r/appledevelopers

Hey all, I'm currently building Lockn, an app that helps you do more and plan less. Rather than planning your whole week, you plan day by day with Lockn.

It incorporates over 10 different productivity methods and has some really cool features.

Its launching really really soon, I just wanted to get a rough sense if any of you would use it 😄

If there are any additional features you would like to see added do drop a comment below! or if there is anything you think you don't like feel free to let me know too!

thanks so much for reading!!

So I started building this app earlier this year and shipped v1 a couple weeks back had to wait on Apple review longer than expected .

Then tried marketing it , mostly on Reddit and one small community WhatsApp group . Skipped instagram and youtube because the niche is tiny and ads would just burn cash on the wrong audience . Saw barely anything , 1-2 trials started ,both cancelled within a day . The audience was off .

So I stopped pushing it . But out of nowhere , a user who cancelled the trial earlier came back and subscribed . It feels like I have actually made something worth paying for .

Now I am confused on how to get more . I have started doing App store optimisation but what else can I do to actually boost downloads and revenue ??

The app is a community focus tool and has a hard paywall after onboarding .

Wrapped a 4-month solo build and shipped Reflect on iOS last week.

It's a journal app — voice transcription in 10 languages, paper-journal OCR, and AI insights over your own entries (Yearly Narrative, "Ask AI" with citations from your writing).

Stack:

- React Native + Expo SDK 54, EAS Build

- Firebase (Firestore + Cloud Functions on Node 22)

- Gemini via Vertex AI server-side, ADC — no client-side key

- RevenueCat for subs

- Native Apple Watch companion

- ~52 screens, 10 languages (EN/FR/ES/PT/DE/IT/AR/KO/JA/HI)

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762427801 (Disclosure: my app.)

Happy to answer anything about the architecture, Expo 54 stability, or the server-side Gemini setup.

A few things I'd love this sub's take on:

1. Vertex AI vs. AI Studio key. I went Vertex + ADC to keep the key off the client. It added boilerplate. Worth it for you, or do you stick with a key behind a proxy?
2. Apple Watch companion. Has yours actually driven discovery, or is it purely retention?
3. Cold launch with 0 followers. Beyond ASO, what actually worked for your initial distribution?
4. Localization. Did shipping in 5+ languages pay off commercially, or would English-only have been fine for early validation?

 Hey, solo dev here.
I made a very simple landing page for my app NYC Intel and I’m not sure if it works or feels too bare.

Flow is basically:
user types an address
gets a quick “block score” + a few stats
then prompt to download the app
That’s it.
I’m intentionally keeping it minimal, but now I’m wondering:
is it clear enough?
does it feel useful or just gimmicky?
would you actually type an address here?
Would really appreciate blunt feedback 🙏

I’m stuck and would love some guidance……my app got rejected twice for the same reason and I’ve attached a screenshot of the actual paywall and it’s what they also included in the rejection attachment. I replied to the rejection but im so lost how much more clearer is the button needing to be

Rejection details:

Issue Description
One or more auto-renewable subscriptions are marketed in the purchase flow in a way that may mislead or confuse users about the subscription terms or pricing.

Specifically:
- The app offers a free trial or introductory period but does not make it clear that a payment will be automatically initiated for the next subscription period. The 7-day free trial is not included in the sandbox payment flow.

Next Steps
To resolve this issue, it would be appropriate to:
- Revise the auto-renewable subscription purchase flow to clearly indicate how long the free trial lasts and the amount that will be billed after the free trial is over.

Hey 👋

I've been working on Foldwise for a few months and today v1.0 is live.

What it does: watches your folders in the background and automatically

sorts files using IF→THEN rules you define. No cloud, no subscription,

everything runs locally on your Mac.

Some things it can do:

- Move files by type, name, extension, size, date, or PDF text content

- Rename with patterns like {date}_{name}

- Schedule daily/weekly cleanup routines

- Preview exactly what a rule would do before enabling it

- Undo any action from the activity log

- Suggest rules automatically using on-device AI (macOS 26+)

Free plan includes 1 folder and 3 rules. Pro is a one-time €24.

Would love honest feedback from this community — especially on

the rule builder UX, which was the hardest part to get right.

