Open: Breathwork + Meditation

Breathwork takes priority over meditation

Open puts breathwork at the center of its experience rather than treating it as a warm-up for meditation, which is the more common app approach. Techniques such as box breathing, cyclic sighing, and nervous-system regulation protocols are framed with explicit reference to the physiological mechanisms behind them. That science-first framing gives users a concrete goal, not merely a mood nudge, and it separates Open from competitors that rely primarily on ambient soundscapes and reassuring narration. The addition of movement content broadens its utility beyond seated practice, making it a more complete daily wellness tool. The 4.88 rating across 17,000 reviewers strongly suggests the execution matches the ambition.

Mature build with stable performance

A 205 MB install is moderate by modern iOS standards and should not cause friction on any device with reasonable storage. Version 26.27 reflects a mature, frequently iterated build, and the July 2026 update date confirms the team is actively shipping changes rather than coasting on an established rating. The 4+ content rating means no age-related restrictions complicate household use. Qualitatively, the high rating volume across a multi-year user base suggests the app runs stably and that guided sessions load reliably. We cannot quote specific frame rates or network speeds, but the consistent review sentiment points to a polished, low-frustration daily experience.

Competitive value for regular users

Open is free to download, which removes the risk from a first session. Full access to the content library almost certainly requires a subscription, as is standard across premium wellness apps, though exact pricing tiers are not disclosed in the available app metadata. Prospective subscribers should check the current in-app purchase screen before committing. Given the depth of content across three modalities and the evident production quality tied to a physical studio operation, the value proposition is competitive with comparable apps in the category. Users who engage regularly with the breathwork curriculum are likely to find the cost justified.

Check privacy label before granting permissions

The content rating of 4+ confirms no mature content concerns, but it says nothing about data practices. For a health and fitness app, the relevant questions are which health metrics are collected, whether that data is shared with third parties, and how it is retained. Apple's App Store privacy nutrition label for Open is the authoritative source for those answers and is visible on the app's product page before download. We recommend reviewing that label carefully, particularly the sections covering health and fitness data and data linked to your identity, before granting any permissions the app requests at onboarding.

High ratings suggest intuitive design

The app's sustained high rating across a large and diverse user base is a reasonable proxy for design quality, suggesting that navigation, session flow, and content discovery work intuitively for most people. The science-forward framing is presented in a way that reviewers broadly find approachable rather than clinical, which points to thoughtful UX writing. On accessibility, the standard iOS Dynamic Type, VoiceOver, and display accommodation settings should apply, though we cannot independently verify the depth of screen-reader optimization. Users with specific accessibility requirements are best served by testing the free tier before subscribing, since Apple's return policy for subscriptions is limited.

Frequent updates since 2021 launch

Version 26.27 and a July 2026 update date are strong indicators of active, ongoing development. The version number alone suggests a team that ships frequently rather than releasing occasional large updates. Open was launched in January 2021, giving it more than five years of iteration history, and the rating has held near its current high across that period, which implies updates have improved rather than degraded the experience. The physical Los Angeles studio also provides an operational incentive to keep the digital product competitive, since the two serve as mutual proof-of-concept for the brand's credibility.