New in 3.1New building: the Bank

Your movement powers a whole city.

LightsOn turns the calories you burn into electricity for a small isometric city. Charge the battery and residents move in, windows light up, the town grows. Let it run flat and everything goes dark.

FreeNo ads, no in-app purchasesNo account, no tracking

The LightsOn city at dusk with lit windows

How it works

You are the power plant.

Nothing to start, nothing to type in. LightsOn reads what you already do.

You move

Walking, running, a workout, a long day on your feet — anything that burns active calories. The counting is done by Apple Health on iPhone and Health Connect on Android.

The battery charges

Every calorie becomes energy in your city’s battery. It keeps adding up in the background, even with the app closed.

The city grows

The lights stay on, the streets come alive, new residents move in. Gears buy houses, a factory, wind turbines and monuments.

And if you stop?

The battery drains. At 0 % the lights go out, the city sits in the dark and the first residents start packing. Get moving again and it all comes back — nothing is ever lost.

The game

More than a step counter.

Every number in LightsOn comes from your real day — calories, workouts, streak. What you build with it is up to you.

Your activity

Real calories, real power.

LightsOn reads your active energy hour by hour from Apple Health or Health Connect. Workouts earn bonus credits, and every active day extends your streak.

Charts for calories, energy and workout minutes
Workouts turn into bonus credits
Streaks and milestones reward staying on it

Your numbers — Calories, energy, workout minutes, streak — all in one place.

Calories per day — Your week at a glance, straight from Apple Health.

BuildNew in 3.1

From one house to a skyline.

Your factory turns surplus energy into gears. Spend them on solar panels, wind turbines, new districts and special buildings — and save up for monuments like the observation tower or the stadium.

The Bank: deposit credits and earn interest every day
New districts, special buildings, monuments
Several styles for almost every building
Sell surplus power on the marketplace

Build & upgrade — Gears and credits buy solar panels, LED lamps, robots and more.

Monuments — Long-term goals: an island retreat, an observation tower, a stadium.

City life

Day, night and everything in between.

The city runs on real time. Windows light up at dusk, fireworks and drone shows fill the sky, and on some nights the northern lights glow over the rooftops. Happy residents attract new ones.

Weather from drizzle to northern lights
Fireworks, drone shows and street parties
Happiness decides how fast the city grows

Northern lights — On some nights the sky above your city starts to glow.

City life — Happy residents attract new ones. A fireworks show lifts the mood.

Look inside

Tap a house and it opens up.

Watch your residents cook, relax and sleep. Furnish every room in seven styles, collect comfort stars and bring in a pet. The town hall and the factory open up too.

Look inside — Every house opens up — furnish the rooms, watch the residents.

Town hall — Offices, a council chamber and live numbers from your city.

Factory floor — A production line turns out your gears in real time.

Screenshots

Take a closer look.

Real screenshots from the current version — tap one to see it full size.

Evening in a full city — Every lit window is energy you produced. — **Evening in a full city**Every lit window is energy you produced.

Futuristic city — Restyle every building — here the whole city glows in neon, all the way to the amusement park. — **Futuristic city**Restyle every building — here the whole city glows in neon, all the way to the amusement park.

Half-timbered town — Or go old town: timber frames, a wooden lookout tower and a mountain railway. — **Half-timbered town**Or go old town: timber frames, a wooden lookout tower and a mountain railway.

Day one — One house, one battery, one wind turbine. It starts small. — **Day one**One house, one battery, one wind turbine. It starts small.

Marketplace — Sell surplus power for credits — or buy some back on a lazy day. — **Marketplace**Sell surplus power for credits — or buy some back on a lazy day.

Swipe for more →

Monuments

Big goals, in your style.

Monuments to save up for — and every one comes in different styles. Tap a style to switch.

Vacation Island

Observation Tower

Stadium

Amusement Park

Airport

In the box

Small city, plenty of moving parts.

Everything is included from the start — there is nothing to unlock with money.

Runs while you're away

Close the app and the simulation carries on. The next morning a city is waiting that lived a whole night without you.

A factory that pays out

Switch it on and it turns energy into gears — the currency behind every upgrade.

Make it yours

Several designs for almost every building, your favourite colour — and a name for your houses and your city.

Widgets & Apple Watch

Battery, residents and streak on your home screen. On iPhone there is a Watch app too.

Streaks & milestones

Every day you keep the lights on counts. Milestones pay out gears.

Weather & city life

Rain, snow, fog, northern lights, fireworks — and now and then a hot-air balloon drifts past.

Share your city

City photos, a weekly recap and workout cards, ready to send to friends.

Backup & transfer

Export your save and take it to a new phone — even between iPhone and Android.

What’s new

Updated almost every week.

