Why aren't you making Android apps?
I am making 2500 a month making Android apps.
I make watchfaces for Android wear, most are 1-2 dollars for each watch face
I also make UCCW widgets for 1 dollar each.
I don't know how.
>>904624
Learn java
A) I don't know how
B) I make more money doing other shit
Every app has already been made. May as well be mining Bitcoins.
>>904694
M8 the Android wear business is booming
>>904694
Lmao kys
>>904708
Watchfaces are like the watch faces, hence the name watch face
>>904715
what skills you need to do this shit?
Java, Graphic shit, ..?
How to you do 2k a moth with these ?
>tell your story
>>904725
You need to know Java, some graphic shit
My watches have around 10k downloads each, which is average for these watchfaces
I have some for free, some for 1-2 dollars
>>904740
i have done a few android apps so far. Only basic things for smart phone .. for example a quadratic equation solver or things like this. but i stopped after i recognized that android apps for smartphone are not good cause its hard to earn money with it cause there are a lot of professional companies.
so do you think i can programm anything with watches?
>>904740
Do you advertise/market these at all or do you just let them sit out there to be discovered?
rofl at nerds who pretend this is easy to look smart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzCDyNqRzHU
This is grunt work you spend months learning.
>>904776
So whats booming for ios?
>>904790
I don't know I don't code for IOS but I do know that it pays better
what programs you use to make these op
>>904845
Android studio, its based off of intelliJ
> 2015
> Writing native applications
I make around 6k a month writing hybrid applications. It's also way easier to do html+JavaScript than either Java or Objective C/Swift.
Thanks OP just motivated me to design something new everyday for the next week..
>>904620
>selling anything on Android ever
As someone who actually made Android apps, I know for a fact you're lying
At least make it believable and say it's from ad revenue or even microtransactions
>>904929
Where do you think its from?
>>904620
I like building simple 'apps' like this.
Use Cordova/Phonegap and quickly throw together (an hour or less) something that will consistently make $1 or 2 each day... I am currently doing about $20-30 per day.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rmgsoftware.boredombutton
>>906281
how many downloads does your apps have?
>>904620
i can make apps, i make games too. only 10 people play them on average and its a huge waste of time
>>906290
Ranging from 100 - 1000's - Depending on the app.
>>906297
I assume the revenue from it is just ads right?
>>906298
Yeah. I do have two paid apps however they make close to nothing.
My plan is to have 100 simple apps with each one making at least $1 a day an ad revenue.
>>906300
Sounds good Anon, what the terms for you to gain a profit off said ads?
I
Is java hard to learn?
What's the best way to get started making apps?
I'm unemployed and bored. Might as well do something productive.
>>904620
do you need to know maths to do this shit?
>>904620
>2500 a month
Mobile developers actually think this is a lot of money.
but what if i have a microsoft phone
>>906305
>learned it at school
but i can recommend you to watch tutorials or something like that
>>906315
passive income?
>>904620
How long did it take before you were able to make a simple app?
>>904771
>you spend months learning
>months
wow so much hard work kid like how you possibly spend months doing something
>>906497
>how you possibly
*how could you possibly
>>906281
Do you do any advertising/marketing or do you just let them sit in the play store?
>>906315
seems pretty good for 20hrs of work
>>904620
>making 2500 a month
>that's why
>>904620
>Why aren't you making Android apps?
But I am, anon.
>Not making Bitcoin apps for Blackberry
>>904620
>Why aren't you making Android apps?
I do.
I was making $3000 in January, although only $1300 last month.
I've been working on an app that is sure to make money, but it is somewhat ambitious. Hopefully v. 1 can be released in the upcoming months (most of my apps I release in a few weeks, if not days).
>>904708
camera man for film
>>906281
you make money through out adds?
how easy is it to go from about zero programing experience to making decent apps?
If you made a free game app and want to release a paid game app later, what is the ratio of people who played for free that would later pay for something from the same studio? Is it as abysmal as 1:1000?
i don't know how to get downloads at all. i have about 15 downloads on a game i made
>>907648
Depends on your personal skills and motivation, as far as I understand.
How many devices do you test on? Do you just use the Android Studio emulator and your personal phone/tablet?
i've taken intro programming courses, know stuff about data structures and algorithms
but i know nothing about graphics, music, communicating with a server and dealing with network connections. how important is this stuff, and how do i learn it?
how long should this take to learn?
>>904694
>Every app has already been made.
I made my first web page in 1994.
In 2001, they were saying any web business that could have been made was already made.
Facebook launched in 2004.
