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tickIQ uses your iPhone's microphone to capture your mechanical watch's ticking sound. Advanced digital signal processing algorithms analyze the precise timing between ticks to calculate rate (seconds per day), beat error, and amplitude. These are the same measurements used by professional watchmakers with traditional timegraphers.

tickIQ works with mechanical watches, both automatic (self-winding) and manual-wind movements, vintage and modern alike. This includes watches from Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Seiko, Grand Seiko (mechanical models), and virtually every other manufacturer of mechanical timepieces. Even vintage pocket watches work.

Quartz watches and Grand Seiko Spring Drive movements are not compatible, as they don't produce the mechanical ticking signal required for analysis. In rare cases, unconventional movement designs may not be compatible, such as the F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance, which has two separate escapements that cannot be measured in isolation. For watches with co-axial escapements (common in modern Omega), rate, beat error, and frequency measurements are accurate, though amplitude readings may vary due to differences in escapement geometry.

No. Holding the bottom of your iPhone near the watch, as instructed, does not expose the watch to magnetic fields strong enough to cause magnetization. The field strength at the iPhone's bottom edge (where the microphone is located and where the watch sits during measurement) is approximately 3 Gauss, only a few times stronger than Earth's natural magnetic field. For reference, the ISO 764 antimagnetic watch standard uses 60 Gauss as its test threshold; the iPhone sits more than an order of magnitude below this, providing a comfortable safety margin.

The strongest magnetic component of the iPhone is the MagSafe ring on the back of the device. When the app is used as instructed, the watch is not brought near this area at any point during the measurement process.

This method has been used across tens of thousands of sessions without a single reported case of watch magnetization. Read our full investigation →

tickIQ works great when measuring with a watch on your wrist. For maximum precision, like when tracking service results or comparing positions, these tips help:

• Find a quiet room away from HVAC, appliances, and background noise
• Make sure your watch is fully wound before measuring
• Place your watch dial facing up on a flat and steady surface
• Keep the watch still during measurement

If you use a thick phone case, especially one with heavy rubber or silicone edges, try removing it before measuring. Members have reported noticeably better results without a case, as these materials can dampen the watch's ticking sound before it reaches the microphone.

In a quiet environment with these steps, tickIQ produces results nearly identical to a professional timegrapher.

Rate measures how many seconds per day your watch gains (+) or loses (-). A perfectly accurate watch would have a rate of 0 s/d. COSC-certified chronometers must run between -4 and +6 s/d, though many quality watches perform well outside this certification.

Beat error measures the symmetry of the balance wheel's oscillation, shown in milliseconds. Lower is better. Values under 0.5ms are generally excellent. High beat error can indicate the hairspring or impulse jewel needs adjustment by a watchmaker.

Amplitude measures the rotation angle of the balance wheel in degrees. Healthy, fully-wound watches typically show 250-310 degrees. Low amplitude may indicate the watch needs servicing, winding, or that the mainspring is losing power.

tickIQ is free to download and use. No subscription required to get started.

With the free tier, you can:

• Take up to 5 accuracy measurements to see how your watches are running
• Build your watch collection and keep it organized in one place
• Connect with 10,000+ fellow watch enthusiasts in the tickIQ community
• Use the calendar to relive moments and memories through the watches you wore

tickIQ PRO unlocks the full experience:

• Unlimited accuracy measurements across your entire collection
• Unlimited AI-powered insights to help you know when a watch may need servicing
• Wrist time tracking and rotation insights to see which watches you actually wear
• Magazine-quality AI portraits that make your watches look stunning

PRO is available Monthly or Annual, with the Annual plan including a 1-week free trial. You can manage or cancel anytime through your Apple ID settings.

tickIQ is more than a timing tool. It's a growing community of over 10,000 watch enthusiasts who share a passion for mechanical watches.

The Feed is where collectors share photos of their watches, timing results, and stories from their collections. You can follow other collectors whose taste you admire, discover new watches, and connect with fellow enthusiasts around the world.

Your tickIQ account keeps your collection synced across devices and backed up to the cloud, so your data is always safe. It also enables community features like posting to the Feed, following other collectors, and building a public profile to showcase your collection.

When adding a watch to your collection, simply take a photo and tickIQ's AI instantly identifies the brand and model. The system recognizes thousands of watches across all major manufacturers.

When you share what's on your wrist today, the AI recognizes which watch from your collection you're wearing and automatically logs it to track your wrist time and rotation.

For PRO members, tickIQ generates a magazine-style portrait of your actual watch when you add it to your collection. This is your watch, not a stock photo. Custom straps, aftermarket dials, and other personalizations are captured in the portrait.

Occasionally, small details like dial text or hand color may vary slightly, but these cases are rare and something we're actively working to improve.

tickIQ is currently iOS-only. The focus right now is on building out and stabilizing the core features of the iOS app, but we're grateful for the interest in an Android version and would love to tackle it once the iOS feature set is more complete.

If you're experiencing issues, here are some things to try:

• Measurements failing: Go to iOS Settings, scroll down to Apps, tap tickIQ, and make sure Microphone is toggled on. Move to a quieter environment away from HVAC systems, refrigerators, or fans. Make sure no other apps are using the microphone.
• Camera not working: Go to iOS Settings, scroll down to Apps, tap tickIQ, and make sure Camera is toggled on. If that doesn't help, try restarting your iPhone.
• App crashing: Make sure you're running the latest version from the App Store. Try restarting your iPhone.

If problems persist, contact support@b23.ai with details about the issue. Including your iPhone model, iOS version, and screenshots helps expedite troubleshooting.

If you accidentally added a measurement to the wrong watch, you can delete it:

1. Navigate to the watch in your collection
2. Swipe right-to-left on the watch details card to reach the Measurement History
3. Find the measurement you want to delete
4. Swipe right-to-left on the measurement to reveal the Trash button
5. Tap Trash to delete the measurement

Privacy is important to many watch collectors, and tickIQ is designed with flexible privacy controls that let you use the app at whatever comfort level works for you. Privacy settings are accessible in Settings.

tickIQ lets you share a live web link to your collection, perfect for Reddit, WatchUSeek, or anywhere you want to share your watches. Unlike a static photo, the link stays current as your collection evolves. It's disabled by default, and you can enable it anytime from Settings.