17 updates since July 2026 — new buildings, new things to do and a lot of polish. Straight from the release notes.

3.1

Latest updateVersion 3.1.0 · October 2026

New: the Bank! Deposit your credits and they earn interest every day — the higher you upgrade the bank, the more it pays out. Withdraw any time, and give it your own look: Art Deco, Western or Futuristic, each in your favorite color.
Look inside the Battery: the cell racks light up as far as your battery is charged, and you can watch the power flow through the cable ducts. At higher levels it grows a second and third hall. New for the battery: the Futuristic energy cell that glows at night.
Factory boost with a battery limit: choose a charge level, and the boost switches itself off before your battery runs too low — even while the app is closed.
New widgets for your streak: “Activity Streak” and “Battery & Streak” for the Home Screen, Lock Screen and Apple Watch.
Streak protection from the Reserve Depot now costs a third less energy — plus bugfixes and various improvements.

Earlier updates

3.0.0October 2026The big new feature: Look inside! Tap a house and it opens up — residents go about their day, cook, relax and sleep. Furnish every room with furniture in different styles and colors, earn comfort stars, and bring in pets: cat, dog, goat, parrot, a robot vacuum or a hovering drone.

The big new feature: Look inside! Tap a house and it opens up — residents go about their day, cook, relax and sleep. Furnish every room with furniture in different styles and colors, earn comfort stars, and bring in pets: cat, dog, goat, parrot, a robot vacuum or a hovering drone.
The Town Hall and the Factory can be visited too: live displays show your city’s power, and on the factory floor a production line turns out gears — switch on the boost and the whole hall starts shaking.
Give your houses and your city a name: houses get a name sign in the front yard, the city name hangs on a big plaque in the Town Hall and appears on your share cards.
More to share: send any workout from your statistics as a card, or share a photo of your home. New milestones reward you for buying furniture.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

2.5.0September 2026New building: the Train Station! Passenger trains roll into town, tax income rises, and once a week you can request a freight train that delivers gears — the higher the level, the bigger the load. Choose between Vintage, Timbered and Futuristic styles.

New building: the Train Station! Passenger trains roll into town, tax income rises, and once a week you can request a freight train that delivers gears — the higher the level, the bigger the load. Choose between Vintage, Timbered and Futuristic styles.
A fifth city action: from Event Office level 30, a swarm of drones paints glowing shapes across the sky.
Fresh looks for your city: the Town Hall gets a Vintage style, the Futuristic hospital glows red at night, and the Futuristic wind turbine sends energy pulses down its tower.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

2.4.0September 2026Every entry in the build menu now has its own detail page: what the upgrade does, what still needs to happen before it unlocks (with progress), and a table of the next levels with prices and effects. Mark favorites with a star — they appear in their own section at the top of the build menu.

Every entry in the build menu now has its own detail page: what the upgrade does, what still needs to happen before it unlocks (with progress), and a table of the next levels with prices and effects. Mark favorites with a star — they appear in their own section at the top of the build menu.
The Harbor Crane gets styles of its own: a Timbered treadwheel crane, a riveted Vintage steam crane or a Futuristic magnet crane — each in your favorite color, and each one loads and unloads cargo all day long.
A new house design: Vintage! Brick walls, brass-framed windows, copper mansard roofs with gears peeking out of the slope — and a copper chimney that puffs smoke whenever the lights are on.
The Windmill style of the wind turbine has been redrawn as a tower mill with gallery, thatched cap and millstone, and Futuristic houses now glow with neon at night.
Bugfixes and various improvements. Plus Liquid Glass on iOS 26.

2.3.0September 2026Protect your streak: the new Reserve Depot next to the Logistics Center (from level 15) stores Streak Shields, charged with battery energy. On a day you can’t make it, use one — in the depot or right in the streak sheet — and the day still counts. Ten levels, ten shields, your own color.

Protect your streak: the new Reserve Depot next to the Logistics Center (from level 15) stores Streak Shields, charged with battery energy. On a day you can’t make it, use one — in the depot or right in the streak sheet — and the day still counts. Ten levels, ten shields, your own color.
A new building: the Hotel in the uptown district! From your sixth district on, it rises with a rooftop terrace, a glowing sign, a lobby light band and a red carpet — every room lights up on its own at night. Guests lift your tax income by 15 %. Four styles to choose from: Classic, Chalet, Art Deco and Futuristic — each in your favorite color.
Two more monuments get styles of their own: the Amusement Park as Vintage fair, Western town or Futuristic ride park, and the Airport as Vintage airfield, Tropical island strip or Futuristic spaceport — each in your favorite color.
Classic buildings show more detail: cornices, corner pillars, window sills, floor bands and porches on houses, town hall, school, hospital, factory, restaurant and offices, plus a stone clock case on the town hall.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

2.2.0September 2026A new building: the Nightclub on the waterfront! From your fifth district on, it opens on party nights — every Friday and Saturday, now and then midweek — with a rooftop pool, a neon sign, sky beams and a queue at the door. It draws 5 % more newcomers and lifts your tax income by 10 %. Four styles to choose from: Classic, Beach, Art déco and Futuristic — each in your favorite color.

