Cardi Mate: Heart Rate Monitor

What it does

Cardi Mate is a mobile health app designed to monitor and analyze heart health. Its primary function is measuring a user's heart rate and variability (HRV) by placing a finger over the phone's camera. Beyond simple measurement, it provides insights into stress levels and arrhythmia types, and allows users to manually log other key vitals like blood pressure and blood oxygen. The app also includes integrated health risk assessments and a library of relaxing sounds to help manage stress.

Where it shines

Cardi Mate excels by combining measurement with actionable insights and supplementary wellness tools. The first-time measurement flow (01:15) is well-guided, immediately demonstrating the app's core technology. A standout feature is the integration of clinical risk assessments, such as the MAGGIC test for heart failure (02:57). This elevates the app's credibility. Finally, the "Chill" section (05:47) with its customizable soundscapes provides a practical tool for stress reduction, creating a holistic health experience.

UX highlights

Clear Dashboards: The main dashboard at 02:17 presents the latest results clearly, using color-coded indicators for heart rate, HRV, and stress.
Informative Tooltips: The app uses small question mark icons throughout (e.g., 02:41) to provide context and definitions for medical terms like Tachycardia and Bradycardia without cluttering the UI.
Interactive Charts: The health summary includes interactive charts where users can toggle between daily, weekly, and monthly views (04:29), making it easy to track trends over time.
Guided Manual Entry: When adding blood pressure (03:55), the app uses large, intuitive dials for number selection, which is a more user-friendly input method than a standard keyboard.
Comprehensive History: The "Measurements History" screen (03:45) effectively consolidates all data types (heart rate, blood pressure, O2) into a single, filterable view.
In-App Rating Prompt: The app uses a non-intrusive, custom pop-up (02:29) to ask for feedback, giving an option for a full review only after a positive rating is given.

Monetization & growth

The app employs a free-trial paywall model. During onboarding, after collecting profile information but before delivering any value, it presents a subscription screen at 00:56. The offer is a 3-day free trial that converts to a weekly subscription. The paywall uses social proof by highlighting a large number of existing subscribers ("Join 215,345 subscribers"). There is no visible option to bypass the paywall, making it a hard gate for accessing the app's features.

Who it’s for

Cardi Mate appears to be for health-conscious individuals who want a convenient way to track key cardiovascular metrics without dedicated hardware. It's suitable for users interested in monitoring their resting heart rate, stress levels, and HRV over time. The inclusion of risk assessments and relaxation tools also targets users who are proactively managing their wellness and looking for ways to reduce stress.

Notes & opportunities

While the app is feature-rich, the initial onboarding forces a subscription before the user can experience the camera-based measurement, which could be a point of friction. Allowing one free measurement before hitting the paywall could improve conversion. The dashboard, while informative, is quite dense; a simplified view or a guided tour upon first entry could help new users navigate the wealth of information more effectively. Finally, automating data entry via smartwatch integrations would be a significant enhancement over the current manual logging system for blood pressure and oxygen.