You're right about social networks...there was SixDegrees, Friendster, Orkut and Myspace. The social network had already been made - four times over.
>>906315
>>2500 a month
>Mobile developers actually think this is a lot of money.
It's good money for something where support is basically quickly checking once a week if any problems cropped up - and they haven't.
Android tries to stay backward compatible, but certain things tend to break in new versions of Android, so maybe once a year you need to fix something on old apps.
>>906485
>How long did it take before you were able to make a simple app?
I already knew Java to some extent. So that helped. I also have a CS degree and know what a self-balanced binary tree, second normal form, mu-recursive functions etc. are.
My first app isn't really a good example since I spent weeks not on programming, but gathering data to put into the app.
My second app I took a popular Java library, wrapped an Android UI around it and published it in four days.
>>906780
>Do you do any advertising/marketing or do you just let them sit in the play store?
Originally I got all my traffic organically.
Then I began making hundreds a month (and then thousands a month). So I poured some of that revenue back into advertising.
>>907648
>how easy is it to go from about zero programing experience to making decent apps?
I was going to the movies one day, and Fandango is one of the most popular apps for that so I downloaded it. 10 million downloads, 4.5/5.0 rating and a complete piece of shit.
Considering how a team of experienced programmers with CS degrees take months to years writing an app and still have problems, it can be hard.
It depends how big getting money in the short (or medium) term is your motivation. If it is, forget it. If you would love to make a certain app, even if makes no money, then go for it.
>>907779
Where do you usually advertise your apps?
What is the best tutorials to learn Android?
>>907690
it depends. obviously if your free game is shit and people played it because they tried some random shit for 1 minute then they're not going to pay for your other shit. but if you have an actual fan base you could get away with charging a small amount of money for your game
>>907778
I didn't understand much of that but thanks for your answer.
Is java the language to learn if wanna make apps for Android? What programs do you use when developing the app?
>>907843
I have a fan base but don't know how to utilize it. I don't know how/why the first game got popular. I don't want to make people mad by charging in the future. Is it better to go the patreon/kickstarter route with a free game end result, or to just make a paid app outright? Ads wouldn't fit the type of app it is.
>>907879
How did you make the first game? What did you use and how did you learn?
>>907717
thanks for the "JUST BE YOURSELF" advice of business
>>907913
it does depend though. "how easy is it..." isn't a great question. it wildly depends on the individual, how smart and how knowledgeable they are, how motivated they are, how much time they can spend on it, what kind of ambition they have (do you just want some garbage like >>906287 or do you want to make quality apps that make millions or billions of dollars) etc etc
>>907920
it's like asking "how long is a piece of string?"
>>907889
I learned through online tutorials. More important than the language you choose is to stay small for your first app. It'll take less time to learn and be less intimidating.
>>907931
Which ones?
I have 2 apps (1 from last year, 1 from 2 months ago) and so far I've made... $11 from ads
I'm working on a game which I believe can be successful. This will me my most ambitious project so far, how do I monetize the maximum out of it? In-app + ads? under what circumstances is it better to just sell it?
>>904620
I've had some game app ideas but I haven't really followed through. I don't have any idea how to take my ideas to the actual store. Idk what to learn to do it I could outsource if I save up...
>>907920
put effort into manhours. like "this project will take about 200hrs for someone with ok skills". and you can measure string too
>>907986
If you outsource, won't someone just steal the project?
>>904620
I don't have any creative ideas that I could see people paying for.
Best I got would be some crappy games that likely wouldn't even take off for free.
>>907959
What you really need is some solid advertising. Its going to be pretty hard for you to make any serious money off of ads for a game if your game doesn't crack the top 100 list.
>>907807
I have been using Google Adwords. If I did more work on INSTALL_REFERRER broadcasts I might advertise in some other places, but it has worked well enough for me. Neither Admob nor Twitter did much for me.
>>907832
The official one http://developer.android.com/develop
Aside from that, I have heard that http://commonsware.com is good. It is more up to date than other ones, the guy knows what he is doing etc.
>>907847
>Is java the language to learn if wanna make apps for Android?
Yes
> What programs do you use when developing the app?
The Android Studio IDE, which is free. Sometimes I use code from Android's open source sample programs.
>>908128
>If you outsource, won't someone just steal the project?
That would not be anywhere near the top ten list of worries of someone who actually had experience with outsourcing technical work.
You would only be so lucky to find someone who writes an app so good for the limited budget you provide, that they would want to "steal your idea".
Well, I was gonna learn web dev, but this sounds much more interesting.
>>907286
What?
