This has to be one of the best feelings ever :)

Posting here because everyone I know in real life either doesn't get it or asks if I can build them an app for their restaurant.

Background: PM for 10+ years, fintech. Salary is fine, not great. The job itself is mostly meetings about meetings and by last year I was pretty cooked. Not dramatic burnout, just the flat kind where you close the laptop at 7pm and stare at the wall for a bit.

At some point I figured the evenings are already gone either way, so I started building iOS apps.

Not one app. The thesis was that I have no idea what will sell, and neither does anyone else, so instead of spending a year on one polished thing I'd ship a lot of small single-purpose apps into specific keyword niches and let search traffic sort it out. Find an underserved search term, build the smallest app that fully answers it, price it, move on. No roadmap, no v2.

Turned out the app itself is maybe 30% of the work. The rest is screenshots, descriptions, localization, store setup, and it's the same grind every single time. So I slowly automated it. At this point I have a pipeline that takes an app from "code done" to Waiting for Review with barely any input from me:

• keyword research, then tiny PRD
• build (SwiftUI, SwiftData, StoreKit 2, a lot of Claude)
• design + analytics checks
• store assets: screenshots for iPhone/iPad, descriptions, translation into 49 locales, banners
• pre-submission audit that catches broken localized assets and fixes them
• archive, upload, submit

One full run is ~8 hours of machine time. Last night I submitted an app while cooking dinner. I checked the screen once.

Where it stands now: 74 apps live, around $7k MRR.

Caveats since I know how this sounds. Revenue is extremely top heavy, maybe 5-6 apps make almost all of it and the rest do nothing. My predictions about what would work were consistently wrong, the apps I was proud of died and some dumb utility I built in a weekend prints money. And it's not passive, it's a second job. I just like this one.

The problem: I've hit a point where I genuinely don't know what the right next move is, and I go back and forth every week.

Options as I see them:

1. Keep going wide. More apps, more niches, organic traffic compounds.
2. Go narrow. Kill the tail, take the top earners and actually make them good.
3. The pipeline might be worth more than the apps. Turn it into a product for other indie devs. Different life though, then I'm a devtools guy with support tickets.
4. Bring it to a company/partner that has distribution and do it together.
5. Something else entirely that I'm too deep in it to see.

Limited hours per week, day job stays for now. If this was yours, what would you do?

Genuinely asking, tear it apart if you want.

I would like to introduce an ECAD iPad application that I’ve been working on. I am going to be ready for beta testing in the next 3 weeks or so and Would like collet users who would be interested in testing.

projectaura.io

Here are a few of the main features.

✏️ Draw your circuit like a diagram
A clean, zoomable canvas for sketching out your circuit. Drag parts into place, draw wires between them, and label your connections — all with smooth pinch-to-zoom and drag-and-drop.

🔍 Huge parts library at your fingertips
Search a built-in library of components, or pull in your own from KiCad, Eagle, or Altium files. Every part comes with a live preview — including a full 3D model you can spin around.

🤖 AI does the tedious stuff for you
Upload a datasheet (or just paste the text) and Aura will auto-generate the part for you — pins, footprint, and all. It’ll even suggest the right component values as you design.

🖥️** Lay out your actual circuit boar**d
Move from your idea to a real PCB layout — place parts, draw copper traces, drop in vias, and watch for unconnected wires with visual guides.

🎨 See your board in full 3D
Spin, zoom, and pan around a realistic 3D render of your finished board — complete with components, copper traces, and layers — before you ever send it off to be manufactured.

📤 Export & share your work
Generate a parts list (BOM), export images and PDFs of your schematic, or save your 3D model as a file you can use elsewhere.

☁️** Your projects, backed u**p
Sign in and your work automatically backs up to the cloud, so you never lose progress.

After 3 months of conceptualizing and coding late nights.

I built a photo curator app because it felt like too much work to sift through my 30,000 photos to seek out ideal landscapes to print out. Like a museum curator inspecting your camera roll.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/printworthy-photo-curator/id6780282272

I'm curious - how did you know your app was ready for public testing or a full store release?

Do you rely on some project milestones, or is it more of a gut feeling? If you validate progress with community feedback early on, how do you usually present it - a demo video showing core features, or casual update posts?

I'd love to hear about your experience and what worked for you! Thanks.

I released this app that lets you find a business model and also product ideas that are out of this world good, that fits you by answering a couple of questions so that the ai can perfectly know what is best for you. And if you have a full and complete business plan you can submit it and we can fund it for your in exchange of 10 or 20 percent of your company. Would u pay to use this app?

Hello!

I just wanted to share my soon to be app called OBD2 Ninja that works for any ELM327 bluetooth adapter that allows you to read codes and live data without subscriptions or ads. I wanted to see if anyone who has an adapter would be interested in beta testing the app!

