CodeWithChris

Here's an inspiring story from our community worth sharing again: Dr. Timothy Jones's journey and his app, Murmur Master®!

After acing one of the UK's toughest medical exams, Dr. Jones had a lightbulb moment: medical students (and healthcare pros) needed a better way to learn heart sounds.

Despite zero tech background and a packed schedule as a full-time cardiologist, he jumped into iOS development with CodeWithChris. "I had no technical background at all – I was starting from scratch," Dr. Jones admits.

He tackled the CWC+ platform step-by-step for 18 months, loving how each module built on the last and tapping into the community whenever he hit roadblocks. Then came the real challenge – 18 more months crafting Murmur Master®, an app that houses dozens of crystal-clear heartbeats, eye-catching visuals, and even a feature that mimics cardiac vibrations through your phone.

Each distinct set of heartbeats can lead to an accurate diagnosis of a potential heart disease. And with this feature, healthcare students (and pros) can sharpen their diagnostic skills before facing real patients.

For anyone ready to quit coding when it gets tough, Dr. Jones has been there: "The moments I felt like throwing in the towel? Those were usually seconds away from solving the problem."
potentially life-saving app – and how CodeWithChris can help you bring your ideas to life too!

Check out Dr. Jones's app, Murmur Master® and see how our amazing community is creating real solutions with iOS development!

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We're currently running a Spring Sale which gives you $130 off annual membership. So if you're interested, I highly encourage you to check it out and see how we can help you reach your iOS app development goals!

Click here to learn more: cwc.to/spring2025

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1 week ago | [YT] | 43

CodeWithChris

I've been reflecting on what it means to develop iOS apps in 2025. AI has transformed coding in ways I never imagined possible just a few years ago.

Even I've been using AI tools regularly in my own development work. The speed is undeniable—it's like upgrading from a bicycle to a sports car.

But here's the truth about fast cars: they still need skilled drivers.

While AI can generate hundreds of lines of code instantly, it often misses critical elements: security, scalability, and best practices.

What concerns me is seeing developers rely completely on AI without understanding what's happening under the hood. When that AI-generated code inevitably breaks, they're left stranded without the skills to fix it.

Just take a look at the photo in this post, which comes from a survey of 500 engineering leaders and practitioners conducted by harness.io.

The most powerful position is keeping your hands firmly on the steering wheel while using AI as your navigation system. Decide the destination. Apply brakes when necessary. Recognize when it's taking you down a questionable path.

This is why building a strong coding foundation matters more than ever. Understanding core concepts and engineering best practices isn't optional—it's what separates those who merely use AI from those who truly leverage it.

For experienced developers, your knowledge lets you evaluate AI output against real-world constraints that AI can't comprehend yet. For those just starting, you need enough understanding to direct and refine what AI produces.

This evolution is why we've enhanced our CWC+ program. We're integrating the use of AI while ensuring you develop that crucial foundation of iOS development knowledge.

The future belongs to developers who can balance both worlds: harnessing AI's speed while applying human judgment and expertise. That sweet spot is where true innovation happens.

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Anyway, we're currently running a spring sale that gives you $130 OFF an annual CWC+ membership. By joining, you'll have access to all our courses that will help you build the fundamental skills needed to succeed in iOS app development.

Click here to learn more: cwc.to/spring2025

1 week ago | [YT] | 62

CodeWithChris

Love sharing success stories! This cardiologist built an app to help pros learn more about heart sounds
codewithchris.com/success-story-timothy-jones/

1 month ago | [YT] | 47

CodeWithChris

As mentioned last week, Dan built his app entirely through Cursor AI. I wanted to learn more about that experience and how a non-coder would navigate and use Cursor.

Here are 14 takeaways from our chat.

(Apologies for lack of organization. I wanted to get this out sooner)

1. Cursor has come a long way since I explored it months ago.

2. It can create files in your Xcode project.

3. You can run the iOS simulator from Cursor.

4. You can compile the project in Cursor.

5. Build errors show up in Cursor which makes it easier to as Cursor to address them.

6. The AI can get caught in loops. You have to be able to identify when this is happening.

7. The AI can sound confident and provide a solution, even when it has no idea what to do. So it’s solutions will not always work.

8. You need to keep backups in case it messes the project up.

9. There is a versioning system built into Cursor.

10. A non-coder won’t know how to architect the app for easy maintainability (and Cursor won’t automatically do it).

11. The solution that the AI applies may break/modify previous features that have been working.

12. You have to explicitly reduce its scope so that it doesn’t modify code that you don’t want it to touch.

13. Because of this, it’s better to build the app in rough, broad strokes and then refining linearly.

14. If you know Swift/SwiftUI, using Cursor will be much much better

This is probably me stepping into a pitfall, but while my team is building the home reno AI app, I’m going to start my own personal indie app with Cursor.

