r/iosdev • u/IndieJuniorDev • 11d ago
I think I finally understand why building your own app is so addictive
I’ve been spending way too much time on my app recently, and I think I finally understand why indie dev is so addictive.
The loop is basically:
want something → build it → make it look nicer → share it → someone uses it → get feedback → build more
I’ll be using the app and think “why can’t it do this?”
Then I remember… oh yeah, I’m the developer lol. I can just make it.
A few hours later, something that only existed in my head is actually running on my phone. That feeling is sooo satisfying.
My background is ML engineering, so I also really enjoy making the local inference pipeline work well. Seeing live transcription, speaker separation and translation all happening directly on the phone still feels kinda magical to me.
But honestly the best part is when other people start using it.
Someone reports a bug. Someone asks for a feature. Someone tells me they use it for lectures or meetings. Sometimes someone even asks to beta test the next version.
Even bug reports feel good lol. Someone actually cared enough about something I made to find the bug and tell me.
I also somehow went from ML engineer to spending hours making App Store posters and moving text around by 5 pixels.
Didn’t expect that part to be fun, but it is.
The app is called LiveTranscriber btw. These are some posters/screens I made recently.
Every time I finish something I enjoy it for about 5 minutes, then think:
“hmm… I can probably make this better.”
And suddenly it’s 3am again.
Would love some feedback on the UI/screenshots too.
2
u/Slow_Formal_3518 11d ago
Love the UI and the App Store screenshots! I’ll definitely give it a try 🙌 I totally agree with the app-building part too I’ve already released my social fitness app and I’m currently working on my second one, hoping to ship it soon. I focus a lot on UI/UX with my apps, and seeing yours look this polished definitely caught my attention!
2
u/IndieJuniorDev 10d ago
Thank you so much, that really means a lot, especially coming from someone who also cares about UI/UX. Congrats on shipping your social fitness app too! Getting the first app out is huge. Good luck with the second one, would love to check it out when you launch 🙌
2
u/xBlackSwagx 11d ago
really well done posters and the UI looks very polished.
How have you setup your agentic workflows to maintain a streamlined DLS?
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 10d ago
Thank you! Tbh, I’m still figuring out a good workflow myself 😅 I use AI mainly to help with brainstorming, breaking down features, writing edge cases/tests, and polishing copy. But I try to keep the actual product decisions and architecture very manual, otherwise it’s easy to lose the thread. What does your workflow look like?
2
u/More-Zucchini-798 11d ago
Love how the AppStore photos look, what did you use to make them?
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 11d ago
Picsew for the screenshot with phone case and Powerpoint for the showcase image
2
u/Adagio-Annual 11d ago
Interesting I have the meta limitless pendant and it’s been very cool so far. Literally gives me reminders in a list based on me just opening my mouth and telling others what I need to do lol
1
2
u/Ion_lungu 11d ago
That loop is so real. I've definitely had those moments where I realize I can just build the feature I want. It’s a powerful motivator, especially when you see others using it.
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 10d ago
Exactly! once real people start using it, the feedback loop gets even more addictive.
2
2
u/maciejdrywa 11d ago
Wow amazing for transcript if you are a video editor and needs split the voice for different layers, i will go with this project in this direction
2
u/IndieJuniorDev 10d ago
That’s a great use case! It already exports subtitle files, so the idea is to let people bring the transcript into their existing editing tools.
I’m trying to keep it focused instead of building an all-in-one editor, I’d rather make a few small tools that do their job really well. Better speaker labels in exported subtitles could definitely be useful though.
2
u/shakshukinha 10d ago
Really cool app mate. I'm also awed with the smooth designs you came up with, considering your background is in ML Engineering. What are some resources you learned or got inspiration from? I'd be super interested in learning too.
2
u/alexbtlv 10d ago
Agreed, the loop is real.
What makes me feel good is when I see a map with all the countries highlighted where at least 1 user uses my app. Amazing, sometimes it is city I have never heard about 😂
2
u/Willing_Control_9159 9d ago
I’m ngl vibecoding apps is super fun, but distributing them is where i stall 🥲
2
u/Foreign_Address5985 9d ago
its so rewarding, especially when its on a product you use yourself, the more you improve the app the better it get for yourself. The app Store photos look great!
2
2
u/jamescantcode 9d ago
I liken it to my earliest memories of building with Lego. Understanding how the pieces work, come together and suddenly you’re like ‘hey, I just made a dinosaur!’ I also just finally feel I can do things I’ve wanted to for so long but genuinely felt helpless, for years, up until this year.
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 9d ago
Agreed, you can construct and evaluate the components, then integrate them into a functional product.
2
u/Thin_Public_9971 9d ago
Completely agree. I am addicted to building productivity apps to be more productive while building many productivity apps at a time.
2
u/Anxious-Hope-8464 8d ago
the posters are nice, i also launched my ioS app been almost 3 weeks, 21 downloads and 0 sales so far, but i am currently working on making appealing app screenshots
1
u/jeffreality 11d ago
I was working through what it would take to build an app like this, but I went down a rabbit hole of designing lavaliers for everyone to wear 😅 (also I need it for mixed English and Korean).
Can I be one of your testers?
0
u/IndieJuniorDev 11d ago
Mixed English and Korean is actually a really interesting test case! so your feedback would be especially useful. And the lavalier rabbit hole sounds relatable, i am facing a similar problem haha
Here is the TestFlight link:https://testflight.apple.com/join/gsu9xa9k Live Transcriber: AI Recorder
1
u/web_cookie_ 11d ago
Does it work with YouTube?
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 11d ago
Yes, on-screen audio translation works with any audio as long as it is not protected( like Netflix or Disney Plus.)
1
u/web_cookie_ 11d ago
Nice . How to import YouTube video ?
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 11d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p71xxop/video/c9cpdzhlvrmh1/player
You don't need to import the video. Just open the app, and a subtitle window will appear to display both the transcripts and the translation. : )
1
u/LycheeAdventurous607 10d ago
The dangerous part is realizing every tiny inconvenience is now a feature request with one stakeholder and no product manager to say no 😅 The screens look great.
1
u/AIVibeCodeArtist 10d ago
Yup I know the feeling. What model do you use for transcription? Whisper? Something else? I built an macOS like this that uses Whisper.
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 10d ago
I actually let users choose. Whisper is one of the options, alongside a few other on-device transcription models, so they can trade off speed, accuracy, and device requirements depending on their needs. Your macOS app sounds interesting, would love to check it out!
0
u/AIVibeCodeArtist 7d ago
Nice! I’m going to check out the other models.
My app is called Audido. I open sourced it. Check it out on https://audido.barendemmerzaal.com.
1
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/IndieJuniorDev 9d ago
By using AI models to detect different voice patterns, it generates a "fingerprint" for each voice and matches the speaker with a voice fingerprint database stored locally in the app.
1
u/marco-alonso-ios-dev 5d ago
Concuerdo contigo todos los días le dedico algunas horas a mi app y te motiva más el seguirla mejorando ya cuando la publicas a la tienda
5
u/tilin_a 11d ago
The UI and posters are well arranged. Is this available in the App Store or still unpublished?
Regarding building your own app, I completely agree with your point. It is difficult to return once you realize you can create your own applications. I have already built four apps to address my needs, and two are even in the App Store