Once again, Steve "pair programmed" with Aider + Claude Sonnet 4 to further refactor BentoFit while drinking at Human Robot. Meanwhile, Kotaro has been again thinking about App Intents and the paradigm shift in app design they may portend. Then we get into some interesting discussions about how the combination of Apple's focus on App Intents and the "Universal UI" of LLMs may combine to fundamentally shift how we design app experiences. ## Show Notes - BentoFit: The Story So Far - BentoFit Updat...
Jul 21, 2025•51 min•Ep. 93
Work progresses on code name "Bento Fit" as Steve does some performance refactoring using Aider and Claude 4 Sonnet while Kotaro polishes up the iOS 26 UI changes. We also have a discussion on the trade-offs of using "AI" tools in programming and the importance of intellectual labor and little bit about what it means to be a "professional." ## Show Notes - BentoFit: The Story So far - Steve: Improved loading time by “pair programming” with Aider and Claude Sonnet 4 - Kotaro: iOS 26 UI updates - ...
Jul 07, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 92
The Trio have played with iOS 26 and have thoughts about adapting to the new Liquid Glass paradigm as well as the real star of WWDC25, the Foundation Models Framework. ## Show Notes - Adapting to Liquid Glass - Foundations Model Framework - Azam Sharp Foundation Models Framework Course - https://azamsharp.teachable.com/p/getting-started-with-the-foundation-models-framework - Coupon code: PHILLY - Discount: 40% - Expires: July 31st 2025 - Bento Fit will be iOS 26 Exclusive? - TestFlight around mi...
Jun 23, 2025•56 min•Ep. 91
The Trio give their hot takes after viewing the WWDC25 Keynote and Platforms State of the Union presentations. ## Show Notes - Keynote / SoTU Impressions - Liquid Glass / New Design Language - “macOS” on iPad - Xcode 26 - Foundation Models Framework / Spotlight - Visual Intelligence Intents - Realtime Language Translation - What Developers Should Be Excited About - Foundation Models Framework - Games - BentoFit Test on iOS 26 - Everyone Is Sherlocked! - Wrap-Up: http://phillycocoa.org - Side Pro...
Jun 10, 2025•55 min•Ep. 90
After some Bento Fit updates, the Trio explores their hopes and dreams for WWDC25. ## Show Notes Google I/O Cold Open Bento Fit: The Story So Far Bento Fit: Updates - Steve: Refactored HealthDataPoint with generics - Kotaro: Refined UI & Widget layout - Aaron: Double-column cards! Bento Fit: Next Time - Steve: Data structures for reordering and other internal stuff - Kotaro: Onboarding & Cell reordering / widgets - Aaron: Workout metrics WWDC25 Hopes and Dreams - Kotaro: significant visi...
May 26, 2025•58 min•Ep. 89
This week, Steve performs some more updates of the code base using Aider, while some skeuomorphic UI updates from Kotaro have us excited, and Aaron is a little tired after gathering real-world data by running a marathon at an impressive pace. ## Show Notes Introductions Bento Fit: The Story So Far Bento Fit: Refactoring the data model with Aider Tangent: Xcode + Claude Bento Fit: Skeuomorphic UI update Next Steps - Two column bento cards - Persistence of bento card settings - Remaining HealthKit...
May 12, 2025•53 min•Ep. 88
The Trio is back together with Bento Fit updates and more fun with "AI!" First up, Aaron is back from his trip to Jamaica and explains how you bring a bike on an airplane. Meanwhile, Kotaro has been sketching up a storm with some cool UI designs that you can't see because this is audio! Then, Steve continues down the path towards madness as he tries yet another "AI" tool combo this week with Aider/OpenRouter/Google Gemini 2.5 Flash. The live coding on the pod goes about as well as previous attem...
Apr 28, 2025•54 min•Ep. 87
Aaron is enjoying a much deserved vacation, but Kotaro and Steve are still here with Bento Fit updates and Kotaro's experience "vibe coding" with Cursor. ## Show Notes - Bento Fit Update - Kotaro UI updates - We may be doing HealthKit wrong - Next - UI flow - HealthKit performance - Kotaro’s Vibe Coding Experience - Wrap-Up - http://phillycocoa.org - Side Project Shout Out - https://getclipdish.com ## Chapters 00:00 Introductions 01:28 Bento Fit: The Story So Far 04:21 Bento Fit: Updates & D...
Apr 14, 2025•49 min•Ep. 86
In this extra long episode, we review progress made in domain modeling, Swift Charts, and a Tron-esque UI! Plus, Steve discusses his experiences using the ChatGPT macOS app and Cursor with Xcode before we try to do some "vibe coding" ourselves to add a small UI feature. There are a lot of quotable moments in this episode. It's a fun one! ## Show Notes - BentoFit: The Road So Far… - Kotaro: UI Updates including Dark Mode! - Aaron: Swift Chart! - Steve: More metrics, refactored HealthKit, domain m...
Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 85
Sometimes life gets in the way of a side project. That's what happened to us this sprint and so progress on Bento Fit has been extra slow. But, this is a good opportunity to discuss strategies for getting back on track when life throws you a detour on your developer journey. ## Show Notes - Bento Fit Update - Steve is working on HealthKit metrics and domain modeling, but progress is slow. - Rolling with the Punches - Kotaro has been busy with work. - Aaron helps run Philly Bike Expo! - Goals for...
Mar 17, 2025•49 min•Ep. 84
We continue to make slow progress developing our HealthKit dashboard app, codenamed "Bento Fit." In this episode, our update includes more HealthKit metrics discussion, Xcode Cloud configurations, a discussion on Git workflows, implementing basic logging, using Grok to write bad HealthKit code, and Kotaro's "Full Dieter Rams" UI designs. Plus, it looks like we need a persistence strategy, maybe SwiftData, maybe something else? ## Show Notes - Bento Fit Update - How to manage your time on a side ...
Mar 03, 2025•53 min•Ep. 83
We have made progress on our new fitness app, currently codenamed, "Bento Fit." This week we provide an update about the UI, using local Swift Packages for modularization of the codebase, creating custom HealthKit metrics, thoughts on data persistence and syncing, and next steps. Plus, tangents about running local LLMs, the fortunes of COBOL programmers, and some really bad monetization ideas. If you want to get into the headspace of some developers working on a side project, this was basically ...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 82
The Trio begin a new fitness app project to surface HealthKit data. Learn about some of the discarded app ideas, then listen in on a live project kickoff planning session along with some asides about learning to be consistent, the challenges of HealthKit, what a "bento box" UI means, and more! ## Chapters 00:00 Intro Music 00:08 Introductions 01:34 Fitness App Ideas 08:41 "Sleep, Walk, Run" HealthKit Dashboard Idea 11:26 Designing the User Interface and Widgets 14:12 Features Discussion & Ch...
Feb 03, 2025•48 min•Ep. 81
The Trio is back after an extended winter break to prognosticate about the future of Apple development going into 2025. We discuss our hopes and dreams for the future of Apple Intelligence, Vision OS, and local LLM models on Apple Silicon. We also return to the topic of the “Universal UI” before discussing some personal projects, learning backend development, and the idea of creating a dumb, but simple, fitness app of some sort. ## Chapters 00:00 Introductions 01:15 Apple Development & Apple...
Jan 20, 2025•48 min•Ep. 80
The Trio is going on Winter Break, but before we do, one final pod to end the year! In this season finale episode, we look back on some of the hardware, software, and developer trends of 2024 before looking forward to the possibilities to come in the new year. Have a happy holiday season! The Trio will return in 2025. ## Topics Discussed - Favorite Apple Stuff of the Year - iPhone 16 Pro Max (Kotaro) - iPad mini refresh (Steve) - Vision Pro (Aaron) - Vision Pro: Flop or the Future? - https://pod...
Nov 18, 2024•57 min•Ep. 79
In this penultimate episode of 2024, the Trio return to the topic of Design Systems from episode 72 with a discussion about how indie developers can apply the concept to their apps along with specific tips and techniques for implementation using the built-in tools available in SwiftUI and Xcode. Plus, our first thoughts on 2/3 of the M4 announcements this week. ## Topics Discussed - Apple Announcements - iMac M4 - Mac mini M4/M4 Pro - Design Systems for Indies - Previous episode: https://podcast...
Nov 04, 2024•37 min•Ep. 78
The Trio are inspired by a PhillyCocoa Slack discussion to venture back into the world of modern app monetization strategies. What options does a budding indie developer have for making money on the App Store? Along the way, we highlight many great examples of apps employing a variety of strategies and innovative monetization techniques. ## Topics Discussed - App Monetization Strategies - Paid Upfront - Procreate Apps - https://procreate.com/procreate - Things 3 - https://culturedcode.com/things...
Oct 21, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 77
The trio have been feeling a vibe shift in the developer community lately. Are we on the cusp of a new "Indie" renaissance? ## Chapters 00:00 Introductions 03:00 Follow-up: Are We Buying iPhone 16 Pro Max? 13:30 Follow-up: Kotaro Learning Godot 25:36 Indie Vibes 26:41 Indie Development Strategies and Niche Markets 30:40 Indie Apps and Content Creation 35:38 Pay Once Model Coming Back? 38:02 Monetization Strategies for Indies 47:51 Platform Choices / Native vs Cross-platform 01:02:13 Final Words ...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 76
The trio discuss the release of iOS 18 and the new iPhone 16 camera button and get inspired by the latest Slopes app design update. Kotaro shares some art and sound updates to his game jam project before exploring some "epiphanies" he has experienced relating to visionOS app design. ## Chapters 00:00 Introductions 00:54 iPhone 16 / iOS 18 Released 04:09 Camera Features and Photography on iPhone 16 07:32 iPhone 17 Rumors 09:13 Exploring the New Camera Control Button 12:47 iOS 18 Features and Appl...
