Waking Up: Meditation & Wisdom

Waking Up sits in a crowded meditation app market but distinguishes itself through its intellectual approach, anchored by neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris. The app launched in 2018 and has accumulated over 42,000 ratings averaging 4.92 stars, which is genuinely rare territory. At 103 MB it is a reasonable install, and regular updates through mid-2026 suggest the developer is actively maintaining the content library rather than letting it go stale.

What the App Actually Delivers

The core offering is a 28-day introductory course aimed at both complete beginners and people who have tried meditation before without it sticking. Beyond that foundation, daily guided sessions from Sam Harris keep the practice fresh, and a shorter-form feature called Moments provides quick reflections for busy days. That three-tier structure, long course plus daily content plus bite-sized sessions, gives users genuine flexibility rather than forcing one format on everyone.

Where It Earns Its Rating, and Where to Watch Out

A 4.92 store rating from 42,000 reviewers is hard to dismiss as noise. Recognition from NYT Wirecutter in 2025 and an App Store App of the Day in 2026 add external credibility. The caution is the freemium model: the app is free to download but carries in-app purchases, and the depth of what is accessible without a subscription is not spelled out in the available facts. New users should verify exactly what the paywall covers before investing time in the onboarding.

Who This Is Actually For

Waking Up skews toward people who want a reason behind the practice, not just ambient noise or a streak counter. The Harris-led content is philosophy-adjacent, so users expecting a purely relaxation-focused app may find the tone more cerebral than expected. That said, the 28-day course structure makes it genuinely approachable for first-timers, and the Moments feature means even people with fragmented schedules have a realistic entry point.