A new building: the Nightclub on the waterfront! From your fifth district on, it opens on party nights — every Friday and Saturday, now and then midweek — with a rooftop pool, a neon sign, sky beams and a queue at the door. It draws 5 % more newcomers and lifts your tax income by 10 %. Four styles to choose from: Classic, Beach, Art déco and Futuristic — each in your favorite color.
Your week on a card: every Monday evening the new Weekly Recap sums up the past seven days — calories with the trend against the week before, your best day, streak, workout minutes and how many residents moved in — and you can share it straight from the app.
The night sky comes alive: on clear nights, northern lights may drape across the sky in green, violet or a rare red, and shooting stars streak behind the city — every now and then a glowing fireball. Stars now drift gently as you pan and stay above the island.
The fountain show is a real show now: the camera glides over, four color waves ripple through the water and residents gather to celebrate. The fountain and the stadium also get styles of their own — Baroque, Verdant or Futuristic for the fountain; Colosseum, Verdant or Futuristic for the stadium.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

2.1.0August 2026A new building: the Logistics Center! It unlocks with a 30-day streak and multiplies your nightly streak bonus — every level adds 10 %, and fully upgraded a long streak pays six times as much: up to 300 gears per night.

A new building: the Logistics Center! It unlocks with a 30-day streak and multiplies your nightly streak bonus — every level adds 10 %, and fully upgraded a long streak pays six times as much: up to 300 gears per night.
The city's landmarks now glow after dark: the town hall's tower clock and glass dome, the school's bell tower and atom, the hospital's cross — every style has its own lights instead of fading into the night.
The build menu starts tidy: buildings you haven't unlocked yet gather at the end of their category behind a “Still locked” row, so you see what you can actually build right now.
The marketplace asks before big trades: the 1000-energy rows, both maximum rows and the 100-gear purchase now spell out what you give and what you get before you commit.
Plus a fix for workout calories that could go missing in rare cases, and various improvements.

2.0.0August 2026LightsOn 2.0 makes the city truly yours: almost every building can now be redesigned! Tap a building and choose “Customize” — from a half-timbered town hall to a futuristic hospital, most buildings offer several styles plus your favorite color. Restyling costs credits and requires a happy city.

LightsOn 2.0 makes the city truly yours: almost every building can now be redesigned! Tap a building and choose “Customize” — from a half-timbered town hall to a futuristic hospital, most buildings offer several styles plus your favorite color. Restyling costs credits and requires a happy city.
Every home is one of a kind: pick a design and a color for each house individually — no two streets have to look alike.
A new building: the Architecture Studio! Level it up with gears and every level makes restyling cheaper — fully upgraded, a style switch costs just 5 credits instead of 55.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

1.10.0August 2026A new monument: the Airport! Jets connect your city to the world — and it pays the strongest tax bonus of all monuments. Once a day a free sightseeing flight takes off, bringing credits and a happiness boost back home.

A new monument: the Airport! Jets connect your city to the world — and it pays the strongest tax bonus of all monuments. Once a day a free sightseeing flight takes off, bringing credits and a happiness boost back home.
Your city is livelier: residents now stroll along the streets around the monuments and special buildings too — fitness center, stadium, amusement park, observation tower and airport are no longer deserted.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

Show 8 more

1.9.0August 2026A new monument: the Amusement Park! A Ferris wheel, a wooden roller coaster and a carousel move into your city — with the strongest tax bonus of all monuments. And once a day, if you wish, the park launches a free fireworks show that lifts your citizens' happiness.

A new monument: the Amusement Park! A Ferris wheel, a wooden roller coaster and a carousel move into your city — with the strongest tax bonus of all monuments. And once a day, if you wish, the park launches a free fireworks show that lifts your citizens' happiness.
Pick your look: menus and widgets now come in light mode too — choose System, Light or Dark in the settings. The city itself keeps its cozy nighttime glow.
The battery sheet now leads with what matters: forecast and daily demand come first, the consumption breakdown follows below.
Plus bugfixes and various improvements.

1.8.0August 2026A new building: the Fitness Center! It grows in 50 stages from a tiny studio into a glass temple with a rooftop pool — and every stage boosts your workout bonus credits, up to double when fully built. It can even earn you fractions of bonus credits — the statistics show them with one decimal place.

