Mobile App Tutorial

Getting Started on Mobile

The Gateway Experience mobile apps (iOS & Android) include several mobile-exclusive capabilities beyond the core features. This tutorial covers the features unique to the mobile experience.

Mobile Navigation

The mobile app uses a bottom tab bar with four main sections:

What is Phone Torch Mode?

Phone Torch uses your device's camera flashlight as a pulsing light source for photic entrainment. The torch strobes at the exact frequency of your binaural beats, providing light stimulation through your closed eyelids — no separate hardware needed. This is a mobile-exclusive feature since phones have a built-in flash.

How to Enable

1. 1Go to your Account tab
2. 2Scroll to the "Advanced" section
3. 3Toggle "Photic Mode" on
4. 4Open any track in the Player — you'll see a flash icon (⚡) in the control bar

Using the Phone Torch

1. 1Find a dark, comfortable space — a bedroom or dimly lit room works best
2. 2Put on headphones and start your meditation track
3. 3Tap the flash icon (⚡) in the Player control bar to activate the torch
4. 4Hold your phone about 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) in front of your closed eyes
5. 5Close your eyes — you'll perceive the pulsing light through your eyelids
6. 6Rest the phone on a surface or prop it up so you can relax hands-free
7. 7The torch strobes automatically in sync with your track's binaural beat frequency
8. 8Tap the flash icon again to stop the torch

Torch Limitations

The phone camera flash has some physical limitations compared to a dedicated LED headset:

Best Practices

Safety Warning

Photic stimulation involves rapid flashing lights. Do NOT use the phone torch if you have epilepsy, photosensitive conditions, a history of seizures, or migraines triggered by flashing lights. Stop immediately if you feel any discomfort, dizziness, or visual disturbances. Consult your doctor if you have concerns.

Torch vs LED Headset

Connecting on Mobile

On mobile, LED headset connection works via native Bluetooth (no browser restrictions). The experience is the same as on web, but without the Chrome/Edge requirement.

1. 1Enable Photic Mode in Account > Advanced
2. 2Open a track in the Player
3. 3Tap the headset icon (flashlight symbol) in the control bar
4. 4Complete the safety screening on first use
5. 5Your phone will scan for nearby BLE devices
6. 6Select your LED headset from the list
7. 7The headset syncs automatically with playback

Headset Button Control

If your LED headset has a physical button, The Gateway Experience detects button presses and uses them to toggle play/pause. This means you can control playback directly from the headset without touching your phone.

Battery Monitoring

When connected, the Player shows the headset's battery level next to the connection indicator. Keep your headset charged for uninterrupted sessions.

Stream to External Devices

Cast your meditation audio to speakers, TVs, and other devices on your network. Casting continues even if you navigate away from the Player — Netflix-style background playback.

AirPlay (iOS)

1. 1Tap the AirPlay icon in the Player control bar
2. 2Select your AirPlay device (Apple TV, HomePod, AirPlay speakers)
3. 3Your phone and the device must be on the same Wi-Fi network
4. 4Audio streams to the device. Control playback from your phone
5. 5Video backgrounds won't display during AirPlay — audio only

Chromecast (iOS & Android)

1. 1Tap the Cast (TV) icon in the Player control bar
2. 2Select your Chromecast or Android TV device from the list
3. 3Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network
4. 4If no devices appear, check that Wi-Fi is enabled and both devices are on the same network
5. 5Audio streams to the device. Control playback from your phone

Tips

Download Tracks for Offline Use

Save tracks to your device so you can listen without an internet connection — perfect for flights, commutes, remote areas, or anywhere with spotty Wi-Fi.

How to Download

1. 1Open a track in the Player
2. 2Tap the cloud download icon in the control bar
3. 3A progress bar shows the download status
4. 4Once complete, a green checkmark indicates the track is available offline
5. 5The track will play from local storage even without internet

Auto-Save

Enable Auto-Save in Account > Storage to automatically download every track you create. This ensures your library is always available offline.

Managing Storage

Post-Play Nudge

After finishing a track, the app may suggest saving it for offline use. This is especially useful for tracks you enjoyed and might want to replay during travel.

Organize Your Tracks

Group related tracks into playlists for continuous, hands-free listening. Create playlists for different purposes like "Sleep Routine", "Morning Focus", or "Meditation Practice".

Creating a Playlist

1. 1Go to your Library
2. 2Tap "Create Playlist" and give it a name
3. 3Add tracks by tapping the + icon on any track card
4. 4Arrange tracks in your preferred order

Playback Features

What is Health Integration?

The Gateway Experience integrates with Apple Health (iOS) and Health Connect (Android) to track your meditation practice alongside your health metrics. This provides insights into how meditation impacts your sleep, heart rate, HRV, and more.

How to Enable

1. 1Go to Account > Health
2. 2Toggle Apple Health (or Health Connect) on
3. 3Grant the requested health permissions
4. 4The app will begin logging mindful minutes and reading your health metrics

Mindful Minutes

Every meditation session of 1 minute or longer is automatically logged as a Mindful Session in Apple Health / Health Connect. This includes the start time, end time, duration, track ID, brainwave preset, and style. Minutes are logged accurately regardless of how you exit the player (track completion, pausing, navigating away, or closing the app).

Health Dashboard

The Health screen shows a comprehensive dashboard including:

Health Metrics Tracked

Meditation Impact Analysis

After accumulating 3+ sessions and 7+ days of health data, The Gateway Experience unlocks deep analysis features:

Population Benchmarks

See how your meditation practice compares to all Gateway users. View percentile rankings for completion rate, average session length, and total practice time. Benchmarks are anonymous — no personal health data is shared.

Privacy

All health data stays on your device. The Gateway Experience reads health metrics locally and never uploads raw health data to its servers. Meditation session logs are synced to the backend for stats purposes, but contain no health metrics — only session duration, brainwave type, and timestamps.

Gentle Vibrations While You Breathe

While your track is generating, the breathing guide provides subtle haptic feedback on your phone. A firmer vibration accompanies each inhale, and a lighter pulse follows each exhale. This physical anchor helps you stay present and follow the breathing rhythm without looking at the screen.

Toggling Haptics

Breathing haptics are enabled by default. To turn them off, go to Account > Preferences and toggle "Breathing Haptics" off. The breathing circle animation continues to work with or without haptic feedback.

Download Gateway Sessions

Gateway Experience sessions can be individually downloaded for offline use. Since sessions are 30-60 minutes each and the full program has 48 sessions, downloading ahead of time ensures uninterrupted practice.

How to Download

1. 1Open The Gateway Experience app
2. 2Expand a wave to see its sessions
3. 3Tap the download icon on any individual session
4. 4Or tap "Download All" on a wave to get every session in that wave at once
5. 5Downloaded sessions show a green indicator

Storage Management

View total Gateway cache size in Account > Storage. You can remove individual sessions, clear an entire wave, or clear all Gateway downloads at once.

WiFi Recommended

Gateway sessions can be large files. The app checks for Wi-Fi before batch downloads and will warn you if you're on cellular data.

Background Playback

Meditation audio continues playing when you leave the Player, switch to other apps, or lock your screen. This is essential for sleep tracks and long sessions.

Lock Screen Controls

When a track is playing, standard media controls appear on your lock screen and notification center. You can play, pause, and skip from there.

Keep Screen Awake

During active playback, The Gateway Experience keeps your screen from dimming. This is useful when watching the breathing circle or mood video backgrounds. When you pause, normal screen timeout behavior resumes.

Combining Features

The most powerful mobile experience combines multiple features: