Yeah, I've come to a similar conclusion. I actually made my own meditation timer app for iOS[0] before, but nowadays I don't like to use it anymore. However, I do like to track my meditation time, so I've been using the Insight Timer[1] Apple Watch app for this and keep my phone out of reach.

[0]: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nodoka-meditation-timer/id13...

[1]: https://insighttimer.com

I've been meditation in silence for years. Never found something more annoying than a "guiding voice".

You didn't use any kind of a guide for your first few sessions? You sat in silence on day 1?

I like that you find that weird.

I think it's a little like learning how to play a piano. You can sit down and teach yourself or you can look for help from a teacher. Either way works although I think most people benefit from some guidance.

Myself started from counting to 100 on breathing, then advanced to silence. Guided meditation is quite different, from my experiences. Not the op.

I found a singing bowl to be much more useful myself.

Guided meditation has a long history. There are some amazing Buddhist guided meditations.

The usual progression is from doing guided meditation as a beginner to eventually using the app as a simple timer with no guidance at all.

The usual progression is sitting. Just sitting.

What your talking about is tech folks seeing the benefits of meditation and looking for shortcuts. If it works for you go for it.

Tech folks didn’t invent guided meditations. There was already seminars, classes, retreat, etc where some one explained how to mediate or walked you though mediation. People just randomly start sitting.

Exactly. And this general progression is what my app will promote and help cultivate. The goal is to help you develop such a strong meditation habit, one that you'll want to stick to and be able to without effort, that you don't need my or any other meditation app for anything at all (except maybe a timer).