→ foldwise.pro

I mean at the first launch if you have a bad review like this. What you do?

Herkese merhaba, yaklaşık 1 ay önce kendi ihtiyacımdan yola çıkarak bir tool geliştirdim. AppConsol ile hem indirmelerinizi, gelirlerinizi, dönüşüm oranınızı, ülkelere göre dağılımınızı ve en önemlisi ASO performansınızı görebilirsiniz. Uygulamada sunucu da kurmadım, yani hiç bir veri cihazınızdan çıkmıyor, tüm veriler cihazınızda işlenir.

İnceleyip geridönüşte bulunursanız çok sevinirim.

Göz atmak isteyenler varsa linki bırakıyorum: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/appconsol-sales-analytics/id6761332241

Hi, visited Japan last year and the garbage system broke me. Every ward has different rules, different days, different bag colors — and zero tolerance if you get it wrong. I came back one morning to find my trash sitting there untouched 😅

So I built GomiSense (free to try):

• Point your camera at anything, AI tells you which bin it goes in — not just the category, but the actual rules for your specific ward
• Pulls your ward's real collection schedule and builds a personal calendar
• Morning notification before pickup so you don't miss the window
• 300+ recycling drop-off spots across Japan with directions
• Works in English, Turkish, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese

No Japanese required, no cross-referencing three different ward websites.

GomiSense Website ProductHunt

Happy to add features if anything's missing — and feedback is genuinely appreciated 🙏

Finally did it. RadiJar is live on the App Store as of today.

https://apps.apple.com/app/radijar/id6762513400

It’s a life skills and habit-building app for kids — kids get missions from parents, complete them, earn coins, and redeem for family-defined rewards.

There’s also a virtual pet that evolves as they progress. The parent and child share one app but have completely separate dashboards.
Stack:
• Expo React Native (Expo Router for navigation)
• Supabase (Postgres, RLS, Edge Functions, Realtime)
• RevenueCat (subscriptions — CA$4.99/month, CA$39.99/year)
• EAS Build + TestFlight for distribution

iOS only for now. Android (same Expo codebase) coming in June.
Happy to answer questions about any part of the stack or the App Store submission process.

https://apps.apple.com/app/radijar/id6762513400

Hi everyone, I want to ask for some genuine feedback about an app I built.

The reason I made this app was actually because of my wife.

She has been trying to lose weight for quite some time and goes to the gym pretty often, but her progress was always on and off. One thing I noticed was… every time she went to the gym, she still spent a lot of time scrolling her phone between workouts.

So I had this random idea:
“What if some apps on the phone can only be unlocked after you burn enough calories?”

That idea became the app I’m building now.

The intention was never to punish or control people.

I just wanted to create a small system where you finish your workout first, then you earn your screen time after that.

To be honest, when I first built it, I thought maybe this idea could help other people too.

Here’s the app if anyone wants to see what I mean:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/burnscroll-screen-time-control/id6758544932

I’m not a big company or funded startup. I’m just building this on my own and trying to learn as I go. After launching, I tried running Apple Search Ads, worked on ASO, and even localized the app into 13 different languages.

I also honestly hope that one day I can make some income from software I build myself.

The app has been live for almost 2 months already, but the numbers are honestly pretty depressing. When I browse Reddit, I see indie developers sharing how they got 100+ downloads in a single day, while my app barely gets noticed even after weeks.

Sometimes it honestly makes me wonder whether I’m doing something completely wrong.

That’s why I’m here asking for help instead of pretending everything is okay.

Is the app not good enough?
Is the UI ugly?
Is the idea itself too niche?
Or maybe there’s simply no real demand for this type of product?

I’m posting here because I know Reddit has a lot of experienced people — indie hackers, developers, designers, marketers, founders — and I feel like I can probably learn more from honest strangers here than from people around me.

You don’t need to sugarcoat anything.

If you think the app sucks, please just tell me honestly.

I would genuinely rather hear real criticism than keep building in the wrong direction without realizing it.

I’m still learning, and I really want to understand whether this is something worth improving, or whether I should take the lessons and move on to build something better next time.

Would really appreciate any honest thoughts or feedback. 🙏