Side Project Spotlight

The Trio is going on Winter Break, but before we do, one final pod to end the year! In this season finale episode, we look back on some of the hardware, software, and developer trends of 2024 before looking forward to the possibilities to come in the new year. Have a happy holiday season! The Trio will return in 2025. ## Topics Discussed - Favorite Apple Stuff of the Year - iPhone 16 Pro Max (Kotaro) - iPad mini refresh (Steve) - Vision Pro (Aaron) - Vision Pro: Flop or the Future? - https://podcast.phillycocoa.org/episodes/75-visionos-epiphanies - Favorite Apps of 2024-ish - Pixquare - https://www.pixquare.art - OmniFocus 4 - https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus/ - “AI” Hype Cycle / Apple Intelligence - Looking Forward to 2025 - More Indie Vibes (Kotaro) - Apple Intelligence / Siri Integration (Steve) - iPhone 17 (Aaron) - Wrap-Up - http://phillycocoa.org - One More Thing… - https://happyscale.com/ Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

In this penultimate episode of 2024, the Trio return to the topic of Design Systems from episode 72 with a discussion about how indie developers can apply the concept to their apps along with specific tips and techniques for implementation using the built-in tools available in SwiftUI and Xcode. Plus, our first thoughts on 2/3 of the M4 announcements this week. ## Topics Discussed - Apple Announcements - iMac M4 - Mac mini M4/M4 Pro - Design Systems for Indies - Previous episode: https://podcast.phillycocoa.org/episodes/72-what-is-a-design-system - Why? - Design for Hackers - https://designforhackers.com - View elements (spacing, shadows, corner radius, etc.) - View Styles - https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swiftui/view-styles - https://movingparts.io/styling-components-in-swiftui - https://movingparts.io/composable-styles-in-swiftui - SF Symbols / Custom SF Symbols - Asset Catalogs - Colors - App Icons - Sounds - Videos - Keep It Simple - Wrap-Up & One More Thing… - http://phillycocoa.org - https://happyscale.com Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

The Trio are inspired by a PhillyCocoa Slack discussion to venture back into the world of modern app monetization strategies. What options does a budding indie developer have for making money on the App Store? Along the way, we highlight many great examples of apps employing a variety of strategies and innovative monetization techniques. ## Topics Discussed - App Monetization Strategies - Paid Upfront - Procreate Apps - https://procreate.com/procreate - Things 3 - https://culturedcode.com/things - Games (sometimes) - Free + ads / consumables - Many games - Dividend Calc (Kotaro’s old app!) - https://tomatoboy.co/dividendcalc - Fav10 (Kotaro’s other old app!) - https://tomatoboy.co/fav10 - Duolingo (free + ads OR subscription) - https://www.duolingo.com/ - Subscriptions - Slopes - https://getslopes.com/ - Overcast - https://overcast.fm - Fantastical - https://flexibits.com/fantastical - Sketch - https://www.sketch.com - Innovative Examples - OmniFocus - https://www.omnigroup.com/omnifocus - Nebula - https://nebula.tv - Pinboard - https://pinboard.in/ - Pixquare - https://www.pixquare.art/ - Experiment with pricing / sales - Final Thoughts - Wrap-Up / One More Thing - Happy Scale - https://happyscale.com/ Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

The trio have been feeling a vibe shift in the developer community lately. Are we on the cusp of a new "Indie" renaissance? ## Chapters 00:00 Introductions 03:00 Follow-up: Are We Buying iPhone 16 Pro Max? 13:30 Follow-up: Kotaro Learning Godot 25:36 Indie Vibes 26:41 Indie Development Strategies and Niche Markets 30:40 Indie Apps and Content Creation 35:38 Pay Once Model Coming Back? 38:02 Monetization Strategies for Indies 47:51 Platform Choices / Native vs Cross-platform 01:02:13 Final Words 01:05:00 Wrap-Up & Not a Sponsor Shoutouts ## Links https://ia.net/topics/our-android-app-is-frozen-in-carbonite ### Not a Sponsor Shoutouts - Happy Scale - https://happyscale.com - Slopes - https://getslopes.com - Pixen - https://pixenapp.com - Pixquare - https://www.pixquare.art - Foodnoms - https://www.foodnoms.com Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

The trio discuss the release of iOS 18 and the new iPhone 16 camera button and get inspired by the latest Slopes app design update. Kotaro shares some art and sound updates to his game jam project before exploring some "epiphanies" he has experienced relating to visionOS app design. ## Chapters 00:00 Introductions 00:54 iPhone 16 / iOS 18 Released 04:09 Camera Features and Photography on iPhone 16 07:32 iPhone 17 Rumors 09:13 Exploring the New Camera Control Button 12:47 iOS 18 Features and Apple Intelligence 15:44 Slopes Update 18:56 Kotaro's Game Jam Update 31:55 visionOS Epiphanies 53:08 Wrap-Up and One More Thing... ## Links - Slopes Update - https://getslopes.com - Kotaro’s Game Jam Update - https://godotengine.org - https://www.gamedev.tv/courses/godot-mobile - Artwork - Music - visionOS Epiphanies - https://x.com/sekiguchiaimi/status/1808078418774483127?s=46&t=7o-KhBdOG-79A_MGeJNVBw - #visionhackhack - https://x.com/twforno1/status/1835636457261735960?s=46&t=7o-KhBdOG-79A_MGeJNVBw - https://x.com/mattpfeiffer/status/1834961908765458938?s=46&t=7o-KhBdOG-79A_MGeJNVBw - The Wrap-Up & One More Thing - http://phillycocoa.org - https://azamsharp.teachable.com/p/affiliate - https://azamsharp.school Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