A new building: the Fitness Center! It grows in 50 stages from a tiny studio into a glass temple with a rooftop pool — and every stage boosts your workout bonus credits, up to double when fully built. It can even earn you fractions of bonus credits — the statistics show them with one decimal place.
Bugfixes and various improvements.

1.7.0July 2026The city photo comes in three swipeable versions: right now, in broad daylight, and an upgrade card showing off everything you have built.

The city photo comes in three swipeable versions: right now, in broad daylight, and an upgrade card showing off everything you have built.
A new monument: the stadium! Floodlights over the stands — and once a day you kick off a match day that brings a few credits and cheers up the whole city.
New weather: ground fog. The clouds close in behind the skyline and your city floats above them — sometimes a gentle haze, sometimes a proper pea soup.
A whole new sky: a real gradient with a glowing horizon, purple dusk, and at night the aircraft finally show their navigation lights.
Workout bonus credits now report in the next time you open the app, plus bugfixes and various improvements.

1.6.0July 2026Brand new: the event office! A whole new building that cuts the cost of the city's big celebrations — fully upgraded, every city event is up to 70% cheaper.

Brand new: the event office! A whole new building that cuts the cost of the city's big celebrations — fully upgraded, every city event is up to 70% cheaper.
Celebrating pays off: the street party strings lights along every street, and the city festival hangs up lampions and pennants — the whole city twinkles for hours. Plus the events cost far less overall now.
Shop upgrades now show exactly what you get: the current value and the new one, side by side.
Workout calories now count toward the right streak day, plus bugfixes and various improvements.

1.5.0July 2026A new monument: the Observation Tower! Enjoy the view from high above the rooftops — landmark number two, and more are on the way.

A new monument: the Observation Tower! Enjoy the view from high above the rooftops — landmark number two, and more are on the way.
The park comes alive: a swing that residents hop on now and then, plus more trees and flowers.
After buying a building, the camera now glides over to the construction site.
Bugfixes and various improvements.

1.4.0July 2026Monuments! Your city gets its first landmark: a vacation island just off the harbor. More monuments will follow in the next updates.

Monuments! Your city gets its first landmark: a vacation island just off the harbor. More monuments will follow in the next updates.
More milestones: 36 goals instead of 15, with tighter steps in between. The list in the statistics is collapsible now.
Save backup: export your game as a file and restore it on a new iPhone — in the settings.
Build menu: sections can be collapsed, and a yellow dot shows where you can afford something new.
Bugfixes

1.3.2July 2026Steps as backup power: in hours without calorie data — for example when your watch isn't worn — your steps now charge the battery instead.

Steps as backup power: in hours without calorie data — for example when your watch isn't worn — your steps now charge the battery instead.
Step statistics: see your daily steps with their own chart, totals and daily average.
Fresher widgets: updates arrive at a tighter pace.
Bugfixes

1.3.0July 2026New special building: a Restaurant at the harbor district that lifts your tax income and draws more residents.

New special building: a Restaurant at the harbor district that lifts your tax income and draws more residents.
Widget control: the medium widget now shows your factory and lets you switch it on or off and trigger a Boost without opening the app.
Richer stats: track your happiness over time, and tap any bar on the calorie charts to see the exact value for that day.
Smoother performance and a handful of small fixes.

Privacy

No account. No ads. No tracking. No servers.

LightsOn is free to play. No in-app purchases, no subscription, no ad SDK, no analytics, no sign-up. Your health data is read on your device and never leaves it — there simply is no backend it could go to.

FreeNo adsNo analyticsHealth data stays on your deviceNo account needed

Read the privacy policy

Questions

Good to know

Is it really free?

Yes. No ads, no in-app purchases, no subscription, no paid version. Nothing sits behind money — only behind moving.

Do I need a smartwatch?

No. Your phone is enough: it counts your active energy, and if there is none for an hour, LightsOn falls back to your step count. A watch just makes the numbers more precise.

What about a lazy week?

The battery runs down, the lights go out and some residents leave. But nothing is deleted: buildings, gears and monuments stay. Get moving again and the city fills back up.

Does it drain my phone battery?

No, nothing is tracked continuously. LightsOn reads the health data your phone collects anyway and simulates the time in between when you open it.

Which data does it read?

Active energy, workouts and, as a fallback, your step count — read-only, on your device. Nothing is written back and nothing is sent anywhere.

iPhone and Android — the same game?

Yes, same city, same balance. iOS reads Apple Health, Android reads Health Connect. A save can even move from one to the other.

Which languages does it speak?

English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. Other system languages fall back to English.

Ready to turn a walk into a skyline?

Free on the App Store and on Google Play. No account, no ads — just go for a walk.