The Forge.

憶

Dispatches

I Remember is live on the App Store

Our newest game is out. I Remember is a noir one-stroke puzzle wrapped around a story told in fragments — the diary of a man encoding his life into geometry before the world forgets him.

Bohdan Hlushko·April 21, 2026

縁

Conversations

On selling apps — a Q&A with the founder on Tappa's acquisition philosophy

Why an indie studio that loves its apps is opening some of them to acquisition. The reasoning, the process, and what we want from the next operator.

Imogen Holloway·April 14, 2026

縁

Dispatches

Tappa is opening select apps to acquisition

We are quietly opening a few of our apps to the right buyers. A short note on why, what is on the table, and how to start a conversation.

Bohdan Hlushko·April 7, 2026

卓

Dispatches

Tappa is opening a Q1 2027 client build slot

Once or twice a year, we take on a client build. We are opening a Q1 2027 slot now. Here is what we look for and how we work.

Bohdan Hlushko·April 3, 2026

鋭

Field Notes

ASO in 2026 — what actually moves the needle now

App Store Optimization changed in 2025 and again in 2026. A studio's working playbook on what still matters, what does not, and what is new.

Eleanor Whitfield·April 1, 2026

標

Field Notes

Niche-first: how to find App Store categories where demand outweighs supply

Most indie apps fail because they are built in categories that are already won. Here is the niche-first method we use to pick what to build next.

Bohdan Hlushko·March 25, 2026

聞

Conversations

Inside the Forge — a conversation with Bohdan Hlushko on the niche-first thesis

An hour with Tappa's founder on why he chases small categories, how he picks the next app, and what it took to ship eight in four years.

Imogen Holloway·March 17, 2026

鑑

Dispatches

Antique Identifier is on the App Store — AI appraisal in your pocket

Snap a photo of an old object and get an AI-powered first-pass appraisal — era, likely origin, market band. Built for flea-market afternoons.

Eleanor Whitfield·March 10, 2026

知

Field Notes

AI inside your iOS app — what is cheap enough to ship in 2026

A working studio's economics on putting AI inside an iOS app: which models, what each costs in production, and where the line is for indies.

Nathan Beaumont·March 3, 2026

試

Field Notes

How to validate an iOS app idea before writing a line of code

A short, opinionated checklist of the cheapest validation steps that separate ideas worth building from ideas that should die in a notebook.

Claire Tremblay·February 24, 2026

扉

Field Notes

The anatomy of a converting paywall — lessons from eight live apps

A paywall is not a screen. It is a sequence of small decisions, each of which can move conversion by 5–25%. The full anatomy.

Claire Tremblay·February 17, 2026

市

Conversations

Marketing the studio way — a conversation with Eleanor Whitfield on ASO

Eleanor Whitfield on why ASO is the most underrated discipline in indie iOS, the keyword cluster she will not stop talking about, and what changed in 2025.

Imogen Holloway·February 10, 2026

四

Dispatches

Tappa Studio turns four

Four years ago we shipped our first app to ten downloads on a Tuesday. A short note on what survives, what changes, and what we are still learning.

Bohdan Hlushko·February 3, 2026

鍵

Field Notes

RevenueCat vs StoreKit 2 — when to choose each in 2026

Two real choices for handling subscriptions on iOS. A balanced look from a studio that runs both in production.

Nathan Beaumont·February 3, 2026

構

Field Notes

SwiftUI architecture patterns we actually ship in production

Not theory. Not a flame war. The exact set of patterns we use in eight live Tappa apps, and the ones we have stopped using.

Nathan Beaumont·January 27, 2026

形

Conversations

Design principles for an iOS studio — a conversation with Oliver Carmichael

Lead designer Oliver Carmichael on the studio aesthetic, what he removes from every app before launch, and why restraint is a feature.

Imogen Holloway·January 20, 2026

鎖

Field Notes

Apple's StoreKit Server API — a practical guide for indies

Apple's StoreKit Server API is the most underused tool in indie iOS. A working, no-nonsense walkthrough of what it does and how to use it.

Nathan Beaumont·January 13, 2026

歴

Dispatches

2025 in review — eight apps, three lessons

A year-end review. Three apps shipped, two acquired interest, one big strategy shift, and the three lessons we are taking into 2026.

Bohdan Hlushko·January 6, 2026

暦

Field Notes

Why we use CalVer instead of SemVer for shipped apps

Semantic versioning was designed for libraries. Apps are not libraries. Here is why every Tappa app is on CalVer, and what changed when we switched.

