Mornio vs Kiwake: is Kiwake still worth installing?
6 min read
We make Mornio. So take our opinion for what it is, and check the receipts. Every competitor fact below is taken from that app’s own App Store listing or documentation, checked on 21 July 2026, and linked at the bottom of this page. We say plainly where other apps beat Mornio, because a comparison you can’t trust is worth nothing to you.
Short answer
Kiwake's three-step idea is excellent and genuinely ahead of its time: photograph an object far from your bed, complete a mini-game, then read your goals. It also runs on iOS 12 and later, so it reaches almost any iPhone.
The problem is maintenance. Its App Store listing shows version 3.2.1, released 17 April 2021. For an app whose only job is to fire reliably at 6 a.m. across five years of iOS releases, that is a real risk, and recent reviews mention persistent bugs. Test it hard before trusting it, or choose an actively maintained app.
Kiwake deserves credit. Long before most of this category existed, it argued that waking up is three separate problems, and built a flow that treated them separately. Mornio's design owes something to that idea, and we would rather acknowledge it than quietly borrow it.
The three-step idea, which was ahead of its time
Kiwake's App Store listing describes a sequence:
Body wake-up: take a picture of an object far from your bed.
Brain wake-up: complete a quick mini-game that requires your full attention.
Motivation wake-up: read your main goals.
That first step is a location-anchored mission, the same principle behind Mornio's Wake Check, and the sequence as a whole recognises that getting vertical is not the same as being awake. It was a good design in 2018 and it is still a good design.
The maintenance problem
Here is the fact that decides this comparison. When we checked on 21 July 2026, Kiwake's App Store listing showed version 3.2.1, released 17 April 2021. That is roughly five years without a published update, spanning many major iOS releases.
We are not going to declare the app abandoned, because we cannot know the developer's plans, and an app can sit unchanged and still work. But we can tell you what the listing shows and what users report: recent reviews mention persistent bugs and a lack of developer response. For most apps that is an inconvenience. For an alarm, an unmaintained app is a different category of risk, because the failure mode is missing something that mattered.
If you install it, test it deliberately: set an alarm two minutes out, lock the phone, enable a Focus, and confirm it fires. Then restart your iPhone and test again.
Side by side
Mornio and Kiwake, from their App Store listings on 21 July 2026.
Mornio
Kiwake
Developer
Mornio
Kiwake inc
Last updated (per listing)
2026, actively maintained
Version 3.2.1, 17 April 2021
Minimum iOS
26.1
12.0
Ratings
New app, small review base
3.9 stars, about 1,000 ratings
App size
6.9 MB
62.7 MB
Get-out-of-bed step
Scan a registered QR code or barcode
Photograph an object far from your bed
Second step
Stay-awake check minutes later
Mini-game requiring attention
Third step
Protection restarts if you do not respond
Read your main goals
Backup alarm
Yes
Not stated on listing
Uses AlarmKit system alarm
Yes, exclusively
Not possible on iOS 12; predates AlarmKit
Privacy label
Nothing under tracking; no account
Precise location, device ID, crash data, not linked to you
Price
Free tier; Pro $7.99/mo or $29.99/yr
Free; premium $1.99/mo or $14.99/yr
Where Kiwake is better
Reach, price and the goals step
iOS 12 and later. Kiwake will install on iPhones that no current alarm app supports, which for some readers is decisive.
Cheaper: $1.99 monthly or $14.99 yearly against Mornio's $7.99 and $29.99.
The motivation step has no equivalent in Mornio. Reading your goals as part of the wake-up ritual is a genuinely different idea, and Mornio does nothing like it.
The photo mission is a strong mechanic and does not require you to register a code in advance.
Where Mornio is better
Maintenance, and the alarm itself
It is actively maintained. This is the whole argument. An alarm app is infrastructure, and infrastructure that has not been touched in five years across many iOS releases is a risk you are taking on.
It uses AlarmKit, the iOS 26 framework for real system alarms that sound through Silent mode and Focus. Kiwake predates it by years and supports iOS 12, so it cannot rely on that path.
The follow-up happens after you have already left the bed, minutes later. Kiwake's three steps all happen in one sequence at alarm time, so nothing checks on you at 6:35.
No location data collected. Kiwake's label lists precise location and device ID as data not linked to you. Mornio's lists nothing under tracking and it has no account.
Which should you install?
Your iPhone is too old for anything modern
Kiwake, since it supports iOS 12. Test it thoroughly before relying on it.
You want the cheapest option and accept the risk
Kiwake at $14.99 yearly, with the maintenance caveat firmly in mind.
The morning genuinely cannot be missed
Not Kiwake. Choose an actively maintained app, and add an independent backup alarm.
You want the same idea, currently supported
Mornio if you have iOS 26.1, or Alarmy if you do not. Alarmy's Photo Mission is the closest match to Kiwake's first step.
The same idea, actively maintained
A location-anchored mission plus a follow-up check, kept current. Three Protected Mornings free.
Yes, it was still listed when we checked on 21 July 2026. However, the listing showed version 3.2.1 released on 17 April 2021, meaning roughly five years without a published update, and recent reviews mention persistent bugs and a lack of developer response. It may still work, but that is a meaningful risk for an app whose job is to fire reliably.
Is Kiwake still maintained?
We cannot say what the developer intends, only what the listing shows: the most recent published version is 3.2.1 from April 2021. Combined with reviews reporting unanswered bug reports, we would treat it as unmaintained for planning purposes and test it hard before trusting it with an important morning.
What is a good Kiwake alternative?
If you want the closest match to Kiwake's photo step, Alarmy's Photo Mission does the same thing and supports iOS 16 and later. If you want a location-anchored mission plus a check a few minutes after dismissal, Mornio does that, though it requires iOS 26.1. Both are actively maintained, which is the main thing Kiwake now lacks.
Does Mornio have a goals or motivation step like Kiwake?
No. Kiwake's third step, reading your main goals, has no equivalent in Mornio and we have not built one. Mornio's third stage is protection restarting if you ignore the stay-awake check, which is enforcement rather than motivation. If the goals ritual is what appealed to you about Kiwake, Mornio will not replace it.
Sources
Kiwake: smart alarm clock, Kiwake inc. App Store listing (three-step wake-up flow, pricing, compatibility, and the version 3.2.1 update date of 17 April 2021).
Alarmy - Loud Alarm Clock, Delight Room Co., Ltd. App Store listing (price, ratings, compatibility, mission list and App Privacy labels).
Apple, AlarmKit framework documentation, and Apple’s WWDC25 session “Wake up to the AlarmKit API”, on the iOS 26 framework that lets third-party alarms sound through Silent mode and Focus.
App Store details change without notice. Everything above was checked on 21 July 2026 — if you spot something out of date, tell us at support@mornioapp.com and we’ll correct it. Written and published by the Mornio team. Last reviewed 21 July 2026.