Why I don't Develop Android Apps and Web

[@AivarsMeijers]

▸ Build your iOS App Business: www.indiesolopreneur.com/part-time-indie-app-building-system ▸ Part-time Solopreneur insights: aivarsmeijers.substack.com/ Timestamps to your questions 👇 00:00 Intro 00:15 Sleeping schedule 02:20 Best coffee brew type 05:37 Morning streams on Twitch 07:12 Focused work session 07:53 MacBook Air for development 10:15 Mentoring 12:24 Feature audience Apps 13:21 Why Do not develop Android Apps 15:08 Why I never started Web Development 16:15 Is it scary to live next to Russia 16:34 How to learn App development if start over 18:19 CS degree 19:55 Your experience? 22:40 First half of freelance work 4h of code 23:47 Rapid fire answers

[@rmcf3972]

Thanks for this

[@paracha3]

I really liked the honest answer about mentoring. Same feelings here. Mentoring takes time and effort and the only thing you get in return from your company (sometime), is the tap on the back which is FREE.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yeah, it is ugly true, but I don’t make videos to paint my self better than I’m. If have to chose what to do, work on side projects and earn money, spend time with family or record video to inspire thousands there is no chance I will jump on 1:1 calls with strangers to help figure out how to install Xcode.

[@nathanfallet]

Hey Aivars! Great to learn more about your daily life; I've been following you for a while and I enjoy to check your content sometimes 😄

[@AivarsMeijers]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@giogio9854]

I totally dig the longer videos with less editing. Really authentic and straight forward. Very cool.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Cool, thanks for the feedback. Good to know.

[@RayfuzuLearning]

I second this

[@rockysmith9286]

Hey Aivars, another awesome video! You are killing it. Top notch editing skills. At the end you mentioned eating breakfast at almost 2pm, correct? Are you intermittent fasting or something? As an experienced dev, I'd love to know more about your routines, habits, hobbies, how much deep/shallow work you try to get done each day, how you handle communication and notifications when working etc. Thanks!

[@AivarsMeijers]

Thanks! Glad you liked the video. I tried intermediate fasting and even developed simple timer app to follow fasting cycle. Now I do not follow any fasting cycle because realised that I'm not too hungry on mornings and usually skipping breakfast and eating at about 12-2. Thanks for the feedback, I will think how to include that info in upcoming videos.

[@jan.kowalski]

Great stuff! Greets from Poland!

[@sturanovicms]

Greetings from a fellow web developer. Really love your content. Watch at least one video a week

[@AivarsMeijers]

Thank you! So, seems that I should get back onto regular postibng :D

[@ytacctaccnt]

What do you think about React Native?

[@mario_luis_dev]

@AivarsMeijers my question is, is the revenue just from the AppStore not good enough to live well? I’m asking you bc I see you have quite a few apps already on the AppStore; are they not enough to keep you just coding your own projects as opposed to doing freelancing work?

[@AivarsMeijers]

I like to diversify risks by having multiple revenue streams. I earn enough to pay bills form Apps or freelancing, but two revenue streams are more comfortable

[@mario_luis_dev]

@@AivarsMeijers makes sense. I'm a little terrified of my current situation given that I left a full time backend dev role in a US company earning six figures to go fully indie on iOS. I'm closely following your journey because I want to get to a point where I'm doing exactly what you're doiing right now. You're an inspiration man, keep up the great work!

[@AivarsMeijers]

@@mario_luis_dev I never made big jump to freelance or indie. I started freelancing in parallel while had a full-time job as a head of products. When I had too much work as a freelancer to do it all, I dropped FT. Now I'm building indie apps and creating content on side until will feel ready to drop freelance. I suggest to start building indie apps as a part time indie and do not rush to go all in.

[@mario_luis_dev]

@@AivarsMeijers yeah I saw your other videos mentioning that your transition was little by little. That’s definitely the smart way to do it, however I was sick of the corporate work environment and just left. They were too controlling, and demanded a LOT from me. Plus I didn’t see myself working as a backend dev for much longer. I LOVE the Apple ecosystem so I wanted to jump on development for their platforms now rather than later. The scary part is that I have a family to feed 😅 If it was just me I wouldn’t be afraid of anything, I *know* I can do it…It’s just that when there’s family in the conversation the responsibility toll is real…

[@sergsergesrgergseg]

the idea that u need to sleep 8 hours is wrong. personally sometimes i need to sleep 12 hours but usually around 7-8 if i eat well

[@MikaelaCaron]

lol no one’s talking about the mic on the cheese grater? 😂 great video Aivars! 24:45

[@AivarsMeijers]

It is very handy, highly recomend for your next conference talk :)

[@mario_luis_dev]

that was the highlight of the video 😂

[@hmenorjr]

As an iOS Developer, do you only focus on iPhone apps? I think I watched one of your videos and you mentioned that you only focus on mobile applications.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yes, that's only development I do. Only mobile apps, only iOS. Well, iPad and Apple Watch as well, but that's closer to iOS than Android or anything else.

