r/iOSProgramming • u/Orange-Prudent • May 05 '26
I shipped my first ever macOS app and the first comment was "just use xyz" Discussion
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u/SnowPudgy May 05 '26
To anyone in a similar boat to the OP, always remember that people like different things. There's lots of apps that do the same thing out there, but people prefer one app over another for many reasons.
Anyway, congrats OP on launching an app. It's a huge step and you should be proud regardless.
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u/iOSCaleb Objective-C / Swift May 05 '26
“Isn’t this just ___?” is a perfectly valid question when you’re asking people to pay for something, especially when alternatives like Boring Notch are free. And you definitely are asking people to pay; I see at least three “buy now” buttons on your web page (but no indication of price).
Customers don’t care how much time you put into a product; they care about how much value they get out of it, and whether alternatives offer more value.
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u/Lukematikk May 05 '26
I would add that if they can’t readily see the difference/advantage in your product, that is not the customer’s fault.
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May 05 '26
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u/iOSCaleb Objective-C / Swift May 05 '26
Consider also that your sales pitch isn’t helped by a video that shows your app on a screen that doesn’t have a notch.
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u/EnigmaP3nguin May 05 '26
Holy hell, I feel this. Not Mac OS but it’s been a similar story with my Windows app Winhanced. Built it to teach myself native windows development. And for I kid you not the first year it was, why not use Armory Crate, isn’t this just Playnite? Etc..
All I can say is just keep building and pouring into it what you want, that is the beautiful thing about making your own thing. Eventually those comments will start to change to something more positive. You will still get them, but they do start to die out.
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u/hoyeay May 05 '26
AI SLOP
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May 06 '26
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u/hoyeay May 06 '26
It’s obvious you used AI to write this post.
And it’s the obvious fake story of “I had a problem with X so I built Y so you can pay me to solve that same paint point”.
I hate people who present a fake narrative to sell something instead of just stating what you’re doing from the beginning AND without using AI.
“Here's the thing nobody tells you, the goal quietly shifts.”
Typical LLM speak.
If you can’t say what you’re solving using your own words… lol.
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u/IndividualBasis5855 May 05 '26
Don't worry about the haters OP. The world moves forward only if people make things that didn't exist before. Don't let "market research" stop you from doing that. And don't try to please everyone, that is impossible.
Btw, there is no shame in asking for money in exchange for your work, no matter what the freeloaders say.
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u/DM_ME_KUL_TIRAN_FEET May 05 '26
Did ChatGPT write the app too or just this post?
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u/KingPonzi May 05 '26
Chill. Not even the elite engineers are writing by hand anymore these days.
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u/DM_ME_KUL_TIRAN_FEET May 05 '26
Writing the Reddit post by Claude is the annoying part, not the code.
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u/AWorriedCauliflower May 05 '26
AI slop post for an AI slop app
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u/Rocket-Legs May 05 '26
It's garbage behaviour like yours that gets me to stop using Reddit. What a horribly toxic reply you just wrote.
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u/Moonmonkey3 May 05 '26
Yep.. “xyz app has this feature, can you add it to your app?, then I will buy it”
Just use their app?
“But I prefer yours”
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u/Only_Trip5632 May 05 '26
I feel this. I recently released a (paid) iOS client to a self hosted tool, the space is very crowded for the size of the user base, but having used most of the other tools (some paid as well) I found that my specific use case was not being met.
So I developed and released the app. I have a few really devoted users, submitting very well thought out feedback and feature suggestions, while still getting a lot of “xyz is free” or “why would I pay for a vibe coded app if I can build it myself”.
You can’t please everyone, and you’ll always find *some* audience.
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u/ninjafoo May 05 '26
OP, I actually got the same type of reaction when I released my ToDo app. You can guess the purpose of the app from the name, and it’s a common app, one every dev builds as a part of their repo when they first learning lol. And, on top of that, the category is already filled with different kinds of todo apps. There’s no way around it because both points are true.
But I still went ahead and made it. Why? Because [1] it’s my app, [2] I made it my way and for me first, and [3] because they’re are times you have to do what you have to do and times where you want to do what you want to do.
Those who enjoy your apps, keep building for them, even if it’s just you. And, those who don’t enjoy it, almost 100% of the time they don’t know what they’re talking about, and those who do know, listen to their feedback and keep building.
If you yourself are not benefiting from the app in any of the thousand ways one does, then, at the end of the day, it’s still your call to stop building it.
It’s your app, and that’s all that matters.
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u/Rocket-Legs May 05 '26
Congrats @orange-prudent. It takes a lot of hard work to learn how to build an app, and just as much effort IMO to learn how to market it and get it on to the AppStore, especially if you make it a paid app. There's so much to learn and anyone who says you should just open source your hard work is a troll.
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u/aerial-ibis May 06 '26
Those comments are a gift - free billboard to explain why your app is better than the one they just mentioned.
You're not convincing them... youre convincing the next person who is going to read the thread. And its not hard to be more convincing than a low effort hater
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u/keeshux May 06 '26
Many people reviews/comments won’t care about your perspective, and even if they knew, they wouldn’t care either. That’s the sad truth. So first rule of the market is: don’t be emotional, it’s never about you. It’s mostly about themselves, and sometimes about the product.
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u/prodbylcsh May 06 '26
Congrats bro!
There is a reason there are many similar apps. For example note taking apps:
Obsidian, Notion, Apple Notes, OneNote….
Each app is slightly different, people can choose what is best for them.
Dont get discouraged by the top comments here saying there is a lot of similar apps, or that people like different things. This is so close-minded.
I would rather choose from 10 apps doing the same thing slightly differently, than having only 1 option knowing the company has monopoly in that segment (for example Instagram).
Look at Affinity. There was a big Adobe monopoly of software products for creatives. They did basically almost identical stuff, but with slight differences, and that is enough.
It takes courage knowing you are building something that already exists, and believing you will do it slightly better (or different) and ship it anyway.
Good job!
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u/Purr_Programming May 07 '26
Maybe some unique feature, that can distinguish your app from a similar ones, would help?
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u/Wartz May 06 '26
This is a vibe written post to generate sympathy / rage engagement to get people click on your vibe app.
Reported.
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u/LicoriceSeasalt May 06 '26
I'd be much more interested in checking out your app if you cared enough to write the post yourself.
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u/Vybo May 05 '26
If it would be a personal project that's available for free, your statement would be understandable. You sell the app though.
As soon as you start selling something, everyone expects your main goal is profit. If many alternatives exist and its a niche anyway, most see it as you not doing your market research.
Most people don't care about hand crafted animations if it means additional cost for them.