Blog

App opportunities, market analysis, and stuff we've learned from staring at way too much App Store data.

Why Users Leave 1-Star Reviews (And What It Really Means)

We read 485,929 App Store reviews. After a while, you start seeing patterns. Not all 1-star reviews are the same, and some are worth their weight in gold.

Reference App Opportunities: The Boring Apps That Quietly Print Money

Field guides, lookup tables, technical manuals. Nobody gets excited about reference apps. That's exactly why they're such good opportunities.

Photo and Video App Opportunities: Creative Tools That Need a Refresh

Below the big names in photo and video editing, there's a graveyard of forgotten creative tools. Specialty editors, converters, and batch tools that creators actually need.

Navigation and Maps App Opportunities: Beyond Google Maps

Google Maps handles getting from A to B. But 'navigation' is way broader than that. Specialized map apps for hikers, boaters, and specific industries are wide open.

How to Ship an iOS App in a Weekend (Seriously)

This sounds like clickbait. It's not. The secret isn't being fast. It's picking the right thing to build. Here's a Friday-to-Sunday playbook.

Productivity App Opportunities: The Ones the Big Players Ignore

You're not building the next Notion. But productivity is a huge category, and the big apps leave entire use cases completely untouched.

How to Analyze App Store Reviews for Product Ideas

Most people read reviews to decide whether to download. Developers should read them to figure out what to build next. Here's how to do it systematically.

Health and Fitness App Opportunities You Probably Haven't Considered

When people think 'fitness app' they think Strava and Peloton. But the category is enormous, and most of it has nothing to do with running or calorie counting.

App Store Market Research: The Indie Dev's Guide

Most indie devs skip market research entirely. Here's a practical guide to what the App Store can tell you for free, and when you need more than free can offer.

Finance App Opportunities: Where Budgeting Apps Are Failing Their Users

People trust finance apps with their actual money, and a lot of these apps are letting them down. The category has some surprisingly wide-open gaps.

Utilities App Opportunities: The Easiest iOS Apps to Build and Sell

Utility apps are the solo-dev sweet spot: simple, focused, and users expect to pay. Here are the ones with the worst ratings and the most room to improve.

Indie App Revenue: What to Realistically Expect in 2026

How much do indie iOS apps actually make? We looked at 295 paid apps in the dataset to paint a realistic picture. It's not millions, but it's not nothing.

Music App Opportunities: 205 Apps Averaging 2.8 Stars

Musicians are underserved, willing to pay, and stuck with ancient tools. The Music category has the highest concentration of S-tier opportunities in the entire dataset.

How to Validate an App Idea Before You Write a Line of Code

You don't need a landing page, a survey, or a Twitter poll. The App Store already has the data. Here's a five-step framework for using it.

Education App Opportunities: What's Broken and What to Build

The Education category is full of apps that teachers and students hate but have no choice but to use. Here are the ones worth replacing.

App Store Categories With the Least Competition Right Now

Some App Store categories have dozens of poorly-rated apps and zero good alternatives. Here's where the bar is lowest.

The 9 Most Profitable iOS App Niches in 2026

We analyzed 982,572 iOS apps to find the niches where paid apps have the worst ratings and the most demand. Here's where the money is.

How to Find Profitable App Ideas Using App Store Reviews

1-star reviews are free market research. Every angry user is basically writing you a feature spec. Here's how to read them.

69 Abandoned iOS Apps Are Still Making Money

Dozens of paid apps haven't seen an update in 2+ years. The developers are gone. The users? Still there. Still paying.

What Makes a Good App Opportunity (And How We Score Them)

Not every bad app is worth replacing. Here's the five-signal scoring framework we use and what makes an S-tier pick.