>>908004
it still depends. you can make a prototype or something that looks decent in less than one day or you can spend years on making something that looks pretty much the same.
>>908193
Those are just analogies for specific languages.
I have an idea for an app but cant be arsed to code it myself
My question though - if I were to go to a developer and ask him for a quote and his quote is too expensive and I say I want to get a second quote - what is stopping this mug from stealing my idea - there isn't an app like this on Playstore at this moment.
>>908328
most good developers are too busy to be working on anything but their own ideas or working for clients. the idea itself is 99% of the time not as valuable as how it gets implemented.
>>908328
You would have a paper trail between your written concept and his quote, if he did do something exactly as you describe you could sue, claiming a copyright you don't have but probably win anyway.
Of course, he only has to change about 15% of it to not get in trouble.
>>908333
Depends on how quickly you want it done vs the quality. Freelancers are typically lower quality work.
>>908335
Excellent thank you anon
I'll first draft the outline for the app and then take it from there.
>>907959
Puts ads, and have people pay 1$ to remove them
>>906281
can you screenshot your adsence to show the earnings?
>>908329
>most good developers are too busy to be working on anything but their own ideas or working for clients. the idea itself is 99% of the time not as valuable as how it gets implemented.
This is correct. The idea is the first 1% of it, the implementation, marketing etc. is the other 99% of it.
It's like having the idea to put a dam on the Colorado River, and being afraid someone is going to steal your idea and build a dam there.
>>909177
I am not the OP. Here are my 2014 Admob earnings for one of my Admob accounts. All in all I actually made over $26k last year on apps.
We'll see how this year goes, hopefully I'll have the big app I'm writing out by the end of the year.
>>909184
I'm about 1/3 of the way to getting my first $100 from youtube hahah.
What sort of apps do you make?
What do you use to make them?
How long did it take you to learn?
>>909344
What he said^
>>909344
>What sort of apps do you make?
Mass market, ad supported, non-game apps. You know - like battery savers, photo studios and that kind of thing.
>What do you use to make them?
Android Studio, which is free. Originally I owned no Android and used the emulator, but now I have one. My first real phone I bought for $70 on eBay, you can get them much cheaper nowadays.
>How long did it take you to learn?
I studied computer science in college. I wrote an app for myself, then I wrote another app which included weeks of me gathering data in libraries, my third app was four days.
Part of the reward for me is I studied CS any how, and am a programmer professionally, so even if I made no money, the effort would have been worth it. Although in reality I made $26k last year on apps, and will make as much this year - and I did almost no app work this year, I've been busy with other things.
>>909184
Good on you man,
How many apps do you have total ?
How installs do you typically have on any single day/week ?
What worries me about making any app is
1) the number of 'zombie' apps out there already
2) Finding a decent idea for an app
I do have an idea for a website , something similiar to pcpartpicker but for a different product.
I have the capital to fund this through odesk or whatever
>>910110
what language do you use? any specific libraries? IDEs? i work as a software engineer full time but i feel like i should be able to squeeze out at least one easy cash generator
>>910123
>How many apps do you have total ?
In terms of 95%+ of money, I have two apps. In terms of published on Play, five. In terms of numbers written, probably two dozen or so.
>How installs do you typically have on any single day/week ?
5000 installs a day.
>What worries me about making any app is
>1) the number of 'zombie' apps out there already
>2) Finding a decent idea for an app
>I do have an idea for a website , something similiar to pcpartpicker but for a different product.
>I have the capital to fund this through odesk or whatever
I wouldn't advise someone to invest in apps. Honestly, you're better off buying Google stock. Plus you need a good tech (hard to find) who can deliver your product at a rate you want to invest (almost impossible to find).
I have talked to middle-aged businessmen who have tens of thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) that they can afford to burn on an app project. What you're saying sounds similar to these successful businessmen, so I can't say it sounds dumb. But it does sound and is what someone inexperienced in the field would say. The old hands who have made money have a different perspective. And I'm just a small fry since I only make $25k or so on this little side business.
> the number of 'zombie' apps out there already
The last thing you want to do is avoid competition. Users want flashlight apps, photo touchup/sharing apps, battery saver apps etc., and this is what to make. I mean there can be too much competition - it would take me 2 hours to make a great flashlight app, which means there are thousands of competitors. There is still room for popular apps which would take a great developer a few months to write version 1 of though. Read Paul Graham's essays on avoiding competition.
> Finding a decent idea for an app
Read https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/1gdy92/how_to_get_app_developer_on_board/
>>910126
>what language do you use?
