Hi everyone!

Keeping up with my blog hasn’t been working like I expected. 🙈 I can’t really say why either. I might have had a hard time doing much other stuff because I’ve been very focused on my app. But here it is, a new post.

So, where am I with the app? Over the last few weeks, I’ve put in all the functionality that I’d like to have in a version 1.0, and with the help of my friends, I’ve been polishing the interface to make it as good as possible. I would consider the version that I have right now the Golden Master for 1.0, i.e. the version that’s likely going to be submitted to the App Store. There is one little thing that I need to test because there might be a bug, but it’s a hard thing to figure out and probably some weird edge case. If we can’t reproduce the issue, I’ll set it aside for now and submit the app for app review. (Edit: Looks like I’ll have some more testing to do, my friend accidentally found another bug.)

Here’s some more insight on the process of developing an app for the iPhone: You can start developing an app without registration by just downloading Apple’s development environment called Xcode. You can do almost everything as long as you’re fine with using the iPhone simulator. It is possible to test your app on a physical device even without a developer account, but it’s restricted to a certain number of installs and the app signature expires after 7 days.

At some point, you will want to sign up for a developer account. Here in Germany it costs 99 Euro per year. Why does it cost money? Well, first of all it’s Apple. Maybe they don’t want that just everyone can try to put apps on the App Store. But then you’ll also get support and feedback from Apple for your app. When you submit an app to the App Store, Apple will conduct a so called “app review” to make certain that your app follows their guidelines. If there is some issue with your app, you will get feedback from them and you’ll have to fix the issue before trying again. I think this makes the average app quality on the iOS App Store much better than for example on the Google Play Store (of course there are still apps somehow slipping through the app review or old versions of apps that haven’t been updated in years). If you have some serious issue, you can also ask for direct help with your code from Apple developers (but you only get two issues a year because something like that is really time-consuming).

To put your app into the App Store, you’ll also need things like a description and screenshots. These are still things I need to do as well for my app. But if you have all this and the app got accepted in Apple’s review, you’re good to go! I hope to submit the app by the end of the week and publish it in the beginning of next week.

As part of releasing the app, I will write a separate blog post about the development process and my plans for future updates, as well as create some kind of landing page for the app. It will probably just be a subpage on this blog with a short introduction and links to the other articles.

You won’t believe how excited I am about all this! Putting an app on the App Store is a long-time goal that I’ll finally achieve very soon! 🙂

Before I forget: My app will be called “Nodoka Meditation Timer” and it will be completely free with no ads. For me, this is a first jump into app development and the purpose was not to make money off of it. I might introduce the possibility to donate in a later update, but I won’t put actual features behind a paywall for this app. I already thought of some other fun things to offer for those who donate. 😁

Follow me on Twitter (@stefandesu) for updates. I also made a separate account for the app which is focused on specific updates about the app and app support (@NodokaApp).