Pondelle: Watercolour Pond

A hand-painted watercolour pond, alive on your home screen. Koi drift under lily pads, dragonflies hover, a frog plops in, and the light follows your day, from soft dawn to a moonlit night of fireflies and floating lanterns.

Pondelle is made to be looked at for a second and to calm you for a minute. It asks for nothing, sits quietly behind your icons and eases off when the phone is still.

A pond that lives

• Koi, turtles, crabs, frogs, dragonflies, herons, egrets and ducks, each moving on its own
• Morning, noon, dusk and night, with fireflies, lanterns and candles that glow on the water
• Wind that carries petals, and showers that pass and darken the pond
• Touch the water and the fish answer. Draw a finger through it and the paint moves; brush a bush and it rustles

Three ponds to open

A Japanese Garden, an English Village Pond and a Sri Lankan Wetland. Each has its own fish, birds, light and music, and you open them through everyday use.

Stories at bedtime

Tap the book for a short story read aloud over the pond, with the words on the screen. There are three to begin, one for each pond, and the pond changes to fit the tale. A sleep timer lets it fade out when you do. The voices are made on a computer.

Make it yours

• A garden of 71 collectibles to find and place: lanterns, mushrooms and fairy rings, a wooden bridge, paper boats, floating lights
• Ten painting styles on papers from snow-white to AMOLED black
• Layered, calming sound that follows the hour and the weather, with a Sounds tab to tune it
• A Field Guide of every animal you have seen, with a short story for every kind of koi and goldfish, a daily gift and quiet-time milestones

Look closer

• The magnifier: press and drag to see the brushwork
• Capture any moment as a signed, numbered painting (HD free, 4K with Pro)

Gentle on your phone

It drops to a calm frame rate when still, pauses when hidden, cools down when the phone is warm and has a Saver quality for older phones.

Free, with no clutter

Free, with one small banner inside the app and never on your wallpaper. Pondelle Pro is a single purchase: every style and paper, 4K captures and no ads. Or try Pro for a day by watching a short video.