[@AlexMisarins]

Sveiki from Daugavpils (currently live in Bulgaria, sunny city Burgas). For last 2+ years I'm into mobile game dev (unity + c#), but recently hooked up with an idea to make my own app. Then weeks of mind battles "react vs flutter, kotlin vs ios" and etc. In the end decided to go full on with Swift, which is easy to learn, like most of c-based pl's. Totally angree with you, that web dev way too fragmented with browsers, platforms and frameworks. Real digital zoo. Working on android apps (games in my case) and publishing them (Google console) is always more complicated than App store connect. Another pain in the hole is graddle builder used for android apps ang games - works after a few kicks and punches only. Thanks for the valuable info in your videos. Like your og style and "code" brim, peace ✌

[@AivarsMeijers]

Game market is very challenging, because you compete with everything, even Netflix for users attention. Give a try to App development, it is less complicated than even simple game. If you found good niche to serve users in it, you can make decent money.

[@AlexMisarins]

@@AivarsMeijers I work for a small studio and we have a good contract with the largest publisher on the mobile market. As they provide us with publishing and marketing expertise we have to be focused on making games only. However it i's extremely challenging to invent a new game mechanic that will trend or dominate the market. I started to learn Swift to challenge myself and to implement some ideas I have for a long time. Again, thanks for your energy 🫰

[@user20517]

Thanks Aivars, really intresting and informative content.. I am a product manager and trying to switch my career to backend or full stack web development, and your story gave me courage to keep trying in this path.. keep up the great work.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Great to hear! My carer was a bit jumpy. From tech engineer to product management and then to the development. Strangely twisted, but perhaps shows that anything is possible.

[@petersuvara]

Absolutely agree with the morning schedule. Getting the gym out of the way early in the morning is perfect.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yep. After getting to the gym or from run it feels that nothing can go wrong in the day :)

[@kyachahteho]

Hire an overseas developer and get it developed. You don't have to code everything yourself.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yeh, that could work. Maybe someday later.

[@vladimirmoor]

Thanks for video! Nice iOS dev day vibe and interesting video editing style. Feels like watching a good short film from my favourite director

[@AivarsMeijers]

Glad you liked it!

[@Vamo_Alla]

Hello 👋 first all thanks for your videos and hard work 🙌 I have a question, nowadays there is a lot of talking about AI taking over software development jobs and it’s like everyone on KZbin knows the future 100% because the majority affirm it that AI will take over.….just being a bit sarcastic jejee. What do you think about this AI and what you think apps developers will be at risk too with this new technology? Specifically IOS apps since I like more IOS ecosystem. Thanks and I appreciate your insights 🙌😎

[@ConstantinA1]

I left Android Development 3 years ago and focused only on iOS and Apple Eco System, the best decision ever. Not only that i made more from ios alone also requires less working/optimisation.

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yep, those are my reasons as well. Android in average makes about 30% from revenue. I heard that from other indies and saw in projects I was worling. In my case, with limited development resources it make sense to double down on iOS.

[@MrPDTaylor]

​​@@AivarsMeijersdid you mean that developing an app for Android will, on average, make 30% of what the same app would make on iOS?

[@AivarsMeijers]

@@MrPDTaylor Yes, there are outliers, but average statistics are about like that. To catch up on revenue in Android apps you have push hard on ads.

[@ZhivkoLefterov101]

Amazing video again! shared a few thoughts on what should a Freelancer do after a contract ends. It will be really appreciated! Thanks

[@MrKingJavo]

I’m new to your channel and thought it would be a great idea to make a video showcasing how you do all of your social media including KZbin and what your purposes and what your goals are for those channels? I really enjoy your content and know it’s a lot of work, so curious what your mindset is for all of this work?

[@AivarsMeijers]

I doubt we need one more "how I create content" video, but I will think how to frame that to make more interesting for developers.

[@munavarpm5342]

Can you video for what make's coding journey easier? like you can say Copilot, Courses, Two screen like that?

[@KaitlynReynolds76]

I totally dig the longer videos with less editing. Really authentic and straight forward. Very cool.

[@husamburhandev]

I have a Macbook Air M1 with 16 GB of RAM. It is a great machine! I use it as a main development machine, even running a docker instance to experiment with a web app (consists of 4 containers). I only regret that I should buy a 512 GB version, not a 256 as in my case. If anyone can afford to buy a pro version go ahead! otherwise, M1 Air is a good machine for beginners to intermediate developers.

[@vladimirmoor]

Yeah. Was in same trouble! Have only 256 Gb is not enough for big projects. Decide to buy M2 Pro 14 1Tb 16 Gb.

[@husamburhandev]

@@vladimirmoor how much it costs in your country?

[@vladimirmoor]

@@husamburhandev it’s around 2600$

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yeah, even for iOS only 256 is not much. With 512 I have to keep an eye on SSD, currently 1TB is my comfortable minimum to do not care about memory limits.

