Oops! I pivoted again (app development devlog)

In this video I accidentally pivot from creating an auto-captions app to developing a live captions plugin for OBS. In this app development devlog, I share my journey of balancing family life, time constraints, and the excitement of new ideas Follow my journey here: Website: https://adamlyttleapps.com Twitter: https://x.com/adamlyttleapps Github: https://github.com/adamlyttleapps Instagram: https://instagram.com/adamlyttleapps TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@adamlyttleapps Substack: https://adamlyttleapps.substack.com Apps by Adam Lyttle is the personal journey of an indie app developer, sharing valuable lessons and experiences to help fellow developers succeed in the competitive app market My channel is based on one simple premise: "A rising tide lifts all boats" — I share my experience, teach what I've learned and highlight the mistakes I've made along the way. Featured in this video: * Macbook Pro M3 with 34GB RAM & 1TB HDD * Macbook Pro M1 with 8GB RAM & 256GB HDD * Mouse: Logitech MX Master S3 * Keyboard: Logitech MX Keys * Microphone: Shure 7 * iPhone 15 Pro * iPhone 12 Mini * LEGO DUPLO: My First Duck 30327 App Development Devlog: When One Pivot Leads to Another As an indie app developer, I've learned that the journey of building and releasing apps is rarely straightforward. In this devlog, I'm excited to share a recent unexpected turn in my app development process - a pivot within a pivot. This story highlights the challenges and opportunities that arise when developing apps, especially when working with technologies like SwiftUI and transitioning between iOS and macOS platforms. The Original Plan: Auto Captions App My initial project was an ambitious one: a video editing app leveraging AI to reduce editing time by 80%. As part of this larger project, I was developing an automatic captions feature. Seeing the potential in this specific functionality, I decided to spin it off into its own app. The idea was to create a tool where users could add videos and automatically generate dynamic, attention-grabbing captions perfect for platforms like YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Instagram Reels. This spin-off project, while promising, came with its own set of challenges. The user interface needs more work, and optimizing video export is proving time-consuming. I have time restrictions at the moment. As many developers can relate, I found myself at a crossroads - feeling the urge to explore new ideas while grappling with the commitment to finish what I'd started. The Unexpected Pivot: Live Captions for Streaming During a live stream, a viewer commented on the difficulty of understanding my Australian accent. This seemingly small interaction sparked an idea that would lead to another pivot in my app development journey. I realized that the captioning technology I was developing for short-form content could be adapted for live streaming. The concept was to create a macOS app that integrates with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) to provide real-time, dynamic captions for live streams. Technical Challenges in App Development This pivot brought its own set of technical hurdles, particularly in porting iOS code to macOS. Here are some key challenges I faced: 1. **UIKit to AppKit Transition**: Much of the original app was built using UIKit, which doesn't directly translate to macOS. I found myself needing to replace UIKit-specific elements with their AppKit counterparts. 2. **Image Handling**: While Core Image works well across both platforms, I had to replace UIImage instances with NSImage for macOS compatibility. 3. **SwiftUI Considerations**: Although not explicitly mentioned in the transcript, the transition between iOS and macOS development often involves rethinking UI design in SwiftUI to accommodate different user interaction paradigms. Despite these challenges, I managed to create a working prototype within a few hours, proving that the concept was viable. Market Analysis and Future Plans With a working prototype in hand, the next step in my app development process is market research. Initial findings show that while there are existing automatic caption apps for OBS and live streaming, they often produce dated, static captions. My app aims to offer a more dynamic and engaging captioning experience, potentially setting it apart in the market. The rules 1. This software needs to be finished by the end of the month (that's just under 2 week!) 2. I will not add any new code to the caption generation engine to make sure it's consistent across both apps 3. The objective of the live auto captions app is to test the same code in a different market to diversify my chances of success. But it's not my core app Let's go 💪 #AppDevelopment #Devlog