Join 5,901+ iOS/macOS developers using Codex and agents to build and ship apps. Expect practical tutorials, repeatable workflows, and hard-earned lessons from 7 shipped apps and time at Apple, Microsoft, and GoPro.
The Screenshot Mistake That’s Costing You Downloads Every Day
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Hey Reader, My last app launch was a flop. I wrote the App Store copy after I’d already submitted for App Review — and I knew it. If you’re in that same boat, that’s okay. But don’t stop there. This week’s article breaks down the research workflow I should have used from the start: using AI and competitor reviews to write copy before you design a single screenshot. Read: The Screenshot Mistake That’s Costing You Downloads Every Day Grab the free 100 Best Practices for App Store Screenshots PDF while you’re there. Two Tactics You Can Steal#1 Use competitor App Store reviewsThe best App Store copy isn’t written by you. It’s sitting in your competitors’ reviews. I use my app, Review Researcher, to download 500 App Store reviews, then paste them into ChatGPT or Claude. From there, I can generate personas, pain points, and exact customer language — all from real users describing what frustrated them. #2 Build an app you want to useI built Super Easy Slides because I needed a tool to automate creating Keynote slides for my YouTube videos. Plain black backgrounds, white text, Markdown-based workflow. When you solve your own problem, you already know which features matter — because you use them every day. That makes writing App Store copy easier than guessing what a stranger wants. Fix your own problem first. You’ll likely fix someone else’s, too. Pro TipUse subagents. With GPT-5.4 Mini, subagents can work on different areas simultaneously. Just ask Codex to use “subagents” — it handles all the orchestration. No setup required. Find a bug? Ask Codex to fix it. The subagents pick back up where they left off. Gabriel from OpenAI has a great breakdown: Parallel by Default: Building with the Codex App. 5 Resources and Links
From the CommunityApple updated App Store Connect analytics — 100 new data points, including Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) tracking. Viktor shows what it looks like in practice (click to see the full dashboard):
Quick QuestionI’m running two live workshops this spring. Want in?
Have a question? Just hit reply. Talk soon! Paul Solt P.S. Next week I’m breaking down my full Codex + Skills workflow for building iOS apps — it’s the #1 request from my recent poll. |
AI Code Brief - Paul Solt
Join 5,901+ iOS/macOS developers using Codex and agents to build and ship apps. Expect practical tutorials, repeatable workflows, and hard-earned lessons from 7 shipped apps and time at Apple, Microsoft, and GoPro.
Hey Reader, Before you build iOS app screens, pick colors, or hire an artist, you need a visual direction. I put together an article on four ways I explore the style of an iOS app or game so I can move from vague idea to something real. Read it here: 4 Ways to Explore the Style of Your iOS App or Game Dangerous Snake App UI Concepts using Pencil Learn about: Mood Boards Hiring an artist Sketch prototypes ChatGPT visual design Agentic UI design AI is now good enough to help with a big part of...
Hey Reader, Agents write better code when they can read docs instead of guessing from memory. A 2026 paper found up to a 20% improvement in first-try code accuracy when models were given the right programming context. So what do you do with that? Don’t rely on the agent to know everything from their training set. Instead, provide tools or local docs that they can reference. Your local docs should include sample code so agents can use the code correctly (the first time). If you’ve ever read...
Hey Reader, My iOS and macOS app development workflow has changed since my last GPT-5.2 Workflow video. GPT-5.4 lets me iterate on bug fixes, features, and ideas much faster than before. Watch: How I Build Apps with Codex and GPT-5.4 If you want to build apps with agents, use my app-creator skill. It can scaffold a new Xcode project and teach your agent how to create a Makefile for an existing Xcode project. 2 Tactics You Can Steal #1 Use a Learnings.md File with Your Agent Self-improvement...