https://tappa.tech/forge/ Field notes from a working iOS studio. en Fri, 24 Apr 2026 21:28:29 GMT https://tappa.tech/forge/i-remember-launches.html https://tappa.tech/forge/i-remember-launches.html Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/founder-acquisition-philosophy.html https://tappa.tech/forge/founder-acquisition-philosophy.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/tappa-acquisition-open.html https://tappa.tech/forge/tappa-acquisition-open.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/q1-2027-client-slot.html https://tappa.tech/forge/q1-2027-client-slot.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/aso-2026-playbook.html https://tappa.tech/forge/aso-2026-playbook.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/niche-first-app-strategy.html https://tappa.tech/forge/niche-first-app-strategy.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/founder-conversation-niche-first.html https://tappa.tech/forge/founder-conversation-niche-first.html Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/antique-identifier-launch.html https://tappa.tech/forge/antique-identifier-launch.html Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/ai-inside-ios-app.html https://tappa.tech/forge/ai-inside-ios-app.html Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/validate-ios-app-idea.html https://tappa.tech/forge/validate-ios-app-idea.html Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Claire Tremblay) A short, opinionated checklist of the cheapest validation steps that separate ideas worth building from ideas that should die in a notebook. https://tappa.tech/forge/paywall-anatomy.html https://tappa.tech/forge/paywall-anatomy.html Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Claire Tremblay) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/eleanor-whitfield-aso.html https://tappa.tech/forge/eleanor-whitfield-aso.html Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/tappa-turns-four.html https://tappa.tech/forge/tappa-turns-four.html Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/revenuecat-vs-storekit-2.html https://tappa.tech/forge/revenuecat-vs-storekit-2.html Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) Two real choices for handling subscriptions on iOS. A balanced look from a studio that runs both in production. https://tappa.tech/forge/swiftui-architecture-patterns.html https://tappa.tech/forge/swiftui-architecture-patterns.html Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/oliver-carmichael-design.html https://tappa.tech/forge/oliver-carmichael-design.html Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) Lead designer Oliver Carmichael on the studio aesthetic, what he removes from every app before launch, and why restraint is a feature. https://tappa.tech/forge/storekit-server-api.html https://tappa.tech/forge/storekit-server-api.html Wed, 14 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/studio-year-in-review-2025.html https://tappa.tech/forge/studio-year-in-review-2025.html Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) A year-end review. Three apps shipped, two acquired interest, one big strategy shift, and the three lessons we are taking into 2026. https://tappa.tech/forge/calver-vs-semver.html https://tappa.tech/forge/calver-vs-semver.html Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/onboarding-that-doesnt-annoy.html https://tappa.tech/forge/onboarding-that-doesnt-annoy.html Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Oliver Carmichael) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/claire-tremblay-growth.html https://tappa.tech/forge/claire-tremblay-growth.html Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) Claire Tremblay on the dashboards she actually uses, the metrics she has stopped tracking, and the smallest experiment that moved revenue most. https://tappa.tech/forge/app-icon-2026.html https://tappa.tech/forge/app-icon-2026.html Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Oliver Carmichael) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/solo-studio-toolkit.html https://tappa.tech/forge/solo-studio-toolkit.html Wed, 29 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) The exact tools, processes, and time-budgeting we use to run an eight-app iOS studio with five people. Nothing trendy. https://tappa.tech/forge/tattoo-ai-launch.html https://tappa.tech/forge/tattoo-ai-launch.html Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Oliver Carmichael) An AI tattoo generator that produces designs your artist will actually accept as a reference. Built with help from working tattoo artists. https://tappa.tech/forge/minutelore-launch.html https://tappa.tech/forge/minutelore-launch.html Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/receipt-scanner-launch.html https://tappa.tech/forge/receipt-scanner-launch.html Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) Scan a receipt, get a structured expense, export to whatever your accountant uses. No subscription required for the basics. https://tappa.tech/forge/nathan-beaumont-engineering.html https://tappa.tech/forge/nathan-beaumont-engineering.html Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Imogen Holloway) Senior iOS engineer Nathan Beaumont on what he automates, what he refuses to automate, and the codebase decision he is most proud of. https://tappa.tech/forge/localization-strategy.html https://tappa.tech/forge/localization-strategy.html Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/lunara-100k-entries.html https://tappa.tech/forge/lunara-100k-entries.html Wed, 09 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Claire Tremblay) A milestone post and a few patterns we have noticed in two years of running an AI-assisted dream journal. https://tappa.tech/forge/testflight-playbook.html https://tappa.tech/forge/testflight-playbook.html Wed, 18 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) TestFlight is the most powerful tool Apple gives you and the one most indies use as a glorified file-share. Our working playbook. https://tappa.tech/forge/app-store-featured.html https://tappa.tech/forge/app-store-featured.html Wed, 28 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/pricing-ios-app.html https://tappa.tech/forge/pricing-ios-app.html Wed, 07 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Claire Tremblay) A working framework for pricing an iOS app, with the math we actually use across the Tappa portfolio. No vibes. Numbers. https://tappa.tech/forge/redrate-launch.html https://tappa.tech/forge/redrate-launch.html Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) A clean, fast currency converter that works offline and respects your time. Built because every other one we tried was bloated. https://tappa.tech/forge/idea-to-profitable-app.html https://tappa.tech/forge/idea-to-profitable-app.html Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/first-ai-app.html https://tappa.tech/forge/first-ai-app.html Wed, 05 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Field Notes noreply@tappa.tech (Nathan Beaumont) A practical walkthrough of shipping an iOS app that calls a hosted LLM. Costs, architecture, App Review pitfalls, and the parts most tutorials skip. https://tappa.tech/forge/drawbuddy-50k-users.html https://tappa.tech/forge/drawbuddy-50k-users.html Wed, 12 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT Dispatches noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) Trace-to-learn is real. Half of our users are over 35. None of them needed a tutorial that started with anatomy. https://tappa.tech/forge/founder-three-years-tappa.html https://tappa.tech/forge/founder-three-years-tappa.html Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Eleanor Whitfield) 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. https://tappa.tech/forge/imogen-holloway-operations.html https://tappa.tech/forge/imogen-holloway-operations.html Wed, 04 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT Conversations noreply@tappa.tech (Bohdan Hlushko) 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.