Glyph Countdown Download

Glyph Countdown

A countdown timer for the Nothing Phone (3) and Phone (4a) Pro that shows the time left on the Glyph Matrix. Flip the phone face down to start it. Pick it up to stop the alarm.

Download the latest release All releases

Free and open source. Android 13 or newer. On other phones the timer, sounds and widgets still work, without the Glyph Matrix. An unofficial app, not made by Nothing.

The Glyph Matrix counting down the last ten seconds, its outer ring draining clockwise, then flashing at time's up

How it works

No buttons to hunt for on the back. The phone's own sensors do the work: where it's lying, which way up, and whether you've picked it up.

  1. Set the time

    Drag the dot round the ring of ticks, with a light haptic tick at each step. Hours, minutes or seconds, up to 23 h 59 min 59 s.

  2. Flip it face down

    With the app open, lay the phone face down and the timer starts. The matrix lights at once, even with the screen still on.

  3. Watch the back

    The time left sits inside a ring that drains clockwise. Close the app and it keeps going, with a live notification.

  4. Time's up

    The matrix plays your animation in step with your alarm sound, at alarm volume, for up to 3 minutes.

  5. Pick it up

    Lift the phone off the table, or turn its screen on, and the alarm stops. Knocks and the alarm's own vibration don't count.

The timer screen with its tick-ring dial and draggable dot, next to the back of the phone showing the countdown on the Glyph Matrix
The timer screen and the matching Glyph Matrix.

On the Glyph Matrix

Keep the draining ring, or pick one of ten countdown styles, each with a live preview: Pie, with the numbers cut out of it, Iris, Tide, Spokes, Ticks, Orbit, Big, Spiral, Radar and Rings.

On the Phone (3)'s 25 × 25 matrix it shows H:MM from an hour up, then MM:SS. The Phone (4a) Pro's 13 × 13 matrix shows one number: hours, minutes, or seconds in the last minute.

Ten countdown styles running together: Pie, Iris, Tide, Spokes, Ticks, Orbit, Big, Spiral, Radar and Rings
The ten countdown styles, drawn by the app's own code.

Lit only where you can see it

There's nothing to set up. The phone works out where it is from its motion and proximity sensors. A table is the only place a phone lies flat and perfectly still, so a pocket is never mistaken for one, even when you're sitting down.

Lit

  • Face down on a table, even with the app open
  • In your hand with the screen off, with no dark gap as you lay it down or pick it up
  • Through the whole alarm, however loud or buzzing

Dark

  • While you use the screen (you can switch this off)
  • In a pocket or bag, sitting or walking
  • Face up on a table, where the matrix faces down
Settings with Countdown style and Only when screen is off, beside six cases showing when the Glyph Matrix lights
When the Glyph Matrix lights, and when it stays dark.

Time's up

Everything that happens when the timer ends is on one page, with a preview pinned at the top that plays your choices together with the real sound.

  • Animation: the flashing ring, or one of ten: Contour, Kaleido, Tide, Pulse, Totem, Lattice, Moiré, Weave, Glyph and Knot.
  • Sound: your phone's Nothing sounds or its alarm sounds.
  • Sync with alarm sound: the animation stutters on every note, snapping back, holding, then carrying on.
  • Dim with notes: the matrix blinks with the sound. A slider sets how deep it dims.
  • Vibrate along with the sound.
  • Pick up to dismiss: lifting the phone off the table, or turning its screen on, stops the alarm. If the alarm starts in your pocket, walking about won't stop it. Take the phone out and wake the screen.
The Time's up page: a pinned preview with play button, animation chips, sound lists, sync, dimming, vibrate and Pick up to dismiss, beside the Settings screen
The Time's up page, and Settings.
Ten Glyph Matrix animations looping: Contour, Kaleido, Tide, Pulse, Totem, Lattice, Moiré, Weave, Glyph and Knot
The ten time's-up animations.
Totem, Knot and Kaleido synced to a three-note sound: on each note the animation snaps back, holds and plays on, while the brightness flashes and steps down
Stutter sync with dimming: the animation jerks back on every note.

Widgets and themes

Three home screen widgets, shaped like Nothing's own: a circle, a pill and a rounded square. They tick every second while the timer runs, pulse red at time's up, and start the time you last set. A translucent background is an option.

The app and widgets come in light and dark, following the phone or set by hand. On a Nothing phone the app uses the NDot font already on the phone, so it matches the rest of Nothing OS.

Home screen with the 2×2, 2×1 and 1×1 widgets, and each size shown idle, running and at time's up
Each widget size idle, running and at time's up.
Settings in light theme with the Theme picker, beside the timer screen in light and in dark
Light and dark themes.
Phone (4a) Pro back with its 13×13 Glyph Matrix counting down, beside the matrix in each state
Phone (4a) Pro: the 13 × 13 matrix in each state.

Install

  1. On your phone, open the latest release and download GlyphCountdown-….apk.
  2. Open it, and allow Install unknown apps when Android asks.
  3. On first start, allow notifications, so the countdown and alarm can show.
  4. For widgets, long-press the home screen, then Widgets, then Glyph Countdown.

Updates install over the top and keep your settings. Older versions are on the releases page.

Check a download

Every release is built and signed by GitHub Actions, never on a personal machine, and its notes list the APK's SHA-256. Every official build is signed with this certificate:

SHA-256: a22a650d43425496555e814f387403d5d5b95fe1cd9e70519c030388654439e7

Check it with apksigner verify --print-certs. An APK signed with any other certificate isn't an official build.

Private by design

The app has no internet permission, so it can't go online. There's no account, no analytics and no ads. Your settings stay on the phone.

Good to know

  • Pressing the Glyph Button opens Nothing's toy carousel, which takes the matrix over. The timer comes back when it closes. Apps can't see Glyph Button presses, so the alarm stops when you pick the phone up or wake the screen instead.
  • Flip to start works while the app is open on screen.
  • Google Clock's alarm sounds are private to that app, so only sounds installed on the phone are listed.