The archive
15 pieces on designing, building, launching and paying for apps, newest first.
A mobile developer's desk: hubs, cables, chargers and stands
What a mobile developer's desk needs: USB-C hubs and specs that matter, data versus charging cables, multi-port chargers, phone stands and a second screen.
Building a small Android test device lab on a budget
How to pick Android test phones by role, buy them refurbished, keep them charged and connected over Wi-Fi, and decide which to update and which to freeze.
A/B testing in mobile apps: what the results can and can't tell you
Plain answers on store listing tests and in-app experiments: what each store lets you test, how much traffic you need, peeking and novelty effects.
App monetization models compared: subscriptions, one-time and ads
Subscriptions, one-time purchases, freemium, ads and hybrids compared, with store commission basics, free trials and price localization for small app teams.
Design systems for small app teams: start smaller than you think
How a small app team can build a design system that lasts: tokens first, a dozen components, notes in the design file, clear names and a first month plan.
What an app really costs to build, line by line
A freelance iOS developer walks through an app budget line by line, from discovery and design to backend, testing, launch and the yearly cost of upkeep.
App store screenshots that explain the app in five seconds
How to plan app store screenshots that work at search size: what the first three must show, how to write captions, and how to handle languages and dark mode.
Snapshot testing for iOS and Android: a field guide
How snapshot tests work on iOS and Android, which libraries to use, how to record and verify, where flaky diffs come from and what is not worth snapshotting.
The Dutch app scene: communities, meetups and how it grew
How the Netherlands built a friendly app community, from CocoaHeadsNL and Appsterdam to platform meetups beyond Amsterdam, and where a newcomer should start.
From mobile developer to engineering manager: what changes
A freelance iOS developer looks back on two years as a mobile team lead: the calendar, one-to-ones, hiring, saying no, and why going back to code is fine.
Mobile app accessibility: a working checklist for small teams
A release by release accessibility checklist for small mobile teams: screen readers, text scaling, touch targets, contrast, icon labels and motion settings.
The App Store keyword field: 100 characters without waste
How to fill Apple's 100-character keyword field: no spaces after commas, no words from your app name, no rival brands, plus a worked before and after.