[Journey] Building an iOS & Android App Empire
- Thread starter nakamura
- Start date
IOS passive
Registered Member
- Feb 16, 2023
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- Mar 22, 2013
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Flutter is pretty good. The only thing which is utterly annoying is they keep updating Flutter and the code changes sometimes. This means, if you want to update your app after a couple of months, you will need to spend time changing your code. Also, many SDKs/Pubs are getting updated frequently or depreciated. Otherwise its really good.
But in my opinion Native Swift is probably the best and runs the smoothest. However, if you want to save time and develop cross-platform Flutter is the way to go
IOS passive
Registered Member
- Feb 16, 2023
- 98
- 117
gotcha, I tried react-native last year and had pretty much the same problems, JavaScript community is super nerd, they have all the time in the world to change the code for absolutely nothing.
I guess flutter community is the same, I think I will stick with native swift & kotlin for now and write each code separately, unless if I am building something super complex on the interface side.
Besides I am now not coding it myself, it's completely outsourced now.
Mankar Camoran
Junior Member
- Sep 9, 2022
- 172
- 215
hey nakamura this jouney is a huge inspiration , may i ask you how did you were able to create miltiple googel consol dev accounts , did you used rdp ? , what bank cards did you used ? did you created personol or compony accounts ? thank you soo much !
liquardo
Regular Member
- Sep 26, 2019
- 256
- 267
@nakamura Do you have any tips on getting UI/UX design ideas?
Do you just check what the most popular apps are doing and try to replicate it or do you have some other tips for that? Or do you pay for designers?
I always feel like that eats up a lot of my time because I can't decide where I want to put buttons/menu items/app bar styling etc.
I saw people are using Midjourney to make AI sketches for website layouts, but that seems better suited for graphic ideas and color schemes.
Couldn't quite figure out how to properly utilize it for mobile app UI design, but might have to give it another shot.
Do you just check what the most popular apps are doing and try to replicate it or do you have some other tips for that? Or do you pay for designers?
I always feel like that eats up a lot of my time because I can't decide where I want to put buttons/menu items/app bar styling etc.
I saw people are using Midjourney to make AI sketches for website layouts, but that seems better suited for graphic ideas and color schemes.
Couldn't quite figure out how to properly utilize it for mobile app UI design, but might have to give it another shot.
tuli
Junior Member
- Feb 24, 2020
- 132
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Dribble/Figma/Canvas
anonsops
Registered Member
- Nov 2, 2020
- 60
- 25
Good luck, enjoyed your thread time ago, stopped cuz of some multiple strikes got demotivated and left to freelance planning to go back, and happy that you still keep updating,
- Mar 22, 2013
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It really depends on the app, niche, and of course the target audience. For some, it is best to keep it simple. For others, you need to make it colorful. I would always try to make the app look as modern and high-qualitative as possible. For ideas, you can check the competition. But you should add your own twist and not copy them 1:1.
Thanks a lot!
- Mar 22, 2013
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Update:
Uploaded two more apps for iOS and Android. Right now working on a couple of AI apps. Just need to find the best possible way to monetize them.
eCPM got a bit lower this month, but that's normal as February is usually low, but the overall earnings are around 30% higher than the month before. So, I expect the earnings will be even more next month due to a better eCPM.
Also:
I wrote an eBook with all the methods, etc. I use to find niches, get organic traffic, rank my apps, how to create AdMob and Google Play accounts, and so on.
You can check out the BST here.
Uploaded two more apps for iOS and Android. Right now working on a couple of AI apps. Just need to find the best possible way to monetize them.
eCPM got a bit lower this month, but that's normal as February is usually low, but the overall earnings are around 30% higher than the month before. So, I expect the earnings will be even more next month due to a better eCPM.
Also:
I wrote an eBook with all the methods, etc. I use to find niches, get organic traffic, rank my apps, how to create AdMob and Google Play accounts, and so on.
You can check out the BST here.
- Mar 22, 2013
- 6,272
- 10,985
Update:
Uploaded 2x apps (games) to the following stores:
- Apple App Store
- Google Play
- Huawei AppGallery
- Samsung GalaxyStore
- Amazon App Store
I plan to test these games and monetize them through paid traffic only. Will do some split tests, and so on.
All of them are still in review.
Earnings went slightly up, even tho in February earnings are actually kinda low. Lets see how it will perform this month, already looks good.
Uploaded 2x apps (games) to the following stores:
- Apple App Store
- Google Play
- Huawei AppGallery
- Samsung GalaxyStore
- Amazon App Store
I plan to test these games and monetize them through paid traffic only. Will do some split tests, and so on.
All of them are still in review.
