Why Pay for an App When I Can Build My Own?
A couple of weeks ago, on a boring Saturday evening, I was exploring Google Play Store. I wasn't looking for a particular app, I was simply exploring. I first came across a "Daily Micro Learning" app which looked neat. So I installed it and after carefully answering a few screens of onboarding questions, I realized that it is a paid app.
I immediately uninstalled it, and continued my exploration. I then found another interesting app, this one lets you read classic books by breaking them down into bits each taking ~20 minutes a day to read. I loved the idea and it was free too, so I installed and jumped into reading the "Odyssey". After I finished reading the first issue, I wanted to continue reading, but I was hit with a paywall.
There was a brief moment of frustration, but then I thought, "That's fair, it's a free app and there's no ads either". Besides, there wasn't a limit to how many books I could read, just that I could only read one issue a day per book.
So, I love the idea but I don't know if I want to pay for it. What do I do then? It's 2026, so of course! I'm gonna build my own version. I have a codex subscription so I paired up with 5.6 Sol and built a basic version in just a few hours. I built it exactly how I wanted it, so I started using it daily.
I am both the creator and the consumer. This is what I like the most, because every little inconvenience can be fixed by me. For example, if I take a break for a few days, I lose the details of what I read so far. So what do I do? I build a feature in the app which adds episode recaps and character tracking. The problem is solved. AI does the execution, I think about how I want my app to be. It does take a bit of effort, but nowhere close to building it myself.
I can't imagine doing this a few years ago. That's 2026 folks! You can build stuff for yourself exactly how you like it. Nothing more, nothing less.