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I have mostly found that all app store apps, no matter what app store, are 100% garbage unless they come from a Fortune 500 company and even then, a lot of thos

I have mostly found that all app store apps, no matter what app store, are 100% garbage unless they come from a Fortune 500 company and even then, a lot of those are garbage. It seems like if you’re big enough, you’re obligated to be on an app store, and incidentally your software quality is only going to be on par because you’re large enough to afford designers who actually adhere to design guidelines, maybe. I will never forget how Schiller wanted the App Store to be a Nordstrom experience but instead it always feels like a dollar store. Because the quality of the apps are bottom-tier, there’s overwhelming amounts of Chinese knockoffs, and the apps, if paid, are literally sometimes at dollar store prices. The app stores are ghetto. Don’t publish there. It’s mere coincidence that large companies like Spotify are there. And they’re not there because the app stores are good.

joshstrange 1y ago
> I have mostly found that all app store apps, no matter what app store, are 100% garbage unless they come from a Fortune 500 company and even then, a lot of those are garbage. Hard disagree. My favorite apps are made by either a solo developer or a small group/company. Some examples: - Overcast (Podcast Player) - Prologue (Audiobook App) - Octal (HN Client) - Apollo (RIP, Reddit) - Drafts (Notes app) - Any Zach Gage game - Widgetsmith (Widgets)
- andrewmcwatters 1y ago
  So you have seven examples out of nearly 2 million apps, one doesn't exist anymore, one is a wrapper around news.ycombinator.com, and one is the equivalent of a skin app. No, these are not shining examples of good apps.
  - joshstrange 1y ago
    You said all apps are garbage unless they come from Fortune 500 companies, I give you examples of apps that are not garbage from solo developers, and you respond with this… I have no clue what to say. I’m not sure HN is the place for you with that attitude.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - andrewmcwatters 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - catgirlinspace 1y ago
        Why are you being so rude? You claimed that apps not made by fortune 500 companies are all garbage, they listed some counter examples (not an exhaustive list), and that isn’t good enough? If anyone here is ruining the site, I think it might be you. I had been enjoying reading the comments here until seeing yours. (Also Octal is one of my favorite apps, even if you think it is nothing but a wrapper around news.ycombinator.com.)
        andrewmcwatters 1y ago
        Why can’t you people read? Do you not know what the word mostly means? I don’t enjoy reading your comment either. You’re not contributing anything. Talk about the topic or move on. His examples are really bad. That’s a matter of opinion. Get over it.
- chrismatheson 1y ago
  +1 for Prologue. I use it every day and I think its amazingly stable and well designed
- 6510 1y ago
  I chat with a successful app dev one time long ago. His formula is rather simple. If it takes time to develop the app don't do it. In stead publish 10-20 apps in a day. Hire some people on the cheap to search and organize data. Even after a long time his idea what might be successful and what probably wont be is way off. Ideas are like, an app that is just a list of some kind. Ill make up an example: An app that has searchable list of cities in Denmark with a typical picture for each. Here you could allow the user to write a note with each entry or allow sorting by distance from- but it is more effective to move on to the next "app". You make 20 country apps like that, non of them get any downloads except from one country that gets 10 per month/120 per year. That makes it a productive day.
  - msgodel 1y ago
    Investing serious effort into something that has to go through the review process is just irresponsible IMO.
isntThatSth 1y ago
I have to say I don't recognize that experience at all. There are plenty of good apps - both from large companies and solo developers.
- 6510 1y ago
  Please do shamelessly promote the solos here.
  - andrewmcwatters 1y ago
    Yeah, this would be a great opportunity. I think most of the time when you search for anything on app stores, the results are mostly filled with apps that can’t follow design guidelines, have annoying IAP that should have just been you paying for the app, etc. It’s abundantly clear that Apple has to allow a lot of slop in to collect their rent. Google Play just straight up isn’t worth browsing. The Microsoft Store is maybe worse or on par because their audience doesn’t seem to care about user experiences all together.
  - beAbU 1y ago
    MobileSheets(1) gets an endorsement from me, if that counts for something. It's imo the best app for managing sheet music for performances. I sing in 4 choirs, and its a godsend so that I don't need to juggle a bunch of binders. Is it the nicest looking? No. Does it have some jank? Sure. Could the UX be improved? Definitely. But it works where it matters, it's a one off payment and the dev is actually responsive for support queries. https://zubersoft.com/mobilesheets/ https://zubersoft.com/mobilesheets/
msgodel 1y ago
App stores are a business thing not a technical thing. You must be a business partner with the OS vendor to publish in one. They're a horrible idea and quite frankly should be illegal.
- andrewmcwatters 1y ago
  Totally. If you want to opt-in to selling beside knockoffs, then sure go for it. But this duopoly requirement of being forced to sell your software in a digital dollar store is gross.

