Translation note: This English version was translated by Codex (GPT-5) on 2026-04-20 18:01:46 CST. The source text is the corresponding Chinese post in this repository.
Written: 2026-03-23, 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Preface
Independent development is often joked about as one of the “midlife unemployment triad” options: food delivery, ride-hailing, and indie apps.
But in the AI-coding era, more and more people are no longer satisfied with other people’s products. They want to build their own.
I started with almost no iOS knowledge and am now preparing to ship my first app. I made plenty of mistakes along the way, so I want this series to be both a reflection and a practical reference.
What Is a Product?
In the age of vibe coding, the cost of writing code has dropped dramatically. What is scarce now is creativity, execution, delivery, engineering stability, and monetization.
The product manager role is therefore not just “making slides” or “writing documents.” In a commercial sense, a product is a packaged item designed for sale. In software, that usually means an app, a mini program, a game, or another shippable digital product.
From an engineering perspective, building a real product requires a division of labor. Fred Brooks’ The Mythical Man-Month is often treated as a classic in software engineering. One of its most famous ideas is the “surgical team” model, which maps nicely to modern product and engineering roles:
| Role | Core Responsibility | Modern Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Surgeon | Define the architecture and write the critical code | Tech lead / chief architect |
| Alter Ego | Review alternatives and act as the surgeon’s shadow | Senior engineer / technical deputy |
| Architect | Guard the user interface and define product specs | Product manager / product architect |
| Administrator | Handle contracts, finance, logistics, and legal work | Project manager / operations |
| Editor | Turn drafts into clear documents and manuals | Technical writer |
| Secretaries | Handle records and file management | PMO / config admin |
| Program Clerk | Maintain the shared codebase and records | SRE / DevOps |
| Toolsmith | Build internal tools and scripts | Productivity tooling |
| Tester | Search for faults with test cases | QA |
| Language Lawyer | Master the language and its low-level quirks | Specialist / fellow |
The bolded parts are the responsibilities that, in practice, a product manager is often expected to cover.
With AI tools now lowering the cost of coding, the ideal AI-era product person is increasingly a hybrid of architect and lead engineer: someone who understands technology, aesthetics, research, and execution well enough to direct AI effectively.
Why iOS?
People sometimes talk about “Apple users” versus “Android users” in a very rough way. Leaving that aside, the difference in spending power and ecosystem friction is real.
For an indie developer, iOS has three major advantages:
1. Better return on effort
Apple users are generally more willing to pay for software, while Android’s open ecosystem makes cracking easier. That means iOS often offers a better revenue potential for indie apps.
2. Lower publishing friction
Many domestic Android app stores require company credentials. Google Play also requires staged testing for new accounts. By contrast, the App Store mainly requires an Apple Developer account and review approval, which is much simpler for an individual.
3. Cleaner distribution
On modern phones, people rarely sideload APKs from random websites. Official stores matter. Android distribution is fragmented across multiple vendor stores, while iOS has a single App Store. Once an app passes review, it can reach Apple users worldwide.
Cost vs. Return
For someone starting from zero, iOS is a strong first platform:
- one Mac
- a yearly $99 Apple Developer fee
- a clear distribution path
That combination gives independent developers a realistic shot at shipping a product and earning from it.
Next
The next article in the series is already being written.