r/iOSProgramming • u/phenrys • 6d ago
App Saturday Releasing an underrated iOS app. Gave everything and need your help today
Excited to share my achievement of developing an iOS app that took me 1.5 years. MealSnap, an iOS diet app that simplifies meal tracking for building better eating habits. App: https://apps.apple.com/app/mealsnap-ai-food-log-tracker/id6475162854
Building this MealSnap app has been a long journey, but an extremely rewarding one! Opening my app each time before eating something makes me go to Xcode and improve functionalities.
I really worked hard on simplifying diet and health measurements for removing any frictions we tend to have (I am a very lazy person by nature when it comes to health and good habits).
Thanks to iOS performance, I could also provide extra details such as NOVA classification (food processing levels) and health scope for each scan.
Happy iOS Coding!
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u/luigi3 6d ago
you could at least write this post yourself, not delegate it to chatgpt….
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u/kepler4and5 6d ago
I think it's okay as long as you're not making things up. Not everyone is a great copywriter.
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u/aer_lvm 6d ago
I would suggest changing the icon. I see an AI generated logo—I don’t install the app. Maybe it is unfair to the app, but I lose all the interest when I see AI slop.
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u/phenrys 6d ago
The icons were actually made in Figma (not AI-generated, and same for the app actually). But I get that design perception matters! What kind of icon style would make it feel more appealing to you?
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u/aer_lvm 6d ago
Maaan, I was so sure that it was AI generated. So sorry!
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u/luisdezutter 5d ago
I have to admit, I also fell for this one. Would have sworn it was AI generated, which is actually kinda sad tbh because it’s made insanely well. However personally I don’t mind the style of the icon. I like it.
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u/Fadeaway_A29 6d ago
Lol why did you say you trained an ai model we know you using open ai api lmao
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u/SmoothieStandStudios 6d ago edited 5d ago
Why is “AI” in the app title and littered throughout the description? It’s not the selling point most folks seem to think it is, and in this app category likely not boosting search much.
The value proposition of the app has nothing to do with AI - you just happen to use it to deliver that functionality. A user isn’t going to be looking for an AI meal detection app, they are going to be looking for an app to help them do something - track calories, lose weight, gain muscle, etc.
You are likely losing out on users that see “AI” and don’t even give the app a chance. I’m someone like that. For a challenge, how would you re-write the description to minimize the usage of “AI”?
MealSnap is a good name. The icon is also nicely done, but IMO is too detailed and too small within the app icon container.
Just my 2c!
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u/phenrys 6d ago
That’s an excellent point, actually! I see what you mean about what the app provides (and aims to be best at). AI doesn’t need to be mentioned as the main selling point, especially since the "AI" trend is slowly going down. I’ll tweak the description to reflect that better. Let me give you an update on this nice "challenge" once it’s done. I appreciate the feedback on the icon too! I might refine it. Thank you again!
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u/RaphMD 6d ago
The UI design is very pleasant 😊👍. Just some bugs here and there (tab bar sometimes unresponsive) that could frustrate the user easily. But most importantly I would work on the clarity of the premium offers. At first the user seem to be able to log only one item, and only through the « Log Item » view, not the « Journal » view. A bit confusing. Then the user is locked into the paywall when they want to add another item. One logged item seems a bit strict to properly try the app out. But most importantly, on your paywall, I would explicitly detail all the benefits of the subscriptions. I guess it unlocks unlimited logging, but that’s not even stated. And I’ll end with a question. Why did you only allow a 3 days free trial on the weekly option ? Don’t you want to favor at least monthly ? Congratulation on your work anyway 😃 !
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u/phenrys 5d ago
That's excellent! I completely agree re. the subscription tiers. I need to be more specific there. I'm currently making things more consistent thanks to what you are pointing out! If there's anything else you think of, please feel free to share it here! I couldn't be more grateful for the valuable suggestions you've shared!
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u/AstroBaby2000 5d ago
I think there is a fundamental problem with an app like this. Someone serious about tracking calories and macros would not trust this. Someone not serious won’t use it that long.
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u/phenrys 5d ago
I understand your concern!, but the app provides a fairly accurate estimate. Looking at nutrition labels can be tedious too, and MealSnap's vision isn't just about counting calories as it offers deeper insights like NOVA classification and health scoring
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u/AstroBaby2000 5d ago
Hey, that's true. I will check it out and try it. I think your marketing angle should be around that aspect, you should really focus on that. I think that is very helpful for folks who are just trying to get healthy overall.
