Ask HN: Does Swift change anything about the dismal app business?
I've been excited about Swift lately, but upon closely thinking about it... it's still the same old thing, just cleaner. The app store is still crowded neck-to-neck, flooded with hundreds of apps every day. It's arguable that starting a new iOS app today would not be an optimal decision... would starting a Swift app be any different? As a small developer, I'm thinking it may be a better idea to abandon the crowded iOS apps space altogether for other greener pastures. Thoughts?
6 comments
Swift is going to help iOS apps improve in quality and quantity - though some very bad quality Objective-C apps that would have been rejected into the store would be bad quality apps that are accepted into the store.
Your problem may be to do with using the App Store as the sales and advertising platform. If people find out about the app through the other means and purchase it in the app store, you don't have such a problem with your lack of visibility in the store.
I think there is a future for using apps as a mobile optimized interface for an online service, where there are other sales channels apart from the App Store.
When it comes to product discovery, people find out about products on the web at all sorts of times when they are not particularly browsing for an app. It helps if there is a decent web presence for them to see what the app does, and possibly use it in a web browser.
Your problem may be to do with using the App Store as the sales and advertising platform. If people find out about the app through the other means and purchase it in the app store, you don't have such a problem with your lack of visibility in the store.
I think there is a future for using apps as a mobile optimized interface for an online service, where there are other sales channels apart from the App Store.
When it comes to product discovery, people find out about products on the web at all sorts of times when they are not particularly browsing for an app. It helps if there is a decent web presence for them to see what the app does, and possibly use it in a web browser.
The more pastures the better I say. Write once....
Swift is for the people that have no plans on eating anything but apples.
Swift is for the people that have no plans on eating anything but apples.
1. It will only lower the barrier. While not being innovative in any way Swift is a modern language and does simplify development.
2. Based on your concerns, using Swift is a really bad idea, since you will be tied to single platform. I would opt for C# + Xamarin instead.
2. Based on your concerns, using Swift is a really bad idea, since you will be tied to single platform. I would opt for C# + Xamarin instead.
All that swift does is changes the tool you're using - the pastures remain the same colour.
Why would a language change a business model and ecosystem?
I see a rising demand for Swift Android port
You can already write Android apps in a number of JVM languages. You're not stuck with the Java language. ;-)