > Share > Add to Home Screen
. Now youve got a new icon on your iPhone. (Image credit: Apple) An app Ill use every day My meditation timer app has quickly become something I use
every day and has earned a coveted place on the first page of my Home Screen. But its just one possible application of using AI Studio whatever app you want, you can build it easily.

Googles AI Studio means that you can go from I wish there was an app that did X to Ill just build one in seconds. You dont need to learn how to code, and you dont need to have really any skills, just the ability to write a description of what you want your app to do. And AI Studio will even help you with that.

The result isnt going to replace the App Store. Its a web app rather than a polished native iPhone app, and there are still limits to what you can build without coding knowledge. But for small, personal tools like this, that
hardly matters. I didnt need millions of downloads, regular updates, or a business model. I just needed one app that worked exactly the way I wanted it to.

That might be the most exciting thing about AI app builders. For years, when an app was almost right, you either tolerated its flaws or kept searching for another one. Now theres a third option: describe the missing app, build it yourself and put it on your Home Screen before youve even finished
complaining about it. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/i-stopped-looking-for -the-perfect-meditation-app-and-built-my-own-using-ai-and-it-was-done-in-under -5-minutes


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