Alarm & Wake-up
Tessera: Photo Puzzle Alarm
Tessera is a puzzle alarm for iPhone. It rings through Silent mode and Focus, then turns a photo you chose into a nine-piece puzzle. Rebuild it to stop the alarm. It takes about thirty seconds, and the first thing you see in the morning is a face you love, not a snooze button.
- Rings in Silent & Focus
- Photos stay on your iPhone
- No accounts, no ads
- Subscription or lifetime unlock
An alarm clock that wakes you with a photo of someone you love.
How it works
- 01
Ring
A real alarm, built on iOS 26's AlarmKit. It wakes you through Silent mode and Focus, like the built-in Clock app does.
- 02
Assemble
Tap the alarm and your photo appears as a 3×3 puzzle. Slide the tiles into place, or drag the pieces home. Springy, tactile and forgiving to sleepy fingers.
- 03
Resolve
The pieces settle, the gaps dissolve, and the photo becomes whole and full-bleed. The alarm stops.
- 04
Wake
The app holds you on that photo for a moment. A softer way to start the day than a snooze war.
A look inside
What's inside
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A real alarm that rings on Silent
Built on Apple's AlarmKit, so it rings through Silent mode and every Focus, shows on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, and survives a reboot. A notification dressed up as an alarm can't do that.
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A wake-up puzzle, not a punishment
Nine pieces, about thirty seconds. Pick a sliding tile puzzle or a drag-and-drop one. Math alarms and QR-code alarms make waking up hard; this one makes it warm.
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The held moment
When the photo comes together it goes full-bleed and stays there. No timer, no score, no "you took 47 seconds". Just the face, whole.
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Send a Morning
Send someone a Tessera alarm as a gift, with a photo, a time and a short note they only see once they solve it. They get that morning free, no subscription needed.
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You choose the photos
Pick a small set of people, pets or places once. Tessera uses the system photo picker, so it never asks for access to your whole library.
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Removing a photo is one tap
Life changes, and photos of loved ones can hurt. You can remove any photo with one tap, wherever you see it, without digging through settings.
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Can't be snoozed into oblivion
If you close the app without solving the puzzle, a backup alarm rings again. And if you genuinely can't finish, a way out appears, because an alarm should never trap you.
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Private by design
Photos never leave your iPhone. No accounts, no servers for your pictures, no third-party analytics and no ads.
About Tessera
Tessera is a warm alarm for iPhone. A tessera is a single tile of a mosaic, and that’s the idea: the alarm rings, and to dismiss it you assemble a nine-piece photo you chose, as a sliding tile puzzle, or a drag-and-drop one if you prefer. When it resolves, the first thing you see in the morning is someone, or somewhere, you love.
It’s deliberately not a mission-alarm arms race. The category around it competes on difficulty: math problems, QR codes taped to the bathroom door, shake-the-phone chores that drag your body out of bed. Tessera doesn’t. The puzzle is mild by design, about thirty seconds, and the entire app exists for the held moment when the photo becomes whole and full-bleed.
Underneath the warmth it’s a real alarm clock. Built on iOS 26’s AlarmKit, it rings through Silent mode and Focus and survives a reboot, and if you close the app without solving the puzzle, a backup alarm rings again. You curate a small set of photos once, kept entirely on your device; nothing is uploaded, there are no accounts, no analytics, and no ads. Removing a photo is always one tap away, because the people in your pool are real and mornings can be tender.
You can also send a morning. Pick a photo and a time, write a short note, and share it as a link. The person who opens it gets that alarm free, and your note appears once they’ve solved the puzzle. The message is encrypted inside the link itself, so there’s no server in between.
Tessera is free to download, and you can add photos and try the puzzle before paying. Setting alarms needs Tessera Unlimited, a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase, and a ringing alarm is never blocked by a lapsed subscription.
Questions
How do I turn off a Tessera alarm?
Tap the alarm and Tessera shows one of your photos as a nine-piece puzzle. Slide the tiles or drag the pieces into place, and the alarm stops when the photo is whole. It takes about thirty seconds.
Does Tessera ring when my iPhone is on Silent or in Focus?
Yes. Tessera is built on Apple's AlarmKit, so it rings through Silent mode and Focus and survives a reboot, the same way the built-in Clock alarm does.
What if I close the app without solving the puzzle?
A backup alarm rings again, so you can't silently fall back asleep. If you really can't finish the puzzle, a way out appears after a while. An alarm should never trap anyone.
Is it a hard wake-up puzzle like math or QR-code alarms?
No, on purpose. Mission alarms compete on difficulty. Tessera's puzzle is mild by design, and the reward is the photo you see when it comes together.
Can I send someone a Tessera alarm?
Yes. With Send a Morning you pick a photo and a time, add a short note and share it as a link. The person who opens it gets that alarm free, and your note appears once they solve the puzzle. The message is encrypted inside the link; nothing goes through a server.
Are my photos uploaded anywhere?
No. You pick photos through the system photo picker, so Tessera never sees the rest of your library, and the photos stay on your iPhone. There are no accounts, no analytics and no ads, and removing a photo is always one tap.
Is Tessera free?
Tessera is free to download, and you can add your photos and try the puzzle without paying. Setting alarms needs Tessera Unlimited, a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. A ringing alarm is never blocked by a lapsed subscription, and a morning someone sends you is always free.
Which iPhones does Tessera run on?
Any iPhone on iOS 26.1 or later, because it relies on AlarmKit, which arrived in iOS 26.
Be the first thing someone sees tomorrow.
Pick a photo and a time, write a short note, and share the link however you like. They solve the puzzle and your note appears, once. The whole message is encrypted inside the link, with no server in between, and the alarm is free for them.
