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Apple acquires Buddybuild

buddybuild.com

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Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#71

Post by tootie »

izacus wrote: post #22
mullingitover wrote: post #6

And just like that, by dropping Android support, Buddybuild goes from viable solution to total non-starter. Does any serious mobile app development these days really go all-in on one platform?

Pretty much most larger apps/agencies do development for both platforms. iOS usually gets a bit of a higher priority, but Android is just too big to ignore. Solutions that support both are thus more popular and better idea - but Apple obviously is using all kinds of tactics to discourage development for competing platform. Even buying companies and shutting down their Android (TestFlight is another example).

I'm an Android fan/Apple hater but I could never recommend anything other than going iOS first for any business interesting in maximizing profit. I actually like to push react native just so clients won't completely ignore Android when see the cost of porting. But really, really I will push PWAs over apps whenever they are suitable.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#72

Post by justonepost »

justboxing wrote: post #56
st3fan wrote: post #29

I'm happy for the founders, this is probably a good and profitable exit for them. But as a customer I am really sad and disappointed. Apple has a very bad reputation when it comes to taking over products like this. TestFlight is the prime example. TestFlight basically disappeared for a year until coming back as a more limited and slower Apple branded service. And by slow I mostly mean, it takes 6 months for bugs to b…

Seems like an acqui-hire to me.

Yeah, maybe they are opening up a shop in Vancouver.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#73

Post by tzahola »

ringaroundthetx wrote: post #60
TruthSHIFT wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, iOS first is still extremely common.

I made a good career out of selling late-to-the-party native android ports for companies. Its pretty low key lucrative too: - iOS development is crowded, Android devs are more scarce and there are too many unrelated skillset paths to build a native android app. - The APIs are already developed by the time you get there. - The designs have already happened, for the most part. Its no longer a fact finding mission and i…

“Can you make it look like the iOS app?”

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#74

Post by toddgower »

st3fan wrote: post #44
yeukhon wrote: post #42

Holy shit. Was looking at the pricing. > $1,037/mo > Billed monthly​ > 10 Concurrent builds That’s A LOT for 10 concurrent builds... I am sure the product is great, but that pricing is just a jaw drop. Probably a sign of “we are confident this price is worth it.” Anyway, congrat.

Totally worth it.

I will second that. My iOS team was 1 person strong so we could get by on the startup plan at $80 a month (1 build at a time). The gain in productivity was huge.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#75

Post by toddgower »

I've been a Buddybuild user for the past couple months after watching the founder, Dennis, give a talk at a meetup. Great product with a super easy setup. Really bummed that I'll likely have to find a new solution after only two months (though I understand the founder's decision). Can anyone recommend a product with a similar ease of setup?

Buddybuild was my first foray into mobile CI. Have not seen the need since our iOS dev team is one-person strong (me!) but once I've realized the benefits, there's no going back.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#76

Post by jsnell »

Pharaoh2 wrote: post #40
sidlls wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I were to seriously attempt to commercialize the toy apps I build for my kids/family I'd go iOS first easily. People with Apple devices are far likelier to pay, and Android development is, in my view, an inferior experience (although Kotlin makes it marginally less so these days).

This may have been historically true, but our internal data shows us that starting early 2017, people in tier 1 countries were equally likely to pay and have comparable LTV on both platforms. And if you also going to launch in EU/Australia/Canada, you will have a nearly 50-50 split of ios and android users on a platform neutral app. So the classical logic of implementing on iOS first doesn't really apply anymore. Now…

Have you thought about writing up your findings? I haven't seen any report break out the data like that before.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#77

Post by dzonga »

ringaroundthetx wrote: post #60
TruthSHIFT wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, iOS first is still extremely common.

I made a good career out of selling late-to-the-party native android ports for companies. Its pretty low key lucrative too: - iOS development is crowded, Android devs are more scarce and there are too many unrelated skillset paths to build a native android app. - The APIs are already developed by the time you get there. - The designs have already happened, for the most part. Its no longer a fact finding mission and i…

my G!! lol....if Kotlin was available back then, I definitely would've jumped on that ship. Now it seems mobile isn't really viable in terms of money though

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#78

Post by jagger27 »

pm90 wrote: post #31
st3fan wrote: post #29

I'm happy for the founders, this is probably a good and profitable exit for them. But as a customer I am really sad and disappointed. Apple has a very bad reputation when it comes to taking over products like this. TestFlight is the prime example. TestFlight basically disappeared for a year until coming back as a more limited and slower Apple branded service. And by slow I mostly mean, it takes 6 months for bugs to b…

Apple is notoriously bureaucratic. So its not surprising that innovation is stifled. I really hate this duality b/w innovation and stability... perhaps if more startups were focused on longer term survivability, it would be better for society overall?

I wonder if Apple's satellite operations (like the Siri team in Ottawa, Canada, for example) might have some autonomy and self direction simply due to distance from the mothership.

As for a shift in startup culture, what is more tempting than 5 to 10 years of hard work into billion dollar exits? Local governments could start offering tax incentives that build over time—or more aggressively, have steep disincentives on corporate takeovers.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#79

Post by scarface74 »

on_and_off wrote: post #28
gk1 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was doing marketing/growth consulting for FoundationDB when they were acquired by Apple. The product was shut down overnight. Compared to that, a two-month notice seems generous.

Wow, from these 2 examples, Apple looks like an awful acquirer :o

You have three types of mega corps.

1. Vertically integrated

2. Horizontally integrated

3. Conglomeration (not integrated)

And there is a "strategy tax" in whatever method you choose.

Except for FileMaker and Beats, Apple is mostly a vertically integrated company. They have no real desire to be everything to everyone like Google. If they didn't play to their strengths and tried to service Android users, it still wouldn't be a great experience.

Re: Apple acquires Buddybuild

#80

Post by draw_down »

ringaroundthetx wrote: post #60
TruthSHIFT wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, iOS first is still extremely common.

I made a good career out of selling late-to-the-party native android ports for companies. Its pretty low key lucrative too: - iOS development is crowded, Android devs are more scarce and there are too many unrelated skillset paths to build a native android app. - The APIs are already developed by the time you get there. - The designs have already happened, for the most part. Its no longer a fact finding mission and i…

Pretty smart!
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