Usually Java, sometimes C/C++. I would avoid C/C++ if possible, the simpler the better and Java is what is simple for Android.
> any specific libraries?
It depends on what you're doing. Loading a lot of images? Use UIL or Picasso. Making charts? Hellocharts and MPAndroidChart are popular. The specific libraries to use depend on what you're doing.
> IDEs?
Android Studio
> i work as a software engineer full time but i feel like i should be able to squeeze out at least one easy cash generator
I would suggest you make a list of ideas, and keep writing them down. Order them by how long you think it will take to do.
Also make a notation of if it a very niche market. Bluetooth OnBoard Diagnostics apps are niche, since only people who own a car which has OBD2 bluetooth capability can use it. Whereas any teenager can use Instagram.
Then look at the apps which look like they'll take the least time, and do it. Preferably not one too super niche, although for the first one it doesn't matter.
The question is, how many apps in until you have an app that exceeds 100,000 downloads? Which is my definition of a mini-success (I have an app with over 5 million downloads). It will probably be a few apps in. This is why you need to work on apps that only take a few weeks at first. Some minimal viable products that take a few weeks to do. Don't work on one app, work on one, then the next one, then the next one. If one of the apps gets traction, work on that one.
Rovio released 51 games and didn't do that much. Game #52 was Angry Birds. That's how it works.
I worked like crazy for six months writing apps all night and all day and didn't get very far. My fourth app was my 5 million plus download app.
The key is to release a minimally viable app early. Like the Eric Ries idea. What everyone in Silicon Valley says. Don't tinker on your own for nine months and release your polished jewel to an audience who doesn't care.
>>910185
how do you get it in front of people?
my first app got around 50k downloads but it was just riding off the popularity of flappy bird (a clone)
that made around $1,200 so i've wanted to make more since, but i'm reluctant to start because i have no idea how to get installs without leeching off the popularity of something else, and going from 50k installs to less than a hundred is going to be embarrassing/discouraging
>>911054
>but i'm reluctant to start because i have no idea how to get installs without leeching off the popularity of something else
It's okay as people do this all the time. Just look at Blizzard. They take ideas from others who have had success and come up with their own derivative work of it. Samsung is another, where they went by the saying "we don't innovate, we fast follow," aka they chase after other people's success with their own version of the product asap.
>>911054
>how do you get it in front of people?
Like I said before, I have one million ideas, I work on the one which I can do the fastest and that I think would be most successful on the mass market.
I'm four years in now and have a formula that works. I actually published 9 games, but even the one that was popular did not make ad money like my non-game apps. Perhaps I need another way to monetize them or something. But anyhow, I have nine duds with games, and a number of successes with non-games, so that's an avenue I am reluctant to spend weeks gambling on since it has been a waste for me so far, whereas for non-game apps I have had a few that have done well.
My main thing is using my programming skills to make money, and avoiding massive headaches if possible. So while Android is lucrative for me right now, things may change. Maybe I'll be doing Oculus game programming in a few years. Maybe the advances in machine learning will mean I'll be doing that primarily in a few years.
For me right now, Android is the most lucrative. But I have four years experience with it, and got in early. There were about 200,000 apps on Play in 2011 when I started and now there are eight times that number.
>>911603
so you just put them up on the app store and let people find them through the search?
e.g.
>>910185
>Bluetooth OnBoard Diagnostics apps are niche, since only people who own a car which has OBD2 bluetooth capability can use it
since it's such a small market they'll just naturally find it, or would you find a list of cars that have that feature and then go track down forums dedicated to those cars and advertise there, etc? Find people posting about them on social media and advertise there?
>>906281
>Phonegap
is it worth it to learn? it seems poorly documented and I wonder if I'd just be wasting my time if I'd end up needing to learn standard ios/android dev anyway
>>911647
Pretty much all cars made after 1996 have an OBD2 port.
>>907767
I'm using AIDE (Android IDE) for programming and they have lessons for teaching graphic stuff for the apps and games
I originally got the app to code for fun whole I save up for my school courses, doing the CCC waterloo problems for some easy practice
I've been playing around with coding games for android and it's really easy and the lessons are straightforward
>>913182
wtf...you code on a phone?
i mean the lessons seem nice but i don't know how you could manage that on an android device
>>913286
I prefer it now actually
I find it hard to get productive on my pc because of games and talking to people etc
Probably going to invest in a small laptop dedicated to code but for now my phone does well to code during my breaks at work, I don't see why coding on my phone would be difficult
>>913294
Adding to this, the S Note is really useful for helping me brainstorm solutions to problems since I find actual hand writing better to get my ideas down than typing
