Technology

Developing Perspective

David Smith

Developing Perspective is a podcast discussing the news of note in iOS Development, Apple and the like. Hosted by David Smith, an independent iOS developer.

227 episodes

#227: Pivotal 1 Oct 2026 · 15 min I’m bringing Developing Perspective back. This first episode wrestles through why being an indie app developer right now feels so “pivotal”, in both senses of the word. There’s th…

Developing a New Perspective 4 Nov 2015 · 6 min Under the Radar RSS Feed Overcast Link iTunes Link PocketCasts Subscribe Link I am delighted to announce that today I am launching a new development related podcast with Marco Arm…

#225: Users per Day. 12 Aug 2015 · 15 min I tend to think of my app business in terms of revenue per day. Breaking it down to that level helps me keep a close eye on it and know how well or poorly I’m doing. Today I walk…

#224: Unplanned Absence. 31 Jul 2015 · 15 min Some thoughts on the implications of having to take an unplanned absence from your work when you are self-employed. There are a lot of benefits of being independent that manifest…

#223: What to expect this summer. 26 Jun 2015 · 15 min An overview of what to expect this summer: the beta schedule, timing for release, the importance of RADARS, my growing interest in Swift and an encouragement for everyone to build…

#222: WWDC 2015 First Impressions. 8 Jun 2015 · 13 min First Impressions from WWDC 2015. These are my initial reactions right after the Keynote, I’ll probably do another episode later in the week which has more considered reactions.

#221: Circular Revenue. 29 May 2015 · 15 min Some high level thoughts about WWDC and my excitement for it. Then, a few thoughts about whether mobile advertising is in a precarious position.

#220: The Essential Experience. 22 May 2015 · 15 min Today I begin a new Start-to-Finish series discussing the creation of an application from idea to the App Store. My Essential Experience Target: An application focused on surfacin…

#219: Accidental. 14 May 2015 · 13 min 2015 Developing Perspective t-shirts (4 days to order, ends May 18.) One of the most dangerous traps when learning from someone else’s experience is ascribing intentionality to wh…

#218: Blazing Trails. 8 May 2015 · 15 min 2015 Developing Perspective t-shirts (1 Week left to order.) Once again the topic of sustainable revenue has surfaced around our lovely community. I’ve recently been changing/adap…

#217: The Brand. 1 May 2015 · 15 min 2015 Developing Perspective t-shirts My WatchKit Apps Release Notes Conference In some ways this week’s episode is a follow up to last week’s show about hustle. All that thinking…

#216: The Hustle. 23 Apr 2015 · 13 min Thinking through why I have such a hang up about talking about and asking for Money. Why this is probably not such a great thing for my business and what I might do to fix it. My…

#215: Insidious Features. 17 Apr 2015 · 14 min How to build little features into your applications that re-wire your user’s brains to come to expect a certain behavior. These ‘insidious’ features are a delightful way to help b…

#214: App Store Snowstorm. 9 Apr 2015 · 14 min Simultaneous Invention or setting realistic expectations for uniqueness. Simultaneous Invention

#213: Showing Up and Shipping Apps. 2 Apr 2015 · 15 min After a longer than typical break I’m back with another episode…on a related note I’m talking about how to get unstuck. How I manage the situation that seems to happen often enoug…

#212: Four Phases of a Gold Rush. 27 Feb 2015 · 15 min In the run up to Apple’s media event on March 9th I keep hearing the phrase ‘Gold Rush’ over and over again. Today I unpack that concept and whether it might apply to the Apple Wa…

#211: Asterisk Free Marketing. 11 Feb 2015 · 13 min Prompted by some thinking I did around building the App Preview for Pedometer++, I start to wonder about honesty in advertising. How honesty should I be? What level of candor is a…

#210: Polymaths. 30 Jan 2015 · 15 min I’m not a huge fan of the term polymath. It sounds kinda pretentious but sometimes the best word for something is that way. Today I was struck by the wild variety of tasks and ski…

#209: Not so Fast. 23 Jan 2015 · 15 min Today I walk through my history thinking about Swift. From WWDC to now I’ve done a lot of thinking about Swift as whether I should be using it. The result makes me feel a bit conf…

#208: Sam Soffes. 15 Jan 2015 · 48 min I take a break out of my normal 15 minute format for a return of my occational interview series. This week I’m delighted to talk to Sam Soffes about balancing your own product wor…

#207: Irresistible Complexity 10 Jan 2015 · 14 min Rather than wading into the hullabaloo regarding Apple’s software quality directly I instead decided to take a step backwards and consider the forces that have driven us to this s…

#206: Can the App Store be Full? 12 Dec 2014 · 14 min Today I think out loud about the implications of an App Store that is functionally full. Where applications cannot realistically thrive simply because of novelty or freshness. Wha…

#205: AILW - Economics of WatchKit Apps. 5 Dec 2014 · 15 min Thinking out loud about why I recently starting my series called As I Learn WatchKit. I’ve learned a lot about the creative process by giving myself permission to put unpolished t…

#204: Delightfully Pragmatic. 20 Nov 2014 · 15 min My first reactions to WatchKit. I’m really glad Apple has given is some genuinely powerful capabilities with this first generation of APIs. Getting Started with WatchKit My Initia…

#203: Divided by One. 14 Nov 2014 · 14 min For a while now I’ve had an episode idea discussing some of the ‘interesting math’ about working on a project by yourself. I discuss how working on something by yourself is so ver…

#202: Four Quadrants of Ideas 6 Nov 2014 · 15 min I’ve had a few folks ask me about my plans and ideas for Apple Watch. While I don’t try to be too coy about what I’m working on I’ve definitely kept some of my ideas close to the…

#201: On Expedition. 31 Oct 2014 · 15 min With the impending arrival of the AppleWatch next year and the WatchKit SDK next month I’m starting to shift my focus towards ‘wearables’. They present a few challenges to me as a…

#200: Sustained. 22 Oct 2014 · 14 min I recently hit a few milestones that got me thinking about the attributes of sustained projects. My 7th iOS (iPhone) Developer Program My first app approved 6 years ago 200 Episod…

#199: Resolution Irrelevant. 17 Oct 2014 · 15 min Thinking through the Retina iMac in a world where pixels stop mattering. Also, what’s going on with the iPad? Marco Arments’s thoughts on Retina iMac vs Mac Pro AnandTech’s Hands-…

#198: Boring and Superstitious. 8 Oct 2014 · 15 min While a single button might seem somewhat boring or mundane to discuss I unpack the process of thinking through a single button in Emoji++. Specifically how to handle editing of f…