What’s new

Every version of Hele, as it shipped. Nothing here is a promise. Only versions that have shipped are listed.

2.0, 29 September 2026

Hele is now free to try. Five riders, six tunes, Sleep mode, the bedside clock and the lamp are free, with no time limit, no ads and no subscriptions. The Carousel Collection is every rider and tune pack, and every new carousel pack when it arrives, in one purchase. Or buy packs one at a time. Buy any pack and the whole Workshop Book opens. Bought Hele before 2.0? Thank you. The Carousel Collection is already yours. There is nothing to do. On iPad, the parents’ panel no longer flickers in landscape.

1.2, 26 September 2026

A new look for the whole carousel. Every rider is re-carved in one wood grain, with turned wooden legs and jointed arms. The carousel has a turned center column, a grooved roof and brighter brass, and the roof now turns with the riders. Workshop Book pages turn like paper. Sleep mode starts with one tap: 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or all night. The bedside clock sits behind the toy, like the time on your Lock Screen, with the date above it, and Small, Medium and Large now change its size. A new Controls and tips page for grown-ups shows each part of the toy. The spring winds down on the Lock Screen while the music plays. The lamp stays where you place it. The parents’ hold is shorter, with a gentle vibration as it fills. Hele now runs on iPad, where the parents’ area opens beside the toy in landscape.

1.1, 23 September 2026

A fuller toy box for bedtime. New: the Workshop Book, a page to read aloud for every animal, with a short story, true facts and a question for your child; open the little drawer on the toy, or find it in the parents’ area. Softer light and shadows on the wooden toy, and a lamp you can place yourself. Nine riders and six tunes now come with the app: a cow, a pig, a sheep and a dog join in, and the riders appear as the sculpted wooden toys. A bedside clock, in three faces and three sizes. Sleep mode plays slower, but still a tune you know. The parents’ area fits on one screen. Optional packs, behind the parents’ hold: Forest, Savanna, Jungle, Winter and Philippines riders; Lullabies, Nursery Songs, Little Classics and Filipino Folk Songs. One-time purchases, shared with Family Sharing.

1.0, 17 September 2026

The music box. Turn the brass key to wind, let go and it plays. Five riders and three lullabies included. Packs arrive in a later update. Sleep mode with a timer, night dimming, and a parents’ area behind a two-second hold. Nothing leaves the device: no account, no analytics, no ads.