Read along, search, and catch up
Transcripts and summaries are made on your iPhone, and they are free. Nothing is uploaded, and nothing is charged for.
Words in place of the cover
Tap Words to follow along where the artwork usually sits, or open the full Transcript. Tap any line to jump straight there.
Search what you heard
Find a word in the chapter you are on, or across an entire book once it has been transcribed.
Transcribe a whole book
Do it in one go, or let chapters transcribe themselves as they play, always or only while charging.
Summaries
Summarize any chapter or episode, for the nights you lost the thread and do not want to scrub back.
The Story So Far
Catch up on your book right up to where you are, and not a word past it. No spoilers for the part you slept through.
Skip the credits
On audiobooks and podcasts alike. A Skip button appears when the credits start, or let Lull jump them for you.
Transcripts and summaries need an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, on iOS 26 or later.
A better night
The part of Lull that no other player does: it notices when you fall asleep, fades your story into sleep sounds, and puts your place back where you left it.
Free on any iPhone
- A new Lock Screen card: skip chapters, see what is left of the chapter and the book, and tap Save this spot
- When the sleep sounds take over, that same card pauses them
- Roll-over protection has its own switch, so a stray headset press will not drag your book back at 3 AM
- Save your wind-down setups, like a quick nap and a full bedtime, and switch with a tap
- Every podcast show remembers its own sleep sounds
New in Premium
- What you slept through: a morning recap of everything that played after you drifted off
- A rewind that lands where you actually fell asleep, even if an ad or the credits were skipped in between
- Smart Nap now takes a custom time
- Sleep detection stands down while you drive, walk or work out
- Lull says when it cannot reach your watch or read your heart rate, instead of failing quietly
Premium is one purchase, shared with your family. No subscription. Sleep detection needs an Apple Watch or AirPods, and the morning recap needs an iPhone with Apple Intelligence.
Also in this update
Most of 2.0 is the unglamorous half: the download that did not finish, the place that did not save, the timer that quietly cancelled itself.
- Audiobookshelf. If your server has you further along, from another app or another device, Lull offers to jump there. A book you resume after reopening Lull saves its place back to the server, and a book opened from ABS Admin opens even when it lives in another library.
- Plex. Plex books now go back to where you drifted off, like every other source. Your place holds when you stop the sounds or close Lull overnight, and Wake into your book starts there.
- Downloads. The next episode is downloaded and transcribed before it plays, so it is ready the moment it starts. Download over Wi-Fi only now rules every download in the app, the way the switch always implied.
- Dropouts. If your server or your internet disappears partway through, Lull holds on and picks up again by itself, at the same spot.
- Sleep timers. A timer keeps counting when the next episode or your Up Next starts on its own. It used to cancel itself.
- In the car at night. The Wi-Fi only data saver no longer stops the next episode.
- Podcast ad breaks. When Lull spots one, a Skip Ad button appears in the player. Press it and Lull remembers that ad for next time. It is off by default, and everything about it lives in Settings, then Display & Text. Ads are how most shows get made, so the button carries a reminder to support the ones you love directly. Lull sells no advertising of its own and never replaces a show's.
- Volume leveling now measures loudness the way an ear hears it, so an ad that comes in hot gets brought down.
- Sleep & Track logs your night even with a book loaded, and works with sleep detection switched off.
- Smaller things. Imported books keep playing after an app update. A busy night no longer pushes other books out of Continue. Audiobookshelf podcasts and imported books show what is new. The Lull Night Mode Focus filter switches Lull to its Midnight theme. Clearer wording across the app, and many fixes to sleep detection, downloads and iCloud sync.
See it in action
Press play on a podcast or audiobook, set a sleep timer, and your show fades into soothing sleep sounds. With sleep detection, Lull even rewinds to where you drifted off.
Watch it on Facebook if the player does not load.
You’re half asleep, a podcast still playing, and you don’t want to reach for your phone. That’s the whole reason I made Lull.
When the sleep sounds start and you’re still awake, press play on your headphones and your show comes back. Once you’ve drifted off, one stray press won’t do it, so a bump in the night doesn’t wake you. Press again and it’s back.
What Lull Does
Your podcasts and audiobooks everywhere you go, from CarPlay to the nightstand, plus the calmest way to fall asleep to them when the day is done.
Fall asleep to any podcast
Search for any show and follow it, get new episodes automatically, and drift off to it with the sleep timer. Free, and no account to set up.
Audiobooks, free or your own
A built-in library of free, public-domain audiobooks (classics from LibriVox) is ready the moment you open the app. Or bring your own from a Plex or Audiobookshelf server, or import .m4b / .mp3 files from the Files app.