Sep 23, 2024•57 min•Ep. 75
On this evergreen episode, the trio begins by discussing the upcoming (at the time of recording) iPhone 16 event before Kotaro tells the tale of his failed Game Jam experience. Lessons are learned and hilarious generated voices are demoed. Sometimes you bite off more than you can chew with a side project, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth the attempt. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - News - Sept 9th iPhone 16 Event - Kotaro’s Failed Game Jam - Godot Game Engine - https://godotengine.or...
Sep 09, 2024•57 min•Ep. 74
This week Kotaro announces his triumphant return to the Game Jam scene with a brilliant idea that will surely make him a "Fortune." Then the Trio dives deep into the issues and controversies around generative "AI" and Procreate's stance against such technology in their products. Plus, Steve drops an epic rant about Facebook's "AI" integration as contrasted with the great integration done in the Foodnoms app. We think this episode has some of our best discussions to date so you won't want to miss...
Aug 26, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 73
This week Kotaro pods solo to introduce the concept of design systems, especially as they apply to mobile development. This is a topic we will revisit once the Trio can gather together once more and this episode will act as the foundation for those future discussions. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - What is a “design system” - Figma's definition - https://www.figma.com/blog/design-systems-101-what-is-a-design-system/ - Definition: - Tokens - Color (light/dark) - Corner radius - Dimensions...
Aug 12, 2024•23 min•Ep. 72
The trio discuss the state of the tech job market, especially for Apple platform developers. We touch on all manner of topics from how hiring practices are broken, to practical tips for new grads, to the utility of side projects, future hot platforms, and of course the "AI" question. There is a lot of good stuff in this episode. Enjoy! ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - Job Market Vibe Check - Junior Developers - Hiring Practices Are Broken - Developer Demand Will Increase - Apple Platforms ...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 71
The trio is back from celebrating America to talk about Apple's horribly named "predictive code completion" in Xcode 16. Kotaro tries to use it with some interesting results and we compare Apple's current implementation with other similar products like Microsoft's Intellicode and contrast it with something like Copilot or Apple's forthcoming Swift Assist product. We also engage in an interesting discussion about when you should or should not use these code generation tools. ## Topics Discussed: ...
Jul 15, 2024•51 min•Ep. 70
The trio concludes our WWDC24 trilogy by discussing the vibes and themes we saw at this year's conference before ending with our picks for our favorite videos from the week. Links in the show notes! ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - WWDC Vibes - Swift / SwiftUI All the Things - V isionOS is Not Dead - Designers are No Longer in Charge? - SF Symbols 6 Talk - “Spatial Computing” is the Future - Quicklooks Talk - Shaders - Create / Optimize 3D Assets - Game Development Skills - “AI” & Siri...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 69
The trio convenes the night after the Keynote to discuss some of the highlights from this year's WWDC including "Apple Intelligence," UI animations, SwiftData improvements, Swift Testing, iPhone mirroring, and more! ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - Apple Intelligence - Widgets Everywhere - Zoom Transitions & Other Updates - SwiftData - SwiftUI Views @MainActor - Xcode Tabs Now Make Sense! - SwiftUI Previews - Swift Testing - iPhone miring on macOS - Finally… - Passwords.app - Tap to Ca...
Jun 12, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 68
The trio discuss WWDC24 rumors and wishlists in advance of what feels like the biggest Apple conference in years. Stay until the end to hear our WWDC Bingo Card items and our guesses for how many times the acronym "AI" will be spoken during the keynote with Aaron making the most intriguing guess. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - Developer Conference Season - Year of “AI” - Microsoft Recall Feature - Copilot button - Apple has already been using “AI”! - CoreML - Object detection - Vision - ...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 67
The trio discuss the new M4 iPad Pros, both the updates and the use cases. Who are these devices for and do the new models really represent the biggest update in the iPad lineup in years? Plus, Kotaro teases a new game to be built with Godot. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - New iPad Pros - What are iPads useful for? - Pencil Pro updates - What Nobody Else Told You About Tandem OLED and M4! (Snazzy Labs) - https://youtu.be/3moprE5S3Qc - Kotaro teases a new game to be built with Godot - htt...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 66
Joe Cieplinski returns to the pod to talk about his latest app, The Last Word, a journal app for tracking your personal cocktail journey. Built using the latest iOS 17 technologies from SwiftUI to SwiftData with a cross-platform design that includes visionOS, our discussion touches on many topics that will be of interest if you are starting your own greenfield side project app. ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions / Welcome Joe Cieplinski - The Last Word in Cocktails app - https://havethelastwor...
May 06, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 65
This episode is all about SwiftData. Steve has started using it a lot lately and talks about his experience so far trying to sync a bunch of API data into a SwiftData model as well as using a Swift Actor to control write access to the data container in a thread-safe manner. There are some really useful links in the show notes this week. You'll want to bookmark them all! ## Topics Discussed: - Introductions - Steve’s Real World SwiftData Experience…so far - Maintaining a local copy of server data...
Apr 22, 2024•49 min•Ep. 64
