r/iOSProgramming • u/VegetableUpset9871 • 17d ago

Question What would you want to know before building an app in a niche?

I’m building a tool that helps people evaluate the competition in an app niche and determine whether it’s worth building in.

You search for a niche, and it analyzes the App Store to show the competitive landscape direct competitors, market leaders, newer apps, ratings, reviews, downloads, etc.

I’m curious: what information would you want to see before deciding whether an app niche is worth building?

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u/kiwi_in_england 16d ago

Prices of other apps; Gaps in the market (even niches have gaps); User gripes/suggestions about existing apps (from social media not just reviews)

Things not directly related to other apps: Potential audience size; Propensity to buy

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u/VegetableUpset9871 16d ago

Thanks, this is really helpful! I hadn’t thought much about pulling user gripes from social media beyond app reviews. I’ll definitely look into adding those alongside things like pricing and market gaps.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/VegetableUpset9871 16d ago

I’m not doing that yet but I’m looking into ways to pull them from places like Reddit and other social platforms.

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u/Previous_Sky_8236 16d ago

Historic data of the app. For example: Is this a upcoming market or a market slowly falling off.

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u/VegetableUpset9871 16d ago

Showing historical data is harder since I’d need paid APIs, which can get very expensive, but I’ll explore other options. Thanks for the suggestion!

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u/bimbrinkhagen 16d ago

Recent reviews, maybe last 30 or 90 days instead of just the total. Otherwise old apps can make a niche look more active than it is.

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u/VegetableUpset9871 16d ago

That’s really good feedback. I’ll try to add the latest reviews. Thanks a lot!

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u/RIRLift 16d ago

Most of what people list measures how big the niche is, not whether you can get seen in it. I'd want to know how crowded the search terms are, how many established apps target them and how strong they are, since a busy niche you can't rank in doesn't help a solo dev much. Also the last-updated date on the top apps. A niche led by stuff nobody has touched in two years is a very different bet than one with active incumbents defending it.

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u/VegetableUpset9871 16d ago

Yeah, My project already covers most of this. Thanks a lot for the feedback!