On this evergreen episode, the trio begins by discussing the upcoming (at the time of recording) iPhone 16 event before Kotaro tells the tale of his failed Game Jam experience. Lessons are learned and hilarious generated voices are demoed. Sometimes you bite off more than you can chew with a side project, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth the attempt. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - News - Sept 9th iPhone 16 Event - Kotaro’s Failed Game Jam - Godot Game Engine - https://godotengine.org/ - Making Pixel Art with Pixen - https://pixenapp.com - What went wrong? - Scope Creep! - What did get done? - Text to speech via Bash script via ChatGPT - https://gist.github.com/kotarofujita/0bca414d058c90cf22818c0e26b3fce4 - What’s next? - Finish a vertical slice on an iPhone - The Wrap-Up - https://phillycocoa.org - One More Thing… - https://azamsharp.school Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

This week Kotaro announces his triumphant return to the Game Jam scene with a brilliant idea that will surely make him a "Fortune." Then the Trio dives deep into the issues and controversies around generative "AI" and Procreate's stance against such technology in their products. Plus, Steve drops an epic rant about Facebook's "AI" integration as contrasted with the great integration done in the Foodnoms app. We think this episode has some of our best discussions to date so you won't want to miss it! ## Topics Discussed: - Kotaro Returns to Game Jams - “Fortune” - https://godotengine.org - https://github.com/migueldeicaza/SwiftGodot - Steve’s idea for a game: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_(video_game) - Philly Game Mechanics Discord - https://discord.com/invite/vUhXknC - Procreate takes a stand against “generative AI” in their products - https://x.com/Procreate/status/1825311104584802470 - https://procreate.com/ai - The Wrap-Up & One More Thing… - https://azamsharp.school Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

This week Kotaro pods solo to introduce the concept of design systems, especially as they apply to mobile development. This is a topic we will revisit once the Trio can gather together once more and this episode will act as the foundation for those future discussions. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - What is a “design system” - Figma's definition - https://www.figma.com/blog/design-systems-101-what-is-a-design-system/ - Definition: - Tokens - Color (light/dark) - Corner radius - Dimensions - Fonts name/sizing/weight - Animation - Assets - What are they useful for - Consistency thru-out the product(s) - Faster time to market changes - May good for white label apps - How are they implemented for SwiftUI - SwiftUI implementation - https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-systems - Packages - Asset Folder - Structs/Enums - SF Symbols - What are the drawbacks - Complicated setup with all the state holders needing to be in constant communication. - Can get overly complex with everyone waiting on the other to finish their work - Once implemented. It can be very rigid to deal with maintaining order when individual stakeholders demand their part to be special. - Can be highly opinionated or too generalized depending on implementation - One More Thing... - AzamSharp Workshops - https://azamsharp.school/workshops.html Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

The trio discuss the state of the tech job market, especially for Apple platform developers. We touch on all manner of topics from how hiring practices are broken, to practical tips for new grads, to the utility of side projects, future hot platforms, and of course the "AI" question. There is a lot of good stuff in this episode. Enjoy! ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - Job Market Vibe Check - Junior Developers - Hiring Practices Are Broken - Developer Demand Will Increase - Apple Platforms Ever More Functional - Tangent: Our Drexel Experiences - Recent College Graduates - Mohammad Faani’s Mention in iOS Dev Weekly - https://iosdevweekly.com/issues/670?m=web#nDJBq0q - Explore Tech Stacks - Kotaro the Mercenary - Utility of Side Projects - Consultant Agencies - Tying Things Together - Crossing the Platforms - The “AI” Question - Steve Yegge’s Article: “The Death of the Junior Developer” - https://sourcegraph.com/blog/the-death-of-the-junior-developer - Kotaro’s Positive Ending…The Purge!? - The Wrap-Up & One More Thing - https://azamsharp.school Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.

The trio is back from celebrating America to talk about Apple's horribly named "predictive code completion" in Xcode 16. Kotaro tries to use it with some interesting results and we compare Apple's current implementation with other similar products like Microsoft's Intellicode and contrast it with something like Copilot or Apple's forthcoming Swift Assist product. We also engage in an interesting discussion about when you should or should not use these code generation tools. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - Kotaro installs macOS 15 beta - Kotaro tries “predictive code completion” in Xcode 16 - Steve’s experience with Intellicode in Visual Studio - DocC generation with Copilot in VS Code - Generating unit tests with Copilot - When and when not to use these tools? - Future experiments - Wrap-up - PhillyCocoa.org - One More Thing - AzamSharp.school Intro music: "When I Hit the Floor", © 2021 Lorne Behrman. Used with permission of the artist.