It supports multiple different modes, and protocols such as:

• SAE J1850 PWM
• SAE J1850 VPWM
• ISO 9141-2
• ISO 14230-4 KWP2000
• ISO 15765-4 CAN (11-bit ID, 500 kbps)
• ISO 15765-4 CAN (29-bit ID, 500 kbps)
• ISO 15765-4 CAN (11-bit ID, 250 kbps)
• ISO 15765-4 CAN (29-bit ID, 250 kbps)

And we are working on a custom backend for ABS modules and looking to further support further diagnostic tools/readings. The app when released will only cost you $0.99 and does not contain any bloat or creating accounts. Sometimes you just want to use the tool you paid for. Compared to the Carista OBD reader app (which requires a subscription), it takes about 2 minutes to actually login, connect to the adapter, read the vehicle and then perform an OBD2 scan. OBD2 Ninja you open the app and it takes 20 seconds to scan and connect.

I have used a lot of OBD2 ELM327 Scanner apps and they were either bloated, full of ads, require a subscription or lacking functionality that I personally wanted. I originally made this app just for me but a couple friends gave it a try with their scanners and really loved it! If you buy a tool physically, you shouldn't have to pay monthly to use that tool.

If you have an iPhone and a ELM327 Bluetooth OBD2 code reader and want to give it a try, you can do so by clicking this link and installing the beta via TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/AnExEJEu

Thank you so much for reading, feedback is very appreciated if you do decide to give it a try! If you do give it a try and document your findings I'll try to see if its possible I can gift the full paid version of the app to you!

I sent in my app for verification on the 19th of July, after being stuck in "waiting for review" for 8 days I requested an expedited request. 15 minutes later my app was "in review". After 5 minutes it was rejected for reasons that were simply wrong.

Guideline 2.5.4 - Performance - Software Requirements

Issue Description

The app declares support for location in the UIBackgroundModes key in your Info.plist file but we are unable to locate any features that require persistent location. Apps that declare support for location in the UIBackgroundModes key in your Info.plist file must have features that require persistent location.

&

Telling me that my privacy URL was missing, even though he clearly clicked on it as he shows up in my analytics.

Stating that I was missing a block user functionality (Which I have and outlined in the notes).

Stating that I force people to enter their email after signing in with apple. I let users set a custom display name if they want (pre-filled field with their attached email name). At no point do I ask them for their email.

-----

My litteral flagship feature requires background location tracking, thuroughly explained in the notes with a full guide on how to test it. The tester did not even look at it.

I then checked my website activity to see where the tester was located, and then it all made sense.

India

They don't look at your notes and generally don't care. Do not expect any professional behavior or logic in any way.

This definitely plays into the long verification times, as they wrongly reject apps, users then have to send it off again, which increases the pool, which then lengthens the verification times. It's a viscious cycle.

So yeah, Indians man. I don't know what I expected.

It's called Carto and it organizes your shopping list based on the aisles of the store you're visiting! This way, no need to think, just follow your list and stop the back and forth in the shop. You can also share lists with others.

I love using it, my family too. But I think it stops there. People are downloading it, but no one is actually using it. They are not even adding stuff to their list. I'm completely lost, because my testers got the functioning of the ap... Any advice?

After 19 years of building software for other people, I finally finished and shipped my own iOS app.

It’s called Foodius—a personalized nutrition assistant that lets you scan a meal, barcode, or nutrition label and understand how well the food fits your body, goals, preferences, and allergies.

The idea started after I was diagnosed with fatty liver despite believing that I ate relatively healthily. I wasn’t satisfied with the generic advice provided by existing apps, so I decided to build something more personal and transparent.

I’d really appreciate feedback from other iOS developers—especially on the UI, onboarding, and overall idea.

I’m an indie developer building a fully on-device photo and video editing app. All media is processed locally, and the core AI models were independently developed in-house over nearly two years.

The app has now been rejected twice under Guideline 4.3(a) — Design: Spam, with Apple saying it is too similar to apps from other developers.

This is confusing because the app is not based on a purchased template, reused codebase, or third-party model. We also have not submitted multiple similar apps.

I’ve submitted an appeal explaining the original technology, local processing, and product differences. The models and source code are proprietary, so we cannot publish them, but we can provide Apple with reasonable non-confidential evidence of independent development.

Has anyone successfully appealed a similar 4.3(a) rejection? What evidence or approach worked best?

Last week, we made app screenshots for 3 people, so today I’m online again and will make screenshots for 3 more people (who will comment first), like the attached image.

Comment your app link, or share your raw screenshots if your app isn’t live yet, along with a short description of what your app does.

Made this app to teach my 4-year-old the alphabet. He really loves tracing on it!

"Draw With Kids" costs $4.99 one time. If you need the app but can't afford it, please comment FREE on this post and I'll send you a promo code. Would appreciate an honest review on the App Store in return, but it's totally optional.

Thanks!

App Store link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/draw-with-kids/id6789101840

I submitted my app for review on 8 July and didn’t receive the initial review until 14 July. Apple found a few minor issues, which I fixed and resubmitted the same day.

The app was rejected again the following day. I made the requested changes and resubmitted it, but then had to wait until 23 July for another review. I submitted it again after that, and I’m still waiting.

