Inspiration for this app came from my recent 2 months solo-travel through Central Asia where I knew nothing about the local languages spoken, such as Kazakh, Kyrgyz and also Russian. Typical translation apps also didn't work well in terms of both accuracy when sentences got longer, and the frustration of having to pass the phone around to show the translations. Hence, I initially built a simple, scrappy webapp version and it worked really well. I was doing volunteering and also living with a non-English speaking local Kyrgyz family, and having the scrappy translation tool allowed me to really engage in natural conversations with them. I've since decided to build this further and release it.
If you're curious: https://getcosmoapp.com
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cosmo-translator/id6761275601
Some lessons learnt in this development and publication process for new builders:
- If you're trying to develop and publish an IoS app and do not have a mac, you can use an alternative solution like expo that allows you to write the app in react native
- If it's your first time publishing an IoS app, expect more time when trying to get your IoS app approved, as they have a fair share of policies for app review and quite a bit of back-and-forth review and might be necessary unless you had already factored them in upfront. Also ensure that you had signed all relevant agreements and also set up your payment details (If your app involves in-app purchases)
- Play store mandates that you run a closed testing with at least 12 testers and for at least 14 days before you can apply for production release, so factor this in too