joshstrange 1y ago

> I have mostly found that all app store apps, no matter what app store, are 100% garbage unless they come from a Fortune 500 company and even then, a lot of those are garbage. Hard disagree. My favorite apps are made by either a solo developer or a small group/company. Some examples: - Overcast (Podcast Player) - Prologue (Audiobook App) - Octal (HN Client) - Apollo (RIP, Reddit) - Drafts (Notes app) - Any Zach Gage game - Widgetsmith (Widgets)

andrewmcwatters 1y ago
So you have seven examples out of nearly 2 million apps, one doesn't exist anymore, one is a wrapper around news.ycombinator.com, and one is the equivalent of a skin app. No, these are not shining examples of good apps.
- joshstrange 1y ago
  You said all apps are garbage unless they come from Fortune 500 companies, I give you examples of apps that are not garbage from solo developers, and you respond with this… I have no clue what to say. I’m not sure HN is the place for you with that attitude.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - andrewmcwatters 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - catgirlinspace 1y ago
      Why are you being so rude? You claimed that apps not made by fortune 500 companies are all garbage, they listed some counter examples (not an exhaustive list), and that isn’t good enough? If anyone here is ruining the site, I think it might be you. I had been enjoying reading the comments here until seeing yours. (Also Octal is one of my favorite apps, even if you think it is nothing but a wrapper around news.ycombinator.com.)
      - andrewmcwatters 1y ago
        Why can’t you people read? Do you not know what the word mostly means? I don’t enjoy reading your comment either. You’re not contributing anything. Talk about the topic or move on. His examples are really bad. That’s a matter of opinion. Get over it.
chrismatheson 1y ago
+1 for Prologue. I use it every day and I think its amazingly stable and well designed
6510 1y ago
I chat with a successful app dev one time long ago. His formula is rather simple. If it takes time to develop the app don't do it. In stead publish 10-20 apps in a day. Hire some people on the cheap to search and organize data. Even after a long time his idea what might be successful and what probably wont be is way off. Ideas are like, an app that is just a list of some kind. Ill make up an example: An app that has searchable list of cities in Denmark with a typical picture for each. Here you could allow the user to write a note with each entry or allow sorting by distance from- but it is more effective to move on to the next "app". You make 20 country apps like that, non of them get any downloads except from one country that gets 10 per month/120 per year. That makes it a productive day.
- msgodel 1y ago
  Investing serious effort into something that has to go through the review process is just irresponsible IMO.

isntThatSth 1y ago

I have to say I don't recognize that experience at all. There are plenty of good apps - both from large companies and solo developers.

6510 1y ago
Please do shamelessly promote the solos here.
- andrewmcwatters 1y ago
  Yeah, this would be a great opportunity. I think most of the time when you search for anything on app stores, the results are mostly filled with apps that can’t follow design guidelines, have annoying IAP that should have just been you paying for the app, etc. It’s abundantly clear that Apple has to allow a lot of slop in to collect their rent. Google Play just straight up isn’t worth browsing. The Microsoft Store is maybe worse or on par because their audience doesn’t seem to care about user experiences all together.
- beAbU 1y ago
  MobileSheets(1) gets an endorsement from me, if that counts for something. It's imo the best app for managing sheet music for performances. I sing in 4 choirs, and its a godsend so that I don't need to juggle a bunch of binders. Is it the nicest looking? No. Does it have some jank? Sure. Could the UX be improved? Definitely. But it works where it matters, it's a one off payment and the dev is actually responsive for support queries. https://zubersoft.com/mobilesheets/ https://zubersoft.com/mobilesheets/

msgodel 1y ago

App stores are a business thing not a technical thing. You must be a business partner with the OS vendor to publish in one. They're a horrible idea and quite frankly should be illegal.

andrewmcwatters 1y ago
Totally. If you want to opt-in to selling beside knockoffs, then sure go for it. But this duopoly requirement of being forced to sell your software in a digital dollar store is gross.