I still download new apps on iOS and once in a blue moon on Android, but they're rarely discovered through the App Store/Play Store. Nearly all new installs ar

I still download new apps on iOS and once in a blue moon on Android, but they're rarely discovered through the App Store/Play Store. Nearly all new installs are apps by indie devs that I saw someone mention in a Mastodon post or HN comment or something, because that's where the gold is. Midsize and up companies generally don't care enough about user experience to build great apps (instead, optimizing for "engagement" and leaning on A/B tests for design decisions), and obviously neither do shovelware devs of any size. The interesting stuff is almost always built by small operations run by passionate people.