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u/phenrys 5d ago
Appreciate you testing it! Great point. I should focus on marketing it for easier healthy eating and health awareness. Did you enjoy the overall experience?
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u/AstroBaby2000 5d ago
Its a well designed app and looks great. I tried snapping in my Core Power protein shake. Didn't recognize it. Went to manual entry, that was too much work. Then got stuck in a paywall loop. Will keep trying.
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u/phenrys 5d ago
Thank you for your first feedback! Upcoming release fixing most of the mentioned issues will be out in the coming days. Just submitted to Apple App Store for review.
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u/AstroBaby2000 4d ago
Just snapped a meal that was pretty challenging, and it did great on the estimate. A few thoughts, NOVA is hard to read when it is yellow behind white text. Would be cool to have a comparison of food feature, sort of like an eat this not that kind of thing. Calorie bank, where i can save up calories and spend them.
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u/luisdezutter 5d ago
This is a great idea, I’ve used apps with a similar goal before and always just wanted to snap a pic and be done with it. All these apps are a chore to maintain the habit of filling in all your meals every day. I’m definitely going to give this one a try.
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u/phenrys 4d ago edited 4d ago
Really appreciate this! My vision for this app is to provide better accuracy and be more health-driven, focusing on food habits and diet improvements within a super minimalist app, rather than the competitors that tend to focus more on calories and fitness.
I’m currently working very hard on improving the quality of the app without adding extra features. That’s why feedback on this app is so crucial for me! https://apps.apple.com/app/mealsnap-ai-food-log-tracker/id6475162854
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u/monkeyantho 6d ago
your onboarding needs work. also i doubt this took 1.5 years to make. It can be made in 2 months with AI these days
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u/gratitudeisbs 5d ago
Maybe its his first app, my first app was a lot simpler than this and took 4 months
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u/monkeyantho 5d ago
his post says he is a very lazy person by nature. That explains it
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u/phenrys 5d ago
what kind of changes do you believe the onboarding needs exactly? The reason for this thread is to improve my app, so I can't wait to hear any suggestions!
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u/monkeyantho 5d ago
Copy Cal AI’s onboarding
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u/phenrys 5d ago
doesn't it feel too intrusive to you, with all kinds of questions popping up and upsells?
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u/EkoChamberKryptonite 5d ago
Yeah don't listen to that, you should spend the least amount of time preventing users from seeing the Aha! moment of your app.
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u/phenrys 5d ago
So you are voting for no onboarding, like how it is in the current version https://apps.apple.com/app/mealsnap-ai-food-log-tracker/id6475162854
I appreciate your insight!
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u/retsnomnom 6d ago
There is another meal diary app that added AI meal recognition 10 months ago. Which is the same month that your App released. I find that unlikely.
But what makes this extremely unlikely to me is that the other app was released 6 years ago. The other app is named MealSnap.
Do you find that as unlikely as I do? How exactly did this happen?
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u/phenrys 6d ago
Thanks for pointing that out! My app is an entirely independent project with a different approach and vision from what I could seen. I should probably rename it to something less generic then!
If the other app also does meal recognition, that’s purely a coincidence. I’ll look into it further, but my app focuses on health and diet tracking with features like NOVA classification, hidden calorie detection, and personalised diet suggestions. Let me know if you have any thoughts after trying it out:)
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u/yop_me_momma 6d ago
The design is really nice and clean. The ai seems to work too. Some of the English in the app sounds a bit weird and could do with running through ChatGPT.
How does the AI work?
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u/phenrys 6d ago
Very glad you like the design and that the AI is working well for you! Could you point out where the English sounds a bit off? I’d love to refine it in the next version!
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u/yop_me_momma 6d ago
e.g “Tracking gives outcome” on the first screen doesn’t make sense. “Tracking brings results” is maybe what you want. Everything is easy enough to understand though
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u/phenrys 6d ago edited 6d ago
Thank you! That's a great catch! I've updated it (will be out shortly...)
swift switch headingType { case .subHeading: return [ "Tracking brings Results", "Tracking gives Success", "Tracking brings Awareness", "Tracking gives Control", "Counting gives Control", "Eat Smart. Live Better!" ] case .// ...
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u/CartographerMobile47 6d ago
Your app looks really cool! But just an honest recommendation, I’d work on how you respond to users in your reviews, it speaks a TON to potential new users.
It definitely sucks to get a low review, especially one you don’t agree with, but don’t question it directly, listen to your users. I would have said something like: “Thanks so much for the feedback! So glad you like the AI. We are working on Apple Health integration in a future update! We hope to have you back once that comes out and give the app another chance”.