Frontend, frontend, frontend - gotta do it all.
Didn't expect this launch to go so smoothly.
What to Build
Publishing an iOS app has always been an idea. But there were always other things I wanted to complete first.
Recently finished some things, completed some learning. Time to tackle this.
What to build? A simple calculator.
Why? Because it's simple, and because my wife actually needs one. She has specific requirements for calculators, and none of the ones she's tried have been satisfactory.
Development
For development, iOS first. Not many Android devices at home, mostly iOS, and I like the iOS experience.
Starting a React Native project, completing the calculator wasn't hard. But I did realize that developing for iOS/Android has different limitations. Some things just can't be achieved with RN alone and need to be implemented based on the situation. Maybe Flutter in the future.
Platform Launch
Getting on the Apple Store has always been a hurdle, with many tutorials. But AI has been a huge help.
Paid for account, waited for approval - took 1 day.
Struggled with EAS build, submit, and meeting review requirements - took a morning.
Submitted for review, waited for review completion - took 2 days.
Direct distribution was quite fast - 2-3 hours and it was done.
Aftermath
My wife finally gets to use an app I developed! Although the features she wants aren't there yet.