About this podcast
From development and design to marketing and support, Under the Radar was all about independent app development. It was rarely longer than 30 minutes. Hosted by Marco Arment and David Smith.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 332 episodes
- 332: Relaunching Developing Perspective · 3 min · Episode 332David is relaunching his old, solo podcast Developing Perspective. Where he will be sharing his experience of being an indie app developer in this new world of app development…
- 331: Reflection · 30 min · Episode 331In our final episode, we reflect on how indie app development has changed over the past decade. Thanks for listening, everyone!
- 330: Engaging with Reddit · 29 min · Episode 330How Overcast has managed feedback channels and its presence on social networks, and the results (so far) of creating an official Reddit community.
- 329: Zero Utilization on Your Brain · 29 min · Episode 329Successes and struggles with taking breaks from work.
- 328: Five Years of Enough · 29 min · Episode 328As David celebrates five years of Widgetsmith, we discuss choices we make to keep our businesses scalable without giving up the working styles we prefer.
- 327: Ready for Distribution · 29 min · Episode 327With our iOS 26 updates submitted, we reflect on the summer, customer reactions to the redesigns, and what we're looking forward to doing next.
- 326: Tree-Planting Features · 29 min · Episode 326Laying groundwork for future analytics, insights, and utility needs.
- 325: Upswing · 29 min · Episode 325A pragmatic and productive path through the final weeks of the iOS 26 beta season.
- 324: Design Despair · 29 min · Episode 324Fighting through the motivational challenges and choosing a direction when the system design isn't an easy, universal win.
- 323: The Tidal Wave · 29 min · Episode 323Should we adopt Liquid Glass or stick with our existing designs? And if we do adopt it, how much should we redesign and rethink along the way? (tl;dr: yes; much.)
- 322: Requiring iOS 26? · 30 min · Episode 322Tradeoffs for requiring iOS 26 this fall, and a clever strategy to manage compatibility with iOS 18.
- 321: WWDC 2025 Aftermath · 29 min · Episode 321Initial impressions of WWDC 2025 and what we're going to be doing this summer.
- 319: Unfreezing Your Brain · 29 min · Episode 319Motivating ourselves to get back into coding after time away.
- 318: The Forgotten Customer · 29 min · Episode 318Thoughts and feelings about the Apple anti-steering injunction, the way Apple views developers, and how the relationship could constructively move forward if Apple so chose.
- 317: Optimizing for Battery Life · 30 min · Episode 317Testing our apps for power consumption and adjusting behavior to maximize battery life.
- 316: Job Security · 29 min · Episode 316Whether "anyone" can make apps now with AI tools, and how that affects our apps, relevant skills, and careers.
- 315: Self-Sufficient Apps · 30 min · Episode 315Designing our apps to run without our constant involvement.
- 314: Optimism vs. Pessimism · 30 min · Episode 314Identifying and distinguishing the difference between optimism, pessimism, and fear, and the paths we're choosing to take.
- 313: What's In Our Circles · 30 min · Episode 313The principles and goals we consider important in our apps.
- 312: Our Changing Relationship with Apple · 29 min · Episode 312How our values have diverged and our perceived relationship has changed with Apple, forcing our motivations for iOS development to evolve.
- 311: The Long Term · 30 min · Episode 311Qualities and perspectives that help us stick with indie development over time.
- 310: What's In Our Toolbox: Task Management · 30 min · Episode 310In the fourth of a multi-part series sharing the apps that we use to develop software, we discuss task management, collaboration, and a final assortment of miscellaneous apps.
- 309: What's In Our Toolbox: Code Assistance · 29 min · Episode 309In the third of a multi-part series sharing the apps that we use to develop software, we discuss documentation, code from the web, and LLM-powered code generation.
- 308: What's In Our Toolbox: Simulators & Source Control · 30 min · Episode 308In the second of a multi-part series sharing the apps that we use to develop software, we discuss the tools we use to enhance the iOS Simulator, make the most of on-device…
- 307: What's In Our Toolbox: Code & Design · 29 min · Episode 307In the first of a multi-part series sharing the apps that we use to develop software, we discuss the tools we use to write code and design visuals.
- 306: Overcast "Wrapped" · 29 min · Episode 306Adding listening stats and a history feature to Overcast Premium.
- 305: Selling Apps · 30 min · Episode 305Different types of acquisitions, reasons why someone might want to buy our businesses, and reasons why we might want to sell — or not.
- 303: Raising Prices · 30 min · Episode 303Looking around the App Store, it's clear that we're not charging enough.
- 302: Artificial Walls · 30 min · Episode 302Holding the line for our own standards, while being open to the possibility that we've chosen the wrong lines.
- 301: Pending Apple Release · 28 min · Episode 301Submitting our iOS 18 updates, and considering what this OS means for our apps and our customers.
- 300: The Aftermath · 29 min · Episode 300Fixing issues with the Overcast rewrite, dealing with negative feedback, and resolving mistakes.
- 299: Mid-Summer Update · 30 min · Episode 299As the summer races by at an alarming pace, we plan the rest of our time and consider the value of keeping some of our plans secret.
- 298: The Storm · 30 min · Episode 298The first few days after the launch of the Overcast rewrite, and how to process the mountain of feedback.
- 297: The Storm Before The Storm · 29 min · Episode 297Preparing for the launch of the big Overcast rewrite.
- 296: Summer Plans · 29 min · Episode 296How we think about what to tackle each year between WWDC and the fall OS releases.
- 295: WWDC 2024 Interview · 29 min · Episode 295In this special episode from Apple's podcast studio at WWDC 2024, we interview Serenity Caldwell, Design Evangelist at Apple, and Kristin Oro, Product Marketing for Developer…
- 292: You Can Always Come Back Later · 30 min · Episode 292It's sometimes fine to ship incomplete features, or technically non-ideal implementations, because you can improve them later if the need arises.
- 291: An Inclusive Mindset · 30 min · Episode 291Designing our apps to be comfortably usable by as many people as possible.
- 290: Pillar III: Retention · 30 min · Episode 290We conclude a three-part series with the third pillar of a successful app: customer-retention methods and techniques.
- 289: Vision Pro Numbers · 29 min · Episode 289How the Apple Vision Pro is fitting into our lives so far, the usage of our apps on visionOS, and considering how to allocate our attention and resources to the platform.
- 288: Feelings & Opportunities · 29 min · Episode 288Thoughts on the new app-distribution options from the EU DMA and the implications for app developers.
- 287: Pillar II: Monetization · 29 min · Episode 287In the second of a three-part series, we look at the second pillar of a successful app: choosing a monetization model that fits the app's target market.
- 286: First Hire · 30 min · Episode 286Thoughts and motivations behind David's hiring of an employee and what it means to be an indie developer.
- 285: Recreational Computing · 29 min · Episode 285Final considerations for the imminent Apple Vision Pro launch, and our expectations for visionOS apps.
- 284: Pillar I: Acquisition · 30 min · Episode 284In the first of a three-part series, we look at the first pillar of a successful app: customer acquisition, including paid advertising, word-of-mouth marketing, and editorial…
- 283: Fifty Roles · 30 min · Episode 283The many roles we need to juggle as independent developers, and considering which roles we can take off our plates.