Earnings went slightly up, even tho in February earnings are actually kinda low. Lets see how it will perform this month, already looks good.
- Mar 22, 2013
- 6,272
- 10,985
Update:
For the first time in the history of this journey thread, something happened:
Google's app review time was faster than Apple's review.
Took them 2 days to review and publish my app. Apple took 3 days.
What do we learn? If you have an aged and trusted Google Play Dev account, they won't review your app that thoroughly. For new accounts, it takes 6-8 days.
For the first time in the history of this journey thread, something happened:
Google's app review time was faster than Apple's review.
Took them 2 days to review and publish my app. Apple took 3 days.
What do we learn? If you have an aged and trusted Google Play Dev account, they won't review your app that thoroughly. For new accounts, it takes 6-8 days.
Hurley182
Newbie
- Aug 23, 2019
- 3
- 0
Hi there @nakamura! Your topic is a huge inspiration to me, thank you for sharing this invaluable information! It would be great if you could answer a couple of my questions:
I’ve tried making simple native applications in Kotlin, but I’m more experienced in Flutter. Do I understand correctly that we mainly make money on utility applications that use native device functions? And based on that, is it a better idea to focus on learning Kotlin and native development? I read above that you tried Flutter, is it right that it's more suitable to make content-oriented applications (something like books)?
And do you think it's realistic to make 1-2k a month if you only do Android apps?
Thanks in advance)
I’ve tried making simple native applications in Kotlin, but I’m more experienced in Flutter. Do I understand correctly that we mainly make money on utility applications that use native device functions? And based on that, is it a better idea to focus on learning Kotlin and native development? I read above that you tried Flutter, is it right that it's more suitable to make content-oriented applications (something like books)?
And do you think it's realistic to make 1-2k a month if you only do Android apps?
Thanks in advance)
- Mar 22, 2013
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Thanks a lot, good to hear it inspires you.
I prefer Flutter because it is cross-platform and they keep updating/improving it. Probably the best choice these days. In the end, it really depends on the app and its purpose itself. Content oriented apps, but also other apps do work well.
Utility apps with a purpose are definitely working better than games for example. You will also be able to get more organic downloads. For example when it comes to fitness apps. There are so many subniches you can choose from.
The thing with games is: You will need a decent budget to spend on ads. If you are making a hyper casual game you can start monetizing it right away by spending a lot of money on paid ads. This is how companies like Voodoo make money: They publish a lot of games of which many of them have the exact same functions (rewards, etc.) and then they carefully check the retention, churn rate, how often users watch ads, etc. and how high is the ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User) and the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User). Then they can easily scale a game or just get rid of it.
Yes, you can absolutely make 1-2k a month, even more. Basically it has no limit how much you earn. It depends on how much work you put into it, your app and its performance.
- Mar 22, 2013
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Update:
Currently working on a big update for one of my iOS apps. I have a few competitors and one of them is like a million-dollar company. Yet I manage to add the same features and even more to my app. I am mostly using ChatGPT to add features. It is incredible how well it works and how easy it is. I would spend thousands of dollars for freelancers on Upwork if I hired someone to do this.
Also, currently, I am working on a case study, testing two games, getting installs, ranking, revenue, etc.
During my research for the case study, I found this super interesting article:
https://www.blog.udonis.co/mobile-marketing/mobile-games/mobile-gaming-statistics
That's a pure gold mine right there. Basically tells you what niches are the most profitable, what countries to target, etc. No bullshit, just pure facts, and statistics.
Currently working on a big update for one of my iOS apps. I have a few competitors and one of them is like a million-dollar company. Yet I manage to add the same features and even more to my app. I am mostly using ChatGPT to add features. It is incredible how well it works and how easy it is. I would spend thousands of dollars for freelancers on Upwork if I hired someone to do this.
Also, currently, I am working on a case study, testing two games, getting installs, ranking, revenue, etc.
During my research for the case study, I found this super interesting article:
https://www.blog.udonis.co/mobile-marketing/mobile-games/mobile-gaming-statistics
That's a pure gold mine right there. Basically tells you what niches are the most profitable, what countries to target, etc. No bullshit, just pure facts, and statistics.
- Mar 22, 2013
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Many different. From games to utility apps to AI apps, etc.
I know you said the goal wasn’t to make money but you probably have by now right?
- Mar 22, 2013
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Yes, I am making $80-150 per day for quite some time now. Mostly running on autopilot and just keep adding new apps/games. Keep adding more in the hope of making more money. Hit and miss. But by now I already get a clue of which app/game might work and which doesn't...this makes it a lot easier.
Wow that’s awesome man
wow that’s awesome man, when you first started did you use money to get you off the ground or did you have a good marketing strategy