[@schachspieler3254]

because you only know Swift?

[@AivarsMeijers]

Do you really think that could be the reason or just never saw Kotlin and Swift side by side? btw, I build a few Android Apps back when Eclipse and Java were tools for Android dev

[@prasannakumar-hh7cc]

Its not about capability, its about strategy. Generalization or Specialization is a personal decision, which is influenced by past experiences and external factors.

[@NuwanThisara]

where is your hackintosh/windows PC?

[@Diablist]

dude just say i dont know how or im lazy to start using another syntax or trying flutter and yes on flutter you can develop apple watch app oh and btw flutter is better than native nowdays , i can use every pixel on the device freely and i do not even care about devices aspects if im properly doing it responsive and rarly i tackle something complex here and there .. else it is A HUGE push for a freelancer

[@AivarsMeijers]

I build one Flutter app for a while ago, but you are right. I'm not interested to learn new tools just for sake of learning and Swift works for now. If I would like to focus on freelance projects where iOS and Android app is needed I would go with Flutter. That's best tool for work like that.

[@Andy-ew2th]

Hello neighbor 👋 Woah you speedup video at 22:40 you scared me, it feels your run around 70km in the town 😃

[@AivarsMeijers]

Tere, neighbor! The next clip is speedup, but driving part is not. That's about 50km/h, absolutely legal for that street, no worries ;)

[@NorthSea-xb7jk]

wow, developer with one monitor..usually blogging devs show off their 5-7 all size monitors :D

[@AivarsMeijers]

Check my older videos. I'm over that phase in my life :D

[@ummeed8821]

How do you select niche for your indie project

[@michaell.3153]

Grat video! Thank you. Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹

[@AivarsMeijers]

Thanks for watching!

[@erproerpro903]

Good job Aivars! Greetings from Lithuania!

[@AivarsMeijers]

Ačiū!

[@NorthSea-xb7jk]

btw, is it gloossy screen right ? your 32' monitor. How it feels?

[@AivarsMeijers]

That is 27" Apple Studio Display. I have window behind me and need to close blinds in bright daylight, otherwise it is great and do not distract me.

[@alekseidotsenko6733]

You make really interesting content, thank you.

[@AivarsMeijers]

I appreciate that!

[@narutoso111]

Do you use the original apple clear case? If yes, whats your opinion on that?

[@AivarsMeijers]

Yes, I do. I’m using it for a last three iPhones. I like how you can see iPhone trough it and it still gots protection. I like open bottom to swipe up comgortably I dont like that this and all the other cases collect dust behind them. In this case you can see that and need to clear. Will buy for iPhone 16 again.

[@narutoso111]

@@AivarsMeijers thanks for your answer:)

[@chiekenwanna-nzewunwa1773]

Another great video 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

[@AivarsMeijers]

Thank you 🤗

[@ryshask]

I had that exact coffee grinder.

[@AivarsMeijers]

This was reazonably priced and well reviewed.

[@itsmedeka]

Thanks for the video!

[@AivarsMeijers]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@foxbitf0xb173]

First D:

[@AivarsMeijers]

🥇

[@iLoveAppl3947]

Choosing between iOS or Android is like choosing between Mercedess and Lada... The best apps in the world are on iOS

[@AivarsMeijers]

It is possible to develop great Android apps, but I agree that most of the apps launching iOS first and there is just more money in that App market.

[@prasannakumar-hh7cc]

In India or may be in Asia you will see more Ladas than Mercedes, so the market also decides which drivers are in demand, irrrespective of the pay scale. Some drivers are sticking to 1 car brand and others just want to drive any brand, just to make money. Problem is when the car/app breaks down in middle of the jungle, then I guess everyone wants a driver who knows in-and-out of that brand to fix it.

[@mirchm]

They are usually more optimized(after all there is one screen ratio vs hundreds, and usually iphone users do have a more recent ios version compared to android users). Lada and mercedes might be a wrong comparison, think of it like audi and skoda. One has all the bells and whistles available from the factory and the other one might have them depending on the model, so of course that the audi will have the more polished and recent new tech in most cases. In the end it depends on what you like and what your target is.

[@AivarsMeijers]

@@mirchm Yeah, that car analogy dosen't work great, but you have very well points on why iOS apps are a bit more polished. Here is another one. Stake holders usually are iOS users and design and functionality is mostly designed for iOS and Android them just have to implement the same UI. Sometimes that just didn't work perfectly for Android, so that adds a bit of pain to already exiting technical challenges. Saw this in quite a few projects.

[@MrPDTaylor]

I regularly use apps in both markets and they are great in both. It's really about the money in ios.

[@valboolin3538]

Потому что нету мотивации и вы не являетесь частью интернета

[@AivarsMeijers]

If you commented about android or web, yes, that’s what I said. Currently I do not see benefits to invest time in those platforms.