I want to explore Cursor myself and this way, we’ll get 2 apps released instead of 1.

... Or maybe we'll end up with 2 unfinished projects instead 😂

1 month ago | [YT] | 28

CodeWithChris

Shoutout to Brian who launched Club Fee Tracker, an app to track sports club member payments: apps.apple.com/us/app/club-fee-tracker/id668020071…

Brian hadn't touched code in over 30 years and he overcame many hurdles to launch his app.

Read our interview with Brian:
codewithchris.com/success-story-brian/

1 month ago | [YT] | 78

CodeWithChris

Why did the iOS developer get a ticket?
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They were caught switch-ing lanes without handling all cases. 😆

1 month ago | [YT] | 25

CodeWithChris

Two weeks ago, I was contacted by Dan who was using Cursor AI to build a songwriting app.

He has absolutely no experience with coding or Xcode.

So imagine my surprise when I looked at his app...

It used API calls to AI services, Firebase to store data, Firebase authentication, monetization with RevenueCat.

He also got it published into the App Store! (link at the end)

I decided to talk to him about his story and his experience using purely AI to build an app.

I was really curious...

Let me tell you:

It didn't sound easy at all. In fact, it sounded quite frustrating.

However, simply the fact that he was able to get it done is a testament to how far app dev has come.

He shared with me a ton of tips and lessons learned while using Cursor as someone with no coding background.

There's no doubt in my mind that his next app will be done faster with fewer headaches.

It was awesome when he confirmed my belief that if you just know a few Swift and SwiftUI basics, using Cursor would be a much smoother ride.

I'm planning to share the main takeaways from my talk so stay tuned!

For now, I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you showed some support by downloading and rating the app: apps.apple.com/gb/app/sessions-app/id6741331880

1 month ago | [YT] | 37

CodeWithChris

What if your biggest hurdle isn't lack of knowledge, but lack of action?

That's the question I've been pondering lately while learning about indie app development and reading stories of others' successes.

1 month ago | [YT] | 48

CodeWithChris

Just want to share my ASO notes from learning.. experts let me know if something is wrong or missing!

Apple is trying to find the best match for the users search query (keyword).

Things you can do in your app listing:

• If there are not many good results for the keyword, then Apple will prioritize the app title matching closest to the keyword

• Apple views the App Title as the biggest indication of what the app does. Specifically the left most words (beginning of the title) are biggest priority.

• Apple also considers the words in your app subtitle and keyword fields.

• The biggest sin in ASO: don’t repeat words in your title, subtitle and keyword fields.

• You can use the title, subtitle, keyword fields of other (certain) localizations of your app to specify even more keywords. Again, don’t repeat words.

• Apple doesn’t care about the app description.

• Apple considers the conversion ratio of your app for that keyword. If someone searches for that keyword and chooses your app to download, that’s a big signal that your app is relevant for that keyword.

• Optimizing for a keyword involves more than just the title/subtitle and keyword fields. To improve your conversion rate for a specific keyword, use your screenshots and app icon to let the user know that your app is relevant for his/her query (keyword).

Things you can do in your app:

• Apple considers how well you retain your users. Do they keep coming back?

• App crashes (also tracked by Apple) negatively impacts your rankings.

• Apple considers how many reviews the app got in the last 30 days as a ranking factor. Reviews can be good or bad. But bad overall rating may turn users off from downloading it.

• Once you rank well for your target keyword, you can target and optimize for another keyword. You will still rank for the first keyword because Apple has gathered enough data that your app is relevant for the first keyword. You’ll keep your rankings for the first keyword while you’re optimizing for the second one.

Other things to note:

• Apple gives your newly launched app an initial boost so that it can gather data about your app.

• Gaming the system/blackhat techniques (buying reviews, paying for downloads etc) are not worth the risk because Apple will ban you if they find out. You won’t be able to make new accounts.

1 month ago | [YT] | 31

CodeWithChris

After using Astro for a few hours, I found a lot of low competition keywords that are realistically rankable for new apps (based on my rudimentary understanding of ASO). Feeling like this is doable!

For example:

• work log (popularity: 26, competition: 46). This is a timesheet app and only a few of the ranked apps are targeting it. Some of these apps are making money.

• cute planner (popularity: 21, competition: 50). This is a daily planner with a cute aesthetic. Only one app targeting this kw that is making 10k/month.

I even found some keywords that would be a great fit for a new workout tracker app.

Maybe there’s a way to break into this crowded space after all…

1 month ago | [YT] | 36