A sleep timer that's for sleep
Pick a length from 15 to 90 minutes, stop at the end of the chapter, or set any custom time, and choose how long the fade itself takes. As it ends, your podcast or book dips smoothly under your sleep sounds, keeping the last words just audible instead of cutting to silence, so you never wake to a jolt or a sudden blast of audio.
Mix your own sleep sounds
Layer ocean, rain, a fireplace, a fan, crickets, a thunderstorm, birdsong, and brown / pink / white noise. Save your favorite blends. Optional gentle tones for winding down (use headphones).
Sounds under your story
Like a little rain or a crackling fire while you listen? Play ambient sound softly beneath your book or podcast, with its own pick and volume, kept separate from your sleep-sound mix. It bows out at the handoff so your sleep sounds take over fresh.
Come right back
Still awake when the sounds start? Shake your phone, or tap your headset or lock screen, and Lull brings your audio back and restarts the timer, rewound to right before you faded.
A stray bump won’t wake it
The classic 2 AM problem: you roll onto a Bluetooth headset and your book blasts back on for hours. Lull guards against it. Once you have drifted off, a single accidental press is held, not obeyed. Bringing your audio back takes a deliberate double-tap. It has its own switch now, so if you would rather Lull always obey the button, turn Roll-over protection off in Settings.
Read along, and catch up
Tap Words and the text takes the cover’s place, moving as it plays. Tap any line to jump there, search a chapter or a whole book, summarize an episode you half heard, or ask for The Story So Far, which catches you up to your exact spot and not a word past it. Made on your iPhone, free, and none of it leaves the phone.
Your night, no wearable needed
Lull notes when you drifted off and what you fell asleep to, catches the nap you did not mean to take, and keeps the snoring and sleep talking it records on your phone. An Apple Watch adds stages and a readiness score, but you do not need one.
Easy on sleepy ears
Made for very low volume: Voice Boost lifts soft, mumbly narration, Night EQ softens harsh highs, and Skip Silence races through long gaps so a quiet stretch does not leave you straining to hear.
Bookmarks, favorites, and your speed
Star the books you love, drop a bookmark on a spot (or a spot with a note), and set your playback speed, remembered per book. Your Continue shelf always picks up wherever you left off, across every source.
Playlists and a real queue
Line up an Up Next queue for the night, save it as a playlist, or build a Smart Playlist that fills itself from rules, like “short unplayed news” or your calmest shows, across podcasts and your audiobook libraries. Playlists resume like a book: tap Resume and they pick up at the last thing you played.
Listen anywhere
In the car with CarPlay, plus the lock screen, Control Center, AirPlay, and home-screen widgets. Download for offline, and your place, favorites, and saved sound mixes sync over iCloud, so you pick up on your iPhone or iPad right where you left off. The Lock Screen card skips chapters, shows what is left of the chapter and the book, and saves your spot with a tap, and once the sleep sounds take over it pauses those too.
New in 2.0
Free transcripts and summaries made on your iPhone, a rewind that lands where you actually drifted off even when something got skipped in between, a new Lock Screen card, saved wind-down setups, and a morning recap of what you slept through while you were out. The full list is at the top of this page.
Free & Premium
The whole player is free. One optional unlock, $9.99 once, adds the Premium extras, from hands-off sleep detection to listening straight from your wrist.
Free, forever
- Public-domain audiobooks (LibriVox) & any podcast
- Your own Plex / Audiobookshelf library
- Import your own .m4b / .mp3 files
- Sleep timer, end-of-chapter, and fade-to-sounds
- The full sleep-sound mixer and saved mixes
- Import your own sounds, a rain recording or a fan loop, and mix them like the built-ins
- Offline downloads, widgets, AirPlay, resume-where-you-left-off
- Read along, search, and summarize, all on your phone
- Sleep Insights, night recordings, and naps caught after the fact
- A gentle wake alarm that wakes you into your book, right where you drifted off
- Adaptive night mixing: the room gets loud, your sounds rise to cover it, then settle
- Saved wind-down setups you can switch between
An entirely optional Tip Jar lets you support development, it unlocks nothing.
Lull Premium · $9.99 once
- Sleep detection: an Apple Watch or AirPods notice when you drift off and fade the book on their own, rewound to onset
- Smart Nap: counts from when you actually fall asleep, with set lengths, a custom time, and an optional light-sleep window that wakes you a little early on a natural surfacing
- Silent wrist wake-up: the alarm buzzes your wrist at a lighter moment, waking nobody else in the room
- What you slept through: a morning recap of everything that played after you drifted off (needs an iPhone with Apple Intelligence)
- Listen on Apple Watch: stream to AirPods with no phone in the room, browse your shows, and episodes roll on in your order right from the wrist
Everything else in Lull is free, including Sleep Insights, night recordings and the wake alarm. Premium is the sensors: detection, Smart Nap and wrist listening need an Apple Watch or supported AirPods, and the morning recap needs an iPhone with Apple Intelligence. $9.99 once, kept forever. No subscription, and Family Sharing is supported, so the household is covered by the one purchase.
