Owaves launched on 8 May 2014, when the Encinitas, California company released its first app on iTunes: an iPad planner it called the world’s first wellness planner, with a 24-hour clock oriented to local sunrise and sunset. As of October 2026, Owaves: My BodyClock runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and reports 1.3M+ downloads.
Key takeaways
- On 8 May 2014, Owaves released its first app, an iPad wellness planner on iTunes, announced in a PR Newswire release datelined Encinitas, California.
- The 2014 app planned the day on a 24-hour clock oriented to local sunrise and sunset, with exercise, sleep, nutrition, love and relaxation in the activity menu next to work and errands.
- Owaves was founded in May 2013; before launch its closed beta had passed 8,000 scheduled activities, per a 6 May 2014 Owaves announcement.
- As of October 2026, Owaves: My BodyClock is free on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and BodyClock Plus costs $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year on the US App Store.
- Owaves reports 1.3M+ downloads and 625M+ activities logged in 200+ countries on owaves.com.
When did Owaves launch?
Owaves launched on 8 May 2014. That morning the company put its first app, an iPad planner, on iTunes and announced it in a PR Newswire release titled “Owaves Launches World’s First Wellness Planner.”
Two days earlier, on 6 May 2014, Owaves had announced that it won CONNECT’s Springboard Capital Competition in San Diego and said the planner would go live at the estimated local sunrise, a fitting start for an app built around the sun’s daily cycle. The company was founded in May 2013 and is based in Encinitas, California, according to both announcements. Owaves’ own launch post from May 2014 lists four key features: Design-a-Day, Save Routines, Add Notes, and Localized Sunrise and Sunset.
What was Owaves when it launched in 2014?
In May 2014, Owaves was an iPad app for planning a whole day around health and wellness goals, drawn as a colorful 24-hour clock instead of a list. The release describes a clock that oriented itself to local sunrise and sunset to nudge users toward a healthy circadian rhythm.
The release summarized it in a few ideas, which we paraphrase here:
- A 24-hour clock, not a grid. The day appeared as one circle, oriented to sunrise and sunset where you live.
- Wellness on the same page as work. The activity menu put exercise, sleep, nutrition, love and relaxation (stress management) next to the usual work and errands, so you could schedule them side by side.
- Built to be fun. The interface was developed with a game and puzzle app studio from France.
- A first step. Owaves called the app the first footstep toward Wellness 4D™, a planned system for planning, tracking and assessing daily activity with wearable devices.
Royan Kamyar, M.D., MBA, the founder and CEO, framed the goal in the release: “Owaves is creating a new personalized way of looking at time that places health and wellness as a top priority.” The release also told the story of a closed-beta tester, a lab researcher in northern California, who started scheduling a short daily Skype call with her long-distance boyfriend, something she said she never would have thought to do otherwise.
Who covered the Owaves launch in 2014?
The launch began with Owaves’ own announcements, and outside coverage followed over the next months.
The Owaves press page lists a San Diego Business Journal look at local consumer health startups that profiled Owaves (6 June 2014) and a Forbes piece on the Apple Watch that quoted Kamyar on the origin of Owaves (15 September 2014). Reuters also published a story on day-planning apps on 2 June 2014.
What has changed since 2014?
Almost everything around the circle has grown, while the circle itself stayed. The table compares the May 2014 release with the App Store listing and owaves.com as of October 2026.
| May 2014 | As of October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Owaves | Owaves: My BodyClock |
| Devices | iPad, via iTunes | iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch; Macs with Apple M1 or later; Android waitlist |
| Day view | 24-hour clock oriented to local sunrise and sunset | My BodyClock: a 360° circular view of the 24 hours |
| Activities | Exercise, sleep, nutrition, love and relaxation beside work and errands | 8 color-coded categories: Move, Eat, Relax, Love, Play, Work, Flow and Sleep |
| Routines | Design-a-Day, Save Routines, Add Notes | Day Plans you save and repeat; unlimited with BodyClock Plus |
| Body clock tools | Not in the release | Body Clock Quiz, BodyClock Score (a daily 0–100 view), BodyClock AI recommendations in BodyClock Plus |
| Health data | Wearables planned (Wellness 4D™) | Apple Health, comparing planned and actual activities |
| People | Not in the release | My Moai, a peer support group for sharing progress |
| Price | Not in the release | Free; BodyClock Plus $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year (US) |
| Scale | Beta: 8,000+ activities scheduled | 1.3M+ downloads; 625M+ activities logged in 200+ countries |
A few rows in more detail, from the App Store listing and owaves.com:
- Categories with colors. Every activity belongs to one of eight categories, each with its own color, per the Owaves FAQ; see what the colors in Owaves mean.
