Notes from the studio
What we learn shipping apps, tools and libraries. No fluff, just the parts we would want to read ourselves.
New
AI can design an app now. Are designers redundant?
Tina6 min read
Engineering
AI in software development: turn change into an advantage
AI does not replace technical thinking. With the right process, it frees teams to focus on the decisions that make products better.
Ethan· Oct 9, 20264 min read
Engineering
Adding AI to an app without a surprise bill
Most of the cost of an AI feature is decided before the first request. Model routing, caching, context size and hard limits, in order of impact.
Engineering
Why we wrote our own file-system wrapper for React Native
Three of our apps needed to save, read and export files. Each one did it slightly differently, so we pulled the shared bits into a small library.
Product
Writing comparison pages people actually finish
Notes from building The Home Versus: shorter verdicts up top, fewer spec tables, and a layout that respects people who only want the answer.
Engineering
From web tool to Chrome extension in a weekend
World Time Buddy started life as our Time Converter website. Turning it into an extension was mostly about deleting UI, not adding it.
Design
Designing a camera screen you can use with one hand
Ingredient Scanner is used in supermarket aisles, usually while holding a basket. That changed where every button lives.
Process
One codebase, three stores: our release checklist
The boring list we run before every release to App Store, Google Play and the web, and the mistakes that put each item on it.
Design
What we changed in our store screenshots on the second pass
Our first Tarot Destiny screenshots described features. The second set shows what it feels like to use the app.
Engineering
GPS stamps you can trust on a building site
FieldStamp burns location, time and notes into every photo. The hard part was being honest when the phone does not know where it is.
Engineering
A currency converter that still works on a plane
Smart Currency Converter is used most when the network is worst. Designing offline-first changed how we store rates and what we show on screen.
Product
Bookmarks before transcripts
AI Lecture Recorder can transcribe a whole lecture. We still made a single tap to mark a moment the most important button in the app.
Design
Making loan maths people can actually read
Easy Loan Estimator shows the monthly payment first and the full schedule second. Here is how we turned a wall of numbers into an answer.
Product
Writing horror for a chat bubble
Horror Chat Stories tells scary stories as text messages. Pacing a scare one bubble at a time is closer to editing film than writing prose.
Engineering
A QR scanner that shows you the link before it opens
ScanQR never jumps straight to a website. A short preview step makes scanning a little slower and a lot safer.
Design
Designing a coloring app for small hands
Kids do not read menus, miss small targets and tap with their whole palm. Coloring Book: Paint & Draw was built around those facts.
Process
The features we said no to in an image and PDF tool
Quick Image PDF Resizer could have become an editor. Keeping a written list of things it will not do kept it fast and easy to explain.
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