Getting Started
You can be listening in under a minute, no account required.
- Open Lull and pick something to play.
The Library tab opens on free books and your other sources. Tap a book or podcast episode and it streams right away.
- (Optional) Connect your own library.
On the Library tab, switch the source to Plex or Audiobookshelf and sign in, or choose My Files to import .m4b / .mp3 audiobooks from the Files app (or use “Open in Lull” from another app).
- Set a sleep timer.
On the Now Playing screen, tap the moon, then tap a length (or “End of chapter”). The timer starts immediately and shows a check so you always know what’s set.
- Choose your sounds.
Open the Sleep Sounds tab to build a mix, tap sounds to layer them, drag the sliders to balance, and save the blend. When the book fades, these take over.
- Drift off.
Lull fades the book down, hands off to your sounds, and remembers your spot. In the morning, the book is waiting right where you faded.
Using the Sleep Timer & Sounds
Tap the moon on Now Playing. Tap any length (15 / 20 / 30 / 45 / 60 / 90), End of chapter, or open Custom for an exact time. Tapping a length starts it right away; the running timer shows a check, tap a different length to restart it. As the timer runs out, your book fades down gently (the fade is shorter for short timers) and your sleep sounds rise underneath it.
Once the sounds are playing, a shake of the phone, a headset tap, or the lock-screen play button brings your book back (rewound a little so you re-hear what you missed) and restarts the timer for the same length. Roll over and bump a button by accident and the book stays put; it takes a deliberate second tap to wake it.
The Sleep Sounds tab is a full sound machine on its own. Layer water, rain, nature, and home sounds with brown / pink / white (and more) noise, balance each layer, and save named mixes you can recall with a tap. There’s a separate fade-out timer for sounds-only nights, an optional set of gentle tones (headphones recommended), and a hearing-calibration option under Settings → Audio if a sound seems off for your ears.
Tip: a per-book sound mix
Lull can remember a different sound blend for each book, so your thriller and your bedtime classic each get the right backdrop. Toggle it in Settings. Since 2.0 each podcast show remembers its own sounds too, and a running timer keeps counting when the next episode or your Up Next starts on its own, instead of cancelling itself the way it used to.
Sleep Detection, Apple Watch & AirPods (Premium)
Hands-off fading: instead of guessing with a timer, Lull can notice when you’ve actually fallen asleep and fade the book then, rewound to where you drifted.
- Wear an Apple Watch, or supported AirPods.
Detection uses your Apple Watch (motion + heart rate), or AirPods Pro / 3rd-generation-or-later / Max (head stillness; AirPods Pro 3 add heart rate on iOS 26). Without one of these, the sleep timer still works and is free.
- Turn on Automatic sleep detection.
Settings → Sleep → Sleep Detection. Set the sensitivity on a five-step scale from Patient (waits until you are clearly asleep) to Swift (fades the moment you settle), with Balanced in the middle. Start at Balanced and nudge it over your first few nights. You also choose how far the book rewinds when it fades.
- Just listen.
Start your book at bedtime. When you drift off, Lull fades it into your sounds and backs the book up to the moment you actually fell asleep, looked up by timestamp, so it lands right even if credits or an ad break got skipped in between. A tap or shake brings it back if it ever fades too soon.
- It knows when you are not in bed.
Detection stands down while you drive, walk, or work out, so a long car ride is never mistaken for falling asleep. And if Lull cannot reach your watch or read your heart rate, it tells you instead of failing quietly.
Detection also powers Smart Nap (a nap that counts from when you fall asleep, not when you press start) and a gentle wake alarm that wakes you back into your book: instead of a blaring tone, your story eases in softly at a light moment near your set time, with a silent buzz on your wrist. Sleep Insights then gives a quiet recap of your nights, just the facts of what played and when, not a clinical sleep score.
Lull is a general wellness app for relaxation and bedtime listening. It is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or monitor any condition. Heart-rate and motion data are read only while you’re listening and stay on your device.
Help & Troubleshooting
Quick fixes for the most common bumps.
My Plex (or Audiobookshelf) server won’t connect
Make sure your phone and server are reachable on the same network, or that your server is available over the internet. For Plex, sign in again from the Library source switcher; Lull auto-discovers your servers, and you can also enter a server URL and token manually.
