New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: When to release the first version of an iOS app?
Ask HN: When to release the first version of an iOS app?
2 by spike021 | 2 comments on Hacker News.
I've been working on an iPhone app for the first time while taking some time off between jobs. It works fairly well, with the occasional bug or two. While it's a simple app, there's definitely a niche market for it and I've seen some interest for it. The base functionality works well almost all the time, performance is decent (use of SwiftUI notwithstanding). I'm finally starting a new job soon and my original goal was to release a v1 at that point. The problem is I'm not sure if I'm at the right stage with the app for it to be in a production-ready state. It's missing one core feature, although it's not necessary for the main use of the app. There are a couple other bugs I wouldn't mind debugging. I've had some friends test it out using TestFlight distributions, so I have had some feedback that way. So my dilemma is: should I release it now and try to do iterative releases the first couple months, knowing it could be busy while I ramp-up to my new job, or just... wait a while longer, hope for some solid free after-hours time when I'll feel like hacking on my own project, and release a first version later at some point? The one other side-note is it's too simple of an app for ads and I was initially thinking I'd charge a small amount for it. Maybe USD1.99 or similar. But I feel guilty publishing it for that price if I personally don't see it as "perfectly ready", so then I wonder if I should release it as a free app for now and then charge for it later once I have more bugfixes and a new feature or two. Any advice would be appreciated! I'm not really looking specifically for advice on ads-based freeware / charging for the app / free other than how they are affected with the state of the app at this time. Thanks.
2 by spike021 | 2 comments on Hacker News.
I've been working on an iPhone app for the first time while taking some time off between jobs. It works fairly well, with the occasional bug or two. While it's a simple app, there's definitely a niche market for it and I've seen some interest for it. The base functionality works well almost all the time, performance is decent (use of SwiftUI notwithstanding). I'm finally starting a new job soon and my original goal was to release a v1 at that point. The problem is I'm not sure if I'm at the right stage with the app for it to be in a production-ready state. It's missing one core feature, although it's not necessary for the main use of the app. There are a couple other bugs I wouldn't mind debugging. I've had some friends test it out using TestFlight distributions, so I have had some feedback that way. So my dilemma is: should I release it now and try to do iterative releases the first couple months, knowing it could be busy while I ramp-up to my new job, or just... wait a while longer, hope for some solid free after-hours time when I'll feel like hacking on my own project, and release a first version later at some point? The one other side-note is it's too simple of an app for ads and I was initially thinking I'd charge a small amount for it. Maybe USD1.99 or similar. But I feel guilty publishing it for that price if I personally don't see it as "perfectly ready", so then I wonder if I should release it as a free app for now and then charge for it later once I have more bugfixes and a new feature or two. Any advice would be appreciated! I'm not really looking specifically for advice on ads-based freeware / charging for the app / free other than how they are affected with the state of the app at this time. Thanks.
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