- Tools for your body clock. The one-minute Body Clock Quiz on owaves.com suggests your Body Clock Type (owaves.com notes it isn’t a diagnostic test). BodyClock Plus adds daily BodyClock AI recommendations for Deep Sleep, Deep Work, Peak Fitness and Eating Windows.
- Health data. Owaves connects to Apple Health to compare what you planned with what you did; see how to connect Owaves to Apple Health.
- Reach. The US listing shows 4.6 stars from 1.8K ratings, and the app is available in English and 19 more languages; read what App Store reviewers say.
What has stayed the same since 2014?
The core idea is the same: your whole day on one 24-hour circle, with sleep, meals, movement and the people you love planned beside work. The sun still matters to the app: App Store release notes for version 8.1 mention more accurate sunset times, and since version 8.0 a shared image of any day includes sunrise, sunset and Time in Daylight. Saving a good day to reuse it, one of the 2014 features, lives on in Day Plans; here is how to save and repeat a day plan. The positioning line has stayed too: Owaves still calls itself the World’s First Wellness Planner, Powered by Your Body Clock.
Your day on My BodyClock
The day above on My BodyClock is a sample weekday planned the way the 2014 release described: wellness first, work alongside. It starts with a walk outside shortly after waking, holds a three-hour Work block for deep focus in the morning, and keeps lunch, an early-evening workout and dinner as fixed points. Commutes and getting ready are Flow, so the circle has no gaps.
Like the beta tester in 2014, it also schedules a Love block: an evening call with a friend or family member. Sleep closes the circle with eight hours, from 11 PM to 7 AM.
To build your own, take the Body Clock Quiz, then plan a day like this one free in Owaves on the App Store. On Android, join the waitlist.
FAQ
When was Owaves founded?
Owaves was founded in May 2013 and is based in Encinitas, California, according to its 2014 announcements. Its first app launched a year later, on 8 May 2014.
Was Owaves first an iPad app?
Yes. The May 2014 release announced the Owaves iPad app on iTunes. As of October 2026, Owaves: My BodyClock runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and on Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later.
What did “the World’s First Wellness Planner” mean in 2014?
It was how Owaves described its launch app: a planner built to schedule health and wellness goals, such as exercise, sleep, nutrition, love and relaxation, next to work and errands. Owaves still uses it in its positioning line, the World’s First Wellness Planner, Powered by Your Body Clock.
Is Owaves still free?
Yes. Owaves: My BodyClock is free to download and use, with My BodyClock, My Goals and My Moai included. BodyClock Plus, the optional subscription, costs $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year on the US App Store as of October 2026.
Is Owaves on Android?
Not yet. Owaves is on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and Android users can join the waitlist at owaves.com/android.
Sources
- Owaves via PR Newswire. “Owaves Launches World’s First Wellness Planner.” 8 May 2014. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/owaves-launches-worlds-first-wellness-planner-258452291.html
- Owaves. “Owaves Wins the 2014 CONNECT Springboard Competition.” 6 May 2014. https://owaves.com/owaves-wins-the-2014-connect-springboard-competition/
- Owaves. “Owaves Launches.” 8 May 2014. https://owaves.com/owaves-launches/
- Apple App Store. “Owaves: My BodyClock” (US listing: description, release notes, compatibility, in-app purchases). Accessed 29 October 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/owaves-worlds-first-wellness/id869648628
- Owaves. “The visual calendar for a healthier day” (home page). Accessed 29 October 2026. https://owaves.com/
- Owaves. “Press.” Accessed 29 October 2026. https://owaves.com/press/
- Owaves FAQ. “What are the activity categories?” Updated 22 April 2018. https://owaves.com/faq/what-are-the-activity-categories/
- Owaves. “Android Beta.” Accessed 29 October 2026. https://owaves.com/android
- Reuters. Day-planning apps aim to help users achieve healthier lifestyle. 2 June 2014. https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/day-planning-apps-aim-to-help-users-achieve-healthier-lifestyle-idUSKBN0ED2A2/
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