If only some books appear, check that they’re in a library Lull can read (audiobooks live in a Plex Music library). When you have more than one, you can show a single library, or pick All Libraries to browse them all together.
I imported a book and it won’t play / says it’s protected
Lull plays standard .m4b and .mp3 files. It can’t play .aax / .aa files (DRM-protected, like Audible), those are encrypted, so Lull rejects them with a message. Use DRM-free .m4b or .mp3 audiobooks and import them from the Files app or via “Open in Lull.”
The book didn’t fade when I fell asleep
Automatic fading needs Sleep Detection (Premium) and a worn Apple Watch or supported AirPods, check Settings → Sleep → Sleep Detection, that your wearable is connected, and that detection isn’t set too “Patient.” If you’re not using detection, set a sleep timer instead and the book will fade on schedule.
It faded while I was still awake
That’s safe by design, a quick shake, headset tap, or lock-screen play brings the book right back. If it happens often, set detection to a more Patient sensitivity (Settings → Sleep → Sleep Detection).
I see an orange dot all night
If you turned on Night recordings, iOS keeps the orange microphone indicator lit the whole time Lull is listening. That’s expected, the recordings stay on your device and delete themselves after 14 days. Turn the feature off in Settings if you’d rather not record.
Downloads or sounds use too much data / battery
Turn on Wi-Fi-only downloads in Settings to avoid cellular data. Sleep sounds are generated on the device (no streaming). Overnight listening with detection and recording does use battery, charging on the nightstand is the easy fix.
What happens if my Wi-Fi drops overnight?
Lull plans for it. While a streamed episode plays, the next one is quietly fetched ahead of time, and if the connection dies mid-night, playback carries on with what’s cached and hands off to your sleep sounds (generated on the device, no internet needed) instead of going silent. Downloads make any book fully outage-proof.
My progress isn’t syncing across devices
Lull syncs your position, favorites, saved mixes, and followed podcasts over iCloud. Make sure you’re signed into the same iCloud account on both devices and that iCloud Drive is on. Imported local files stay on the device they were imported to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lull free?
Yes. The whole player (free audiobooks, podcasts, your own Plex / Audiobookshelf library, imported files, the sleep timer, and the full sound mixer) is free. Sleep Insights, night recordings, the gentle wake alarm and importing your own sounds are free too. The optional Premium unlock, $9.99 once, is the sensors: hands-off sleep detection, Smart Nap, the silent wrist wake-up, a morning recap of what you slept through, and listening from your Apple Watch. There’s also a voluntary Tip Jar that unlocks nothing.
Do I need a Plex server or an account?
No. You can use Lull entirely free with no account using the built-in public-domain audiobooks and podcasts. Plex and Audiobookshelf are optional, for streaming your own library.
Can I add my own podcasts?
Yes. Search for any show and follow it, and Lull keeps it up to date with new episodes (a dot marks the ones you haven’t played). Each episode plays with the same sleep timer, fade-to-sounds, and resume-where-you-left-off as a book, so falling asleep to a podcast works exactly the way you’d want.
Can I bring my subscriptions from another podcast app?
Yes. Lull imports a standard OPML file, the export format every major podcast app offers. On the Add Shows screen, tap the OPML button and pick the file, and your shows follow over in one go. You can paste any RSS feed URL directly too. Your subscriptions are never locked in either direction.
How do playlists work?
Two kinds. A regular playlist is a hand-picked lineup you build from any mix of books and episodes. A Smart Playlist is a saved set of rules (specific shows, categories, unplayed only, under a set length) that refills itself as new episodes arrive. Both live on the Continue tab, and both resume where you last left them, like a book.
Can I listen to my Audible books?
Audible audiobooks are DRM-protected, so they can’t be imported or played in Lull. Lull plays standard, DRM-free .m4b and .mp3 files, import those from the Files app or with “Open in Lull.”
What sleep sounds are included?
A large library you can mix and match, ocean and waves, several kinds of rain, a fireplace, a fan, crickets, frogs, a thunderstorm, wind, birdsong, a cafe, and brown / pink / white (and more) noise, plus optional gentle tones for headphones. Save your favorite blends and recall them with a tap.
How does sleep detection know I’m asleep?
With an Apple Watch it watches your motion settling and your heart rate easing; with supported AirPods it senses your head going still. When the signs line up, it fades your audio and rewinds toward when you drifted off. It is a best guess, not a medical reading, so if it ever fades while you are still awake, a tap or a shake brings your audio right back.
What if it fades too early, or too late?