Nathan Beaumont·December 16, 2025

迎

Field Notes

Onboarding that doesn't annoy — a study of 30 top apps

We tore down the onboarding of 30 top App Store apps. The patterns that converted, the ones that bounced, and a working template you can use.

Oliver Carmichael·December 9, 2025

数

Conversations

Behind the numbers — a conversation with Claire Tremblay on growth

Claire Tremblay on the dashboards she actually uses, the metrics she has stopped tracking, and the smallest experiment that moved revenue most.

Imogen Holloway·November 25, 2025

印

Field Notes

What makes a great app icon in 2026 — a working theory

An app icon is a logo that has to survive 1024×1024, 60×60, and a Dynamic Island. A studio designer's working theory on what works.

Oliver Carmichael·November 11, 2025

業

Field Notes

How to run an iOS studio with five people — tools, time, and trade-offs

The exact tools, processes, and time-budgeting we use to run an eight-app iOS studio with five people. Nothing trendy.

Imogen Holloway·October 28, 2025

墨

Dispatches

Tattoo AI — original tattoo design in seconds

An AI tattoo generator that produces designs your artist will actually accept as a reference. Built with help from working tattoo artists.

Oliver Carmichael·October 14, 2025

話

Dispatches

Minutelore — learn a new skill in ten minutes a day

AI-generated video courses, broken into ten-minute lessons. Built for ADHD minds, busy professionals, and anyone whose attention does not survive a forty-minute lecture.

Imogen Holloway·September 23, 2025

票

Dispatches

Receipt Scanner & Expenses goes live

Scan a receipt, get a structured expense, export to whatever your accountant uses. No subscription required for the basics.

Eleanor Whitfield·September 9, 2025

速

Conversations

Engineering for speed — a conversation with Nathan Beaumont

Senior iOS engineer Nathan Beaumont on what he automates, what he refuses to automate, and the codebase decision he is most proud of.

Imogen Holloway·August 19, 2025

訳

Field Notes

A localisation strategy for solo and small-team iOS studios

Localising an iOS app costs real money. Here is the order to do it in, the languages worth doing first, and the ones that almost never pay back.

Eleanor Whitfield·July 29, 2025

夢

Dispatches

Lunara crosses 100,000 dream journal entries

A milestone post and a few patterns we have noticed in two years of running an AI-assisted dream journal.

Claire Tremblay·July 8, 2025

試

Field Notes

Our TestFlight playbook — beta cohorts, phased rollouts, crash triage

TestFlight is the most powerful tool Apple gives you and the one most indies use as a glorified file-share. Our working playbook.

Nathan Beaumont·June 17, 2025

推

Field Notes

Should you submit to App Store Featured? What we have learned

App Store Featured looks like a magic spike. Up close, it is more nuanced. What it does, what it does not, and how to think about applying.

Eleanor Whitfield·May 27, 2025

価

Field Notes

How to price an iOS app — subscriptions, lifetime, and freemium math

A working framework for pricing an iOS app, with the math we actually use across the Tappa portfolio. No vibes. Numbers.

Claire Tremblay·May 6, 2025

為

Dispatches

RedRate launches — the currency converter we wanted on our own phone

A clean, fast currency converter that works offline and respects your time. Built because every other one we tried was bloated.

Bohdan Hlushko·April 15, 2025

径

Field Notes

From idea to profitable iOS app — the full playbook

End-to-end: how a Tappa app gets from a one-line note in a journal to a profitable line in our App Store Connect dashboard. Concrete steps, real numbers.

Bohdan Hlushko·March 25, 2025

灯

Field Notes

Building your first AI-powered iOS app — from OpenAI key to App Review

A practical walkthrough of shipping an iOS app that calls a hosted LLM. Costs, architecture, App Review pitfalls, and the parts most tutorials skip.

Nathan Beaumont·March 4, 2025

描

Dispatches

DrawBuddy welcomes its 50,000th aspiring artist

Trace-to-learn is real. Half of our users are over 35. None of them needed a tutorial that started with anatomy.

Eleanor Whitfield·February 11, 2025

歴

Conversations

Three years of Tappa — the founder reflects

On Tappa's third anniversary, the founder sits down for a long-form reflection on what worked, what did not, and what he would do differently.

Eleanor Whitfield·January 21, 2025

礎

Conversations

On running a studio quietly — a conversation with Imogen Holloway

Operations and communications lead Imogen Holloway on what makes a small studio function, why she keeps a paper notebook, and the boring decisions that compound.

Bohdan Hlushko·December 3, 2024