Making a reminder actually ring: lessons from Android and iPhone
I built a reminder app called Alarvo where the important reminders behave like an alarm clock: full screen, through Do Not Disturb and Silent mode, ringing until you tap Done. I thought the hard part would be the alarm screen. It wasn't. The hard part was making sure the alarm fires at all. Alarvo runs on Android and iPhone, and the two platforms could hardly be more different here. Here's what I…
A reminder app called Alarvo was created, ensuring that important reminders behave like an alarm clock, even when silenced or in Do Not Disturb mode. The development process revealed several challenges and lessons for building time-critical apps on Android and iPhone platforms.
On Android, the AlarmManager API setAlarmClock proved more reliable than setExactAndAllowWhileIdle, as the latter could be deferred by Doze or App Standby buckets. By using setAlarmClock, Alarvo's critical reminders remained visible in the status bar, and the app could differentiate between reminders requiring immediate attention and quieter alerts.
However, the app had to account for various events that could disable alarms, such as app updates, device lock screens, timezone changes, and battery optimization settings. To address this, Alarvo registered for important broadcast intents and checked battery optimization levels before scheduling alarms. Furthermore, the app displayed a reliability screen to inform users of any issues, including OEM battery managers, that could interfere with alarms.
To ensure the app's reliability, Alarvo incorporated a test alarm that verified the entire alarm process on a user's device. This test alarm confirmed that the sound played through the alarm stream, remained audible in silent mode, and was not killed by the device's battery optimization settings.
For iPhone users, the situation was different. AlarmKit, introduced in iOS 12, allowed third-party apps to schedule full-screen alarms that could cut through Silent mode and Focus. Alarvo leveraged AlarmKit to schedule alarms that appeared full-screen on the lock screen, even when the app was not running.
The app offered three reminder levels: quiet notifications, sounds, and full alarms, along with AI-powered reminders based on user habits and a sync feature across Android and iPhone devices. Alarvo's website and Google Play page are provided for further information.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.