A quieter way to explore.
umbra is built for people who would rather listen their way into interesting ideas than fight bright screens, noisy feeds, and too much visual friction.
Less feed energy, more focused listening.
What makes umbra feel different.
Not faster, louder, or more optimized. Just calmer, clearer, and better suited to late-night curiosity.
Immediate playback, background audio, and lock screen controls keep the screen out of the way.
Search directly, follow themed chips, or start random when you want discovery without effort.
Suggestions and smooth transitions keep curiosity moving without turning the app into a feed.
Short transcript sections keep you oriented and let you tap directly to the part you want.
Keep the articles you want to return to and find them again later in your favorites.
Ideal for walks, commutes, evenings, and the last few minutes when you still want to learn something beautiful.
Why umbra exists.
I’m August Ellison, a digital brand manager based in Vienna, working at the intersection of design and technology. I created umbra for my girlfriend, who would reach for her phone at night and end up wide awake. She needed something calming to listen to, not a podcast, not music, just something gently interesting.
umbra began as a fix for one very specific evening habit. That constraint still shapes the product.
Join the public beta.
Free on iPhone.
Choose a topic, put the iPhone down, and keep listening. The core already works.
Available on iPhone through TestFlight. Feedback anytime at
For evenings with less screen time.
One last calm look at the app, then the screen can fade into the background and the listening can continue.
