Install the iPhone app
Orion is on the App Store:
It needs iOS 16 or later. It’s free, and there’s nothing to buy inside it.
The App Store lists Orion as an iPhone app. It installs and runs on iPad too, in iPhone compatibility mode — everything works, but you get the phone layout scaled up rather than one built for the bigger screen.
What the app adds
Section titled “What the app adds”The app is the Orion website in a native shell, so everything you already do on
orionmedia.app works exactly the same. What you get on top:
- Release notifications when something you follow is about to come out, with no browser tab open and nothing else to set up (see below).
- Real downloads. Exporting your library or grabbing the calendar file saves a file and opens the share sheet, rather than showing a blank page the way an in-app browser usually does.
- An app icon that opens straight into Orion, and links that leave Orion open in Safari instead of stranding you inside the app.
Install
Section titled “Install”- Open the App Store listing and tap Get.
- Open Orion and sign in — same account as the website, including Google and Apple sign-in.
- Allow notifications when iOS asks on first launch. iOS only ever asks once, so if you decline it here you’ll have to turn them back on in Settings → Orion → Notifications.
Release notifications
Section titled “Release notifications”Once you’re signed in, the app has everything it needs — there’s no token to copy and no widget to configure first.
In Orion’s Settings → Push notifications, keep the master toggle on and pick your lead times: 2 days before, 1 day before, and day of release. New accounts start on 1 day before. You get one notification per release per lead time.
Why an alert sometimes arrives late
Section titled “Why an alert sometimes arrives late”iOS decides for itself when to let a backgrounded app check for anything, and it won’t tell you when. Orion asks for a check a few times a day and iOS grants what it feels like granting — often on schedule, occasionally hours late, occasionally not until you next open the app. Opening Orion always runs a check immediately, so anything missed lands then.
If you want release alerts that arrive on a guaranteed schedule, the Home Assistant integration pushes through your own server instead.
What isn’t here yet
Section titled “What isn’t here yet”- Home screen widgets. The Android app has them; the iPhone app doesn’t yet.
- A real iPad layout. It runs on iPad, but at iPhone proportions for now.
- Offline use. The app needs a connection, same as the website.
Next steps
Section titled “Next steps”Start tracking your library, or subscribe to your release calendar so upcoming episodes show up in the iPhone’s own Calendar app.