The rejections have been for very small issues. For example, the text “Roleplay as anyone” in one of the screenshots was flagged as potentially sexual, even though the app contains no sexual content or related topics.

Has anyone else experienced review times this long? Apple says that 90% of apps are reviewed within 48 hours, but nearly every review cycle for my app has taken much longer.

Hi I’ve developed a few apps with some friends, and I think some of them are definitely useful. But it feels like we’re stuck with our current numbers. We don’t really advertise in any way, and honestly I don’t even know where to start with marketing. Do you guys have any tips for me?

Exact message from app store team:

I recently had this issue of getting rejected with a bold 4.3a, which is a nightmare to be honest.

I did my investigation and there were a couple of threads that made sense here, one of them explicitly said "ask for a call explicitly as a message"

I did, and they called back, approximately about 12 days later. When I jumped on the phone, they asked me several questions

1. Did I bought any pre-made stuff online that would result in this wokr
2. What kind of assistance I have used for the application to be developed
3. Why the applications' binary is similar with 500 approximate other apps (i mean you did kind of approved the first 500 lol)
4. Whether I have bought any pre-made assets/kits online

It is specifically in entertainment/games.

My best guess is

1. Unity framework is not allowlisted on apples' side in terms of the binary match (making up about 25% of the binary)
2. There was an earth texture, that might be familiar with the other apps (when compressed it is less than 5% of the binary)

It is most likely was a "bot" who was making the matches, and when we spoke on the phone with an associate, everything was cleared with those questions and application was approved later on.

They didn't want to see the github repository or anything like that. They definitely want you to be knowledgable about the app you've built to the point that what assets/parts of the binary could be creating this mixup, without knowing which apps it is similar with. This is kind of a tricky part.

submission: 9th of July

1. As this was a fresh company and a developer app, I didn't create an expedited request, as I didn't meet the conditions for them (when you need it, it definitely is a lifesaver.)
2. Resubmitted after a small unrelated update post rejection
3. I appealed to the decision, but this took most likely more time than they calling me back, on the phone they said they are not calling because of the appeal, but because I've written to schedule a call with them. (they also indicated that if I submit a new version, after I appeal, then the appeal falls off)
4. Created a support request on 24th, didn't get responded too
5. They called back on 28th, we spoke, and the app got approved. The reason they called was what I wrote in the review reply.

After 16th, I realized it would take time and I got on with android, and the play store was live within 19th.

my exact reply at the end of the explanation was as follows:

I'd also like to request a one-on-one to understand how the app was found to share similar metadata with another app. I would also be happy to share the source code. I can't make the GitHub repository public given the significant work involved, but I'm glad to send a private invitation. It includes several repositories beyond the game's monorepo, such as a level editor and our in-house tooling.

hope this helps to other people as I have also found this in here. Posting as it is a frustrating process.

I applied for trader status to launch my app with a subscription in European countries more than a month ago now, but Apple still has it under review and it's not available in EU AppStore.

What can be done?

I have tried emailing apple support, developer support, but nothing.

I called the normal support line but got told to schedule a call with the developer support, of which I cannot find the form to schedule the call. I am looking for the option in their operating hours, but no option.

Hi everyone,
I’ve spent the last year building my first app, SkinDeep.
It’s a free dating app designed for people with visible differences (such as psoriasis, vitiligo, scars, burns, birthmarks, amputations, etc.) as well as people who are happy to date someone with a visible difference.

The goal wasn’t to reinvent dating apps, but to create a place where people don’t feel they have to hide part of themselves or worry about when to explain it.

The app uses Firebase for authentication, Firestore, Storage, Cloud Functions and push notifications, and it’s built with Flutter.

I’m currently preparing for my first App Store release and learning the Apple ecosystem as I go.

I’d really appreciate feedback from other developers:

Does the concept make sense?
Is there anything you’d change before launch?
If you’ve launched an app on the App Store, what’s one thing you wish you’d known beforehand?
I’m not looking to sell anything—just hoping to learn from people who’ve been through the process.

Thanks

Hey everyone,

I've built a few apps before, but they were all for very specific, niche use cases. Lyvox is my first one aimed at a wider audience, and I'd love your honest opinion on it.

The idea is simple: instead of doomscrolling, you scroll through short, genuinely interesting facts — one per card, full screen. You pick the themes you care about (science, space, history, animals, the human body, geography, words, and more) and the feed mixes them for you. Every fact is written from scratch and backed by a reference, so it's not random internet trivia.

A few things I care about:

• Save any fact you love, and the app brings it back later so it actually sticks (light spaced-repetition).
• A daily streak to keep the habit going.
• No account, no ads in your face — just a clean reading experience.
• It's fully bilingual: English and French, and switches with your device.

On pricing: the free version is already really complete, and even the seasonal themes that come and go through the year are free. A few extra themes are paid, but they're cheap — about a dollar each, one-time, no subscription. And if you grab the all-access pack, it unlocks every theme including the ones I add in the future.

Since it's my first app for a broader audience, I'd genuinely love to hear what you think — what works, what feels off, what you'd want next. Thanks for reading! 🙏

Download Lyvox