Tuck · Babyphone
The best babyphone app for iPhone
TL;DR. A babyphone is a baby monitor — the device that lets you hear and see your baby from another room. A babyphone app replaces the hardware with two iPhones you already own. Tuck is the iPhone babyphone with a camera, AI cry detection, a lullaby library, and a Bluetooth link that works even with no Wi-Fi. $0 hardware, $14.99/mo, 14-day free trial.
From audio intercom to a phone in your pocket
The babyphone started life as a one-way audio intercom: a transmitter by the cot, a receiver on the parents' bedside table. Then came video, then Wi-Fi cameras, and now the most capable babyphone most parents own is simply a phone they already have. A babyphone app turns a spare iPhone into the cot-side camera and your own iPhone into the parent unit — better image quality than dedicated hardware, nothing to buy, and nothing to throw away when your baby outgrows it.
Tuck is built specifically for this. One app, two roles: set the spare phone in the nursery and keep yours in your pocket. For the full mechanics, see how the baby monitor app works and the setup walkthrough.
Setting up Tuck as a babyphone
Install Tuck on two iPhones
Tuck is a software babyphone — no separate parent unit to buy. Download it on the iPhone you carry and on a second iPhone running iOS 17 or later (an older spare phone works fine).
Pair them with a QR code
Scan a QR code once to pair the two phones. After that they reconnect automatically — this is the only setup step.
Place the second phone by the cot
Stand the nursery iPhone where it can see the cot and keep it plugged in. It becomes the babyphone camera, running cry detection and a dim ambient screen.
Listen and watch from the next room — or a plane
Hear your baby and see live video on the parent phone. Over Wi-Fi at home you get full HD; with no internet, Tuck falls back to a direct Bluetooth link so the babyphone keeps working anywhere.
What makes Tuck different from other babyphone apps
- It works with no Wi-Fi. A custom Bluetooth Coded PHY link connects the two phones directly — on flights, in hotels, at off-grid cabins. Most babyphone apps simply stop when the internet does.
- On-device AI. Cry detection learns your baby's pattern, and plain-English scene captions describe what the camera sees — all processed on the nursery phone.
- Lullabies built in. A curated library across six moods with a fade-out sleep timer, playable straight from the parent phone.
- Free for the whole family. Grandparents and carers can view as guests at no extra cost — one subscription covers everyone.
Compare Tuck with other babyphones
Honest, sourced comparisons against the other iPhone monitor apps and the hardware babyphones parents cross-shop:
Frequently asked questions
What is a babyphone?
"Babyphone" is the word used across much of Europe — German, French, Dutch — for a baby monitor: the device that lets you hear (and now usually see) your baby from another room. Originally it meant an audio-only intercom. Today a babyphone is typically a video monitor, and a babyphone app replaces the dedicated hardware with two phones you already own. Tuck is a babyphone app for iPhone.
What's the best babyphone app?
For iPhone, the leading babyphone apps are Tuck, Annie Baby Monitor, Bibino, and Cloud Baby Monitor. Tuck is the only one with a custom Bluetooth Coded PHY link for genuine offline use (planes, hotels, off-grid), on-device AI scene captions, and a curated lullaby library with a sleep timer. The others are well-reviewed Wi-Fi apps. See our side-by-side comparisons to pick.
Is a babyphone app better than a hardware babyphone?
The camera and microphone in a recent iPhone outperform almost every dedicated babyphone on the market, and a software babyphone costs nothing in hardware and travels in your pocket. A hardware babyphone gives you a fixed mount and a dedicated parent screen. For most parents the app wins on image quality, price, and portability; the hardware wins if you specifically want a standalone parent unit you never have to charge alongside your own phone.
Is there a babyphone met camera (with camera)?
Yes — Tuck is a babyphone with camera. The nursery iPhone streams live 1080p video to the parent iPhone over Wi-Fi, and a low-rate video slideshow over Bluetooth when there's no internet. You get two-way talk, cry alerts, and night-friendly viewing, all without buying a separate camera.
Does the babyphone work without Wi-Fi?
Tuck does. Most babyphone apps relay through the internet and stop working when Wi-Fi drops. Tuck has a custom Bluetooth Coded PHY transport that links the two paired iPhones directly — no router, no internet, no mobile data. It's built for travel, hotels with broken Wi-Fi, and cabins off the grid. See our offline baby monitor page for the range figures.
Does a babyphone app drain the phone battery?
The nursery phone should stay plugged in overnight. With the screen dimmed and the camera running, Tuck uses roughly 4–6% battery per hour — fine when plugged in, too much for unplugged all-night use on most phones. The parent phone uses far less, since it only receives the stream.
How much does the Tuck babyphone cost?
There's no hardware cost — you reuse iPhones you already own. The Tuck subscription is $14.99/month or $99.99/year (save 44%), with a 14-day free trial. One plan covers live video and audio, two-way talk, cry alerts, AI scene captions, lullabies, the morning sleep diary, and free guest access for grandparents and carers.
Important: Tuck is not a medical device. It does not diagnose, monitor, or treat any medical condition, and it is not a substitute for adult supervision of your baby.
Try Tuck as your babyphone
Live on the App Store. iPhone, iOS 17+. 14-day free trial — paired in 30 seconds, no extra hardware to buy.