Introducing Blinky 2.0: A Beautiful Redesign for Better Eye Health
Introducing Blinky 2.0: A Beautiful Redesign for Better Eye Health
I’m excited to announce the release of Blinky 2.0—a complete redesign that makes tracking your eye health more beautiful, intuitive, and efficient than ever before.
The Origin Story
Blinky started as a personal project. Like many developers and professionals, I was spending long hours at the computer and experiencing serious eye strain. I knew the research: we blink 66% less when staring at screens, leading to dry eyes and discomfort. But knowing the problem and solving it are two different things.
I built Blinky for myself—a simple tool to track my blink rate and stay aware of my eye health during work sessions. It worked so well that I decided to share it with others who might benefit.
Version 2.0 represents everything I’ve learned from using and improving Blinky over time.
What’s New in Version 2.0
🎨 Stunning New Design
The entire interface has been reimagined with modern design principles:
- Clean, beautiful visuals that reduce cognitive load
- Smooth animations and transitions
- Dark mode support for comfortable viewing
- Vibrant, thoughtful color palette
- Improved data visualizations
⚡ Session-Based Tracking
Instead of always-on monitoring, Blinky 2.0 introduces intelligent session-based tracking:
- Start a session when you begin work
- Track your blink rate during focused screen time
- End the session when you’re done
- Review detailed summaries of each session
This approach gives you control and context—track when it matters, not continuously.
🔋 Better Battery Life
Session-based tracking also means dramatically improved battery efficiency:
- Track only when you need to
- Optimized processing reduces power consumption
- Minimal impact on all-day battery life
- No wasted resources when you’re not working
📱 Enhanced Device Support
Blinky 2.0 works beautifully across all iPhone and iPad sizes:
- Optimized layouts for every screen size
- Better iPad support with larger displays
- Improved performance across devices
- Universal design that adapts to your device
🎯 Improved Accuracy
Under the hood, Blinky 2.0 includes:
- 30-second calibration for personalized baselines
- More accurate blink detection with ARKit
- Better handling of different lighting conditions
- Refined algorithms for edge cases
🔒 Privacy-First Design
Privacy has always been core to Blinky, and 2.0 doubles down:
- Zero data collection - nothing leaves your device
- No accounts - no registration or login required
- On-device processing - all analysis happens locally
- Complete transparency - you control all your data
Why Session-Based Tracking?
The shift to session-based tracking was the most important decision in 2.0. Here’s why:
Real-world usage: You don’t need blink tracking 24/7. You need it during focused work sessions—when you’re coding, writing, designing, or doing deep work at a computer.
Better insights: Sessions provide context. You can see patterns across different types of work, understand which activities affect your blink rate most, and make informed decisions about breaks.
Sustainable tracking: Always-on monitoring drains battery and creates cognitive overhead. Sessions are intentional, bounded, and practical.
User control: You decide when to track and when to stop. No passive surveillance, just active awareness when you need it.
What Hasn’t Changed
Some things are timeless:
- Simple and focused - Blinky does one thing well
- Privacy-first - Your data stays on your device
- No subscriptions - One-time purchase, yours forever
- Created with care - Built by someone who uses it daily
The Journey Continues
Blinky 2.0 represents months of design work, code refinement, and user feedback. But this isn’t the end—it’s a new beginning.
I’m committed to maintaining and improving Blinky as a tool that genuinely helps people maintain better eye health in our screen-dominated world.
If you’re someone who spends hours at a computer and cares about your long-term eye health, Blinky 2.0 is for you.
Experience the new Blinky. Download version 2.0 on the App Store today.