What's New in ORBII: A Live Map, Places, My Inbox and the Flying Chappal
October 2026: the circle map wakes phones for fresh locations, Places tells you who got home, My Inbox collects every alert, and your circle gets greetings, slaps, kisses and a chappal with real sounds.
This update is about the part of ORBII you use every day, between emergencies: your circle.
A live map
Open the circle map and every phone in your circle is asked for a fresh location. It usually arrives in a few seconds, even if the app was closed on their phone. While the map is open it asks again every minute, and tapping a person asks their phone right away.
Only people who have sharing on are asked, and nobody outside your circle can ask. Why maps go stale, and how this fixes it.
A new look
The whole app has been redesigned around the map. The map now runs edge to edge, and your circle sits on a card that floats over it. Under the circle’s name, four tabs: People, Places, Activity and More, so nothing is buried at the bottom of a long scroll. Home has the same idea with Safety, People and Tools.
Places
Tap Places and add the ones that matter: “Add your Home”, “Add your School”, “Add your Work”, “Add your Gym”. Each opens the map with the name already filled in. When someone arrives or leaves, the circle is told.
My Inbox
Notifications are now My Inbox: every alert, circle invite, safe-zone request and nudge in one place, filtered by All, Alerts and Circle.
Low battery alerts
When a member’s phone drops below 10% and is not charging, the circle is told, so a dead phone is never mistaken for something worse.
Greetings for the time of day
The nudge sheet now leads with Good morning, Good afternoon or Good evening, whichever fits the hour, followed by chai in the morning, “have lunch!” in the afternoon, a safe-journey nudge in the evening, and goodnight at night.
Slap, kiss and the flying chappal, with real sounds
Each one now sounds like what it is. The kiss is a loud, wet smack. The slap cracks. The chappal whooshes in, thwacks and bounces. And the lunch reminder sounds like an empty stomach.
The chappal still spins onto their screen, cracks it, and makes them tap “Acknowledge Wake Up”.
Chai Pe Charcha
When two or more of you are at the same café in the evening, the rest of the circle gets a card: Chai Pe Charcha! Tap Demand a Treat or Crash the break.
Faster everywhere
Screens you are not looking at no longer redraw in the background, and the heavy blur effects are gone, so scrolling and the map stay smooth on everyday phones.
Update ORBII from the Play Store, and ask your circle to update too.
Frequently asked questions
What is new in ORBII in October 2026?
A live circle map that asks phones for fresh locations, Places with one-tap suggestions for home, school and work, My Inbox, low battery alerts at 10%, Chai Pe Charcha, time-of-day greetings, and new sounds for slap, kiss, the flying chappal and lunch.
Is the new design free?
Yes. Everything in this update is part of the free app. ORBII Plus adds verified helpers nearby during an SOS.
Do my circle members need to update?
Yes. A phone answers the live map's wake-up only on the new version, so ask your circle to update ORBII from the Play Store.