Press kit

Everything here may be used freely in coverage of Hele.

In one sentence

Hele is a wind-up carousel music box for iPhone and iPad: a child turns a brass key, lets go, and a lullaby plays on a real music-box comb, slowing as the spring runs down.

Facts

Name
Hele: Lullaby Music Box (“hele” is Filipino for lullaby). Called Hele: Carousel Music Box until September 2026.
Platforms
iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 and later. iPad since version 1.2.
Category
Kids, 5 and under
Charts
No. 1 Top Paid app in Kids and in Music on the Philippine App Store on 24, 25 and 26 September 2026. Also No. 1 in Kids and No. 2 in Music on 19 September (Apple’s Top Downloaded chart).
Price
Free to try since version 2.0 (29 September 2026): five riders, six tunes, Sleep mode, the bedside clock and the lamp. The Carousel Collection (US$9.99) is every rider and tune pack, now and later; single packs are US$1.99. One-time purchases, no subscription. Seasonal packs are free.
Offline
Plays with no Wi-Fi or data. Only buying or restoring a pack goes online, to Apple.
Privacy
Nothing collected. No account, ads, analytics or tracking.
Sound
Modeled on an 18-note music-box comb.
Haptics
Key detents that firm up as the spring loads, a kickback on release and a thump at the lever. iPhone only; off under Reduce Motion and in Sleep mode.
Accessibility
VoiceOver, Switch Control, Dynamic Type, Reduce Motion, Big key option.
Made by
One designer in Manila, for his own child’s bedtime.

Images

App icon (1024 px), the version 2.0 App Store screenshots for iPhone and iPad, and two hero images of the carousel on its own dark ground. Download the press kit (zip, 23 MB): icon, nine iPhone and five iPad screenshots, two hero images, share image, the App Store chart screenshots and a facts sheet.

The music box in the app: a carved wooden carousel with a horse, a duck and a bear under a grooved roof, the brass key on the base, on the app’s dark ground, wide framingThe same music box in the app, portrait framing

The hero images are the music box as it appears in the app, on its own dark ground. Hele is an app; there is no physical product.

The Hele app icon at 180 px: the drawn music box on a dark groundThe Hele app icon at 120 px: the drawn music box on a dark groundThe Hele app icon at 60 px: the drawn music box on a dark ground

Charts

Apple’s Top Downloaded chart, Paid Apps, Philippine storefront: Music on 24 September 2026, 18:16 Manila time, and Kids and Music on 19 September 2026, 17:02. All three screenshots are in the kit at full size.

App Store chart, Top Downloaded, Paid Apps, Music, 24 September 2026: Hele: Carousel Music Box at number 1, ahead of TonalEnergy Tuner & Metronome and play_music_theoryApp Store chart, Top Downloaded, Paid Apps, Kids: Hele: Carousel Music Box at number 1, ahead of Sesame Street Alphabet Kitchen and Teach Your Monster to ReadApp Store chart, Top Downloaded, Paid Apps, Music: Hele: Carousel Music Box at number 2, behind play_music_theory and ahead of iGuzheng

Please don’t

Show the app with sparkles, stars or characters added, describe it as a game, or suggest it collects data. It is a music box.

Contact

hello@hele.toys