What makes a great freediving training app in 2025

I tracked my freediving workouts in Google Calendar and WhatsApp for two years while working with my coach.

It worked. But it was scattered and time-consuming. I’d log my times, but couldn’t spot patterns without digging through weeks of messages. I wanted to have a better time writing the data, and an easier way to retrieve it later.

There had to be a better way.

The real problem with most freediving apps

Most apps are just timers with a notes field.

Or they’re bloated with features you’ll never use.

They feel like software from 2012.

So you end up back in the spreadsheet. Or the WhatsApp chat.

So when we sat down to build Appneist, we started out with some design principles.

No BS, modern feel

Clean interface. Fast. Obvious. No gamification clutter.

Modern doesn’t mean fancy animations and gradient buttons. It means you can log a session in under 30 seconds without thinking about it.

Never get stuck mid-session

Most freediving apps trap you in rigid flows once you hit “start”.

Decided you want to repeat another rep? Sorry, you have to build another separate workout for that.

Change your mind mid-session and want to skip that last hold? You can only mark it as “0” because deletion or rearranging is impossible.

Add an extra hold after you finish? Not happening; the app’s done with your workout and so are you.

Flexibility matters because real training isn’t scripted. You realize you want to do one fewer static, or suddenly feel great and want to tack on a few more.

Your app should let you edit, rearrange, or repeat sets on the fly, not lock you out because the timer’s running.

A great app gets out of your way, letting you adjust as you go—because no session is ever exactly how you imagined it before you hit “start.”

Mobile first

You’re not logging breath holds at a desktop. You’re poolside, or in your living room doing dry training, or at the beach before a depth session.

If the mobile experience is an afterthought, the whole app is an afterthought. Quick entry beats elaborate features you access once a month.

Process over outcome

Hide your previous performance during workouts. Seriously.

The fastest way to wreck a training session is pulling up yesterday’s times mid-set and deciding you need to beat them right now. That’s not training. That’s just ego with a timer.

Focus on executing the plan. Log your times. Review the patterns later—not during the work. (This is exactly why progressive training beats random heroic efforts.)

Less is more

Every additional step is a reason to skip logging after two weeks.

Do the core things perfectly instead of everything poorly. The best app is the one you actually use consistently, not the one with the most impressive feature list. (Consistency beats optimization every time.)

Open and integrated

Your training data isn’t a hostage situation. Export everything. Sync with health platforms. Play well with other tools.

This is the one we’re most excited about for the future of freediving training apps.

These principles aren’t nice-to-haves. They’re the difference between an app you use for two years and one you abandon after two weeks.

We built Appneist because we were tired of choosing between WhatsApp chats and apps that made training harder instead of easier.

This is how we’re building the app and we would love to hear your feedback.