Adjust the sensitivity in Settings → Sleep → Sleep Detection. It runs on a five-step scale from Patient (waits until you are clearly out) to Swift (fades the moment you settle), with Balanced in the middle. If it fades while you are still awake, nudge it toward Patient; if it waits too long, nudge it toward Swift. Most people land on their setting within a few nights, and a tap or shake always brings your audio back while you dial it in.
Will an accidental bump on my headset wake the book?
No, and this is a common annoyance with other players: you roll onto a Bluetooth headset or your phone and your audio blasts back on for hours. Once Lull has faded you off to sleep, a single stray press is held instead of obeyed; bringing your audio back takes a deliberate double-tap (or a phone shake). A fast tap right after the fade still works instantly, since that means you are clearly still awake.
Does Lull track me or collect my data?
No. Lull has no accounts and no analytics, ads, or tracking. Your library, listening, and any night recordings stay on your device; your Plex / Audiobookshelf connection talks only to your own server. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Will it keep playing with the screen off?
Yes, Lull plays in the background with full lock-screen and Control Center controls, a sleep-timer Live Activity, and home-screen widgets. It keeps your spot if you close the app, and resumes right where you left off.
Does a phone call or Maps interrupt my book?
Only for the moment. After a call, a navigation prompt, or any audio interruption, Lull picks your audio back up on its own, so a quick beep from Maps or a short call does not leave you stranded in silence.
Can Lull download episodes for me automatically?
Yes. Download anything for offline listening, and turn on smart downloads to have Lull grab the rest of your current book or new episodes of shows you follow, then tidy away the ones you have finished. Keep it Wi-Fi-only if you like.
Is there a dark theme, and a bedtime reminder?
Both. An OLED night theme uses pure-black backgrounds for the least glow in a dark room (with optional quiet hours), and an optional bedtime reminder sends a gentle wind-down nudge at a time and on the days you choose.
How do the transcripts and summaries work, and what do they cost?
They are free, and they are made on your phone. Tap Words on Now Playing to follow along in place of the cover, or open the full Transcript. Tap a line to jump there, search a chapter or an entire book once it is transcribed, summarize an episode, or ask for The Story So Far, which stops at your exact spot so nothing is spoiled. A chapter takes about a minute to transcribe, and you can let chapters do it as they play, always or only while charging.
This part needs an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, on iOS 26 or later. Everything else in Lull works without it.
Lull missed an ad. Can I tell it?
Yes, and that is how it gets better. While the ad is playing, or the moment it ends, tap the … button at the top right of the player and choose That Was an Ad. Lull reads the ninety seconds before your tap, works out where the ad ran, and remembers it. Pressing the Skip Ad button teaches it the same way. A plain thirty-second skip teaches it nothing, so you can scrub freely.
What it learns counts in every show, not just the one you were listening to, because the same ads follow you around. Ads are how most shows get made, so the Skip Ad button carries a reminder to support the ones you love directly. Lull sells no advertising of its own and never replaces a show’s.
How do I see or delete the ads Lull has learned?
Go to Settings → Display & Text → Learned Ads. Every ad Lull has picked up is listed there, and you can remove them one at a time. If you would rather start over, Forget Learned Ads in the same place clears the lot.
Rewinding back into a learned ad plays it that time, and does not make Lull forget it, since going back is usually just you finding your spot again. Skipping stays off until you turn on Skip ads automatically in the same Settings screen; until then the Skip Ad button simply appears and waits for you.
Does any of that leave my phone?
No. Transcripts, summaries, your sleep history and any night recordings are made and kept on your device. There is no account, no tracking and no analytics, and nothing is uploaded for processing.
What happens to my place when I fall asleep mid-episode?
Lull looks up where you were by timestamp, so when the book fades it goes back to the moment you actually drifted off. That holds even if a chapter’s credits were skipped in between, or you were listening at a faster speed. If you slept clean through into the next episode, the one you missed starts at the top when you reach it again.
What devices does Lull support?
iPhone and iPad (iOS / iPadOS 17 and later), with CarPlay for the car and AirPlay to your speakers. Premium features add an Apple Watch companion for detection and wrist listening, and work with supported AirPods. The 2.0 transcripts and summaries ask for a little more: an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, on iOS 26 or later.
It all stays on your phone
Transcripts, summaries, the ads Lull has learned, your sleep history and your night recordings are made and kept on your device. Lull has no ads, no tracking and no analytics, and there is no account to create. Podcasts stream from publishers' public RSS feeds, free audiobooks come from LibriVox with audio and art hosted by the Internet Archive, and Plex and Audiobookshelf play only what is already on your own server.