Ben

Building digital products since 2000.
Apps made in Ulm with 🖤

Newest thing:

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

👨‍👧‍👦 Patchwork-Papa
💻 Indie-Entwickler
📱 Baue FamilyManager
🎯 Familien-Alltag, der funktioniert

Hier poste ich über den Weg, die App und alles dazwischen.
Follow für mehr.
https://t.co/SkoVwcZCz6

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Building apps since 2000 at 44 taught me to remove clutter.

GymBo focuses purely on fast workout tracking without unnecessary features.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

Do you prefer minimalist apps or feature-heavy software?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Most workout apps start with endless onboarding questionnaires before you can log reps.

GymBo gets straight to workout tracking on Apple Watch.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

Do you actually finish long app onboarding questionnaires?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Most workout apps start with endless onboarding questionnaires before you can log reps.

GymBo gets straight to workout tracking on Apple Watch.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

Do you actually finish long app onboarding questionnaires?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Nutzer-Feedback zu GymBo auf der Apple Watch: In der Satzpause war der Button gesperrt, solange der Timer lief.

Wer früher bereit ist, will nicht auf einen Countdown warten.

Sperre entfernt: Tippen beendet die Pause vorzeitig und loggt direkt.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Brand green (#4ADE80) on white has a contrast ratio of 1.74:1.

Darkening it globally makes buttons and rings muddy.

The fix for GymBo: separate text from surface color. Text uses a dark shade with over 5:1 contrast, while buttons keep the bright green.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

26 Jahre Software gebaut, und beim Marketing lerne ich wieder von vorne.

Menschen kaufen Transformation statt reiner Features. Entscheidend bleibt die Frage, welches emotionale Problem im Alltag wirklich gelöst wird.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

26 Jahre Software gebaut, aber Marketing lerne ich von vorne.

Ein Feature shippe ich am Wochenende. Aber wie man Nutzer für FamilyManager erreicht, lerne ich als Dev von null.

https://t.co/36TFTOAhle

Wie habt ihr als Entwickler Marketing gelernt?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Die Phase vor einem Release ist selten ruhig.

Man baut, testet spät abends und merkt erst durch echtes Feedback, wie die App im Alltag ankommt.

Genau so entsteht FamilyManager (https://t.co/36TFTOAhle) als Solo-Dev neben dem Vollzeitjob.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

The best part about switching to subscriptions: you find out every single month whether people still value what you built. Lifetime buyers vanish, subscribers vote with their wallet.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

With 2,000 users, aggregate numbers are statistically meaningful.

The goal: see what people actually use and remove unused features dragging performance down. Pruning to make the app faster, leaner, and better for the active users.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

FamilyManager crossed 2,000 users.

I previously built with zero tracking. Now I added TelemetryDeck to audit features. It is GDPR-compliant, cookie-free, and fully anonymized.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

The repo already returned them in localized order. A redundant .sorted() in the view broke it.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Swift's default string sorting compares Unicode scalars, not localized alphabets.

In GymBo, German exercises starting with "Ü" sorted after "Z" instead of near "U". "Überzüge" landed below "Zugmaschine" in the workout picker.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Apple put an LLM in front of App Intents without giving devs a way to test what it interprets and passes down to app logic.

Years of rigid parameters, handed to an assistant that skipped QA.

iOS devs: auditing your intents or waiting to see what breaks?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

No social feeds. No onboarding questionnaires. Just fast set and rep logging on Apple Watch.

GymBo keeps workout tracking simple.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

Why did fitness apps become complicated social networks?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Moving fast and shipping without bloat.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

What is the biggest leverage in your solo dev tech stack?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Gyms often have dead zones.

GymBo handles offline syncing on Apple Watch so your workout tracking never fails when connection drops.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

How often does poor connection break your workout app?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

39 Texte fehlten im Katalog von GymBo, davon 36 VoiceOver-Labels.

xcodebuild schreibt neue Strings aus dem Code nicht in die .xcstrings-Datei. Das macht nur die Xcode-GUI. Wer über das Terminal baut, merkt davon nichts.

Gelöst mit einem CI-Check via xcstringstool extract.

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

I have built digital products since 2000.

The best tools stay focused. GymBo logs sets on Apple Watch without needing an iPhone nearby.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

Indie hackers: do you focus on focused utility apps or broad platforms?

[Ben @_bnjkhr]

Endless subscriptions for simple utility tools are broken. Gym apps charging $60/year are the prime example.

GymBo offers transparent pricing without subscriptions for Apple Watch.

https://t.co/iPD1Uenam0

Would you rather pay upfront or pay an annual subscription?