The Apple Effect: Indian developers driving global transformation [Exclusive interview]

Apple refreshed its tablet line-up, with iPad Pro models powered by the new M4 chip and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. True to some rumours, the new iPad Pro comes in two variants — a 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model, with a breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with OLED technology.

But beyond the hardware lies a realm of innovation driven by the diverse array of apps available for the iPad and other iDevices. Be it meditation, learning, or even just taking notes, there’s an app for everything. And every app has a story of how it came to be, and we embarked on a journey to discover those stories through a series of candid interactions with some of the Apple developers.

At Apple’s swanky new officein Bengaluru’s heart, IBTimesIndia was invited to meet some of the developers who demonstrated their apps and shared their journey as founders. From mental wellness to education and productivity, these developers are at the forefront of leveraging the power of the Apple ecosystem to drive global change.

Groodles

Groodles positions itself as a beacon of hope and healing, offering users a transformative journey through guided art-based exercises. Developed by Aditya Ganguly, a visionary with a background in psychology and a passion for leveraging technology for positive change, Groodles seeks to revolutionize the mental health landscape by providing a more engaging and effective alternative to traditional therapy apps.

The genesis of Groodles stems from Aditya Ganguly’s upbringing in Delhi and his diverse professional experiences spanning reproductive wellness, AR, VR, and gaming. Driven by a desire to offer a holistic approach to mental well-being, Aditya recognized the need for an app that goes beyond meditation and journaling to harness the therapeutic power of art.

At the heart of Groodles lies its unique offering of guided art-based exercises, meticulously designed to provide users with a safe space for self-expression and introspection. Through a combination of text, audio instructions, and visual references, users are guided through therapeutic drawing activities aimed at unlocking their inner creativity and facilitating personal growth.

The app’s efficacy has been widely acclaimed, with accolades from industry experts and a surge in paid subscriptions attesting to its impact. Aditya showcased the app’s intuitive interface during our interactive session and emphasized its therapeutic benefits, underscoring the importance of accessibility and representation in its design.

Validation comes in the form of both qualitative feedback from users and quantitative metrics such as session duration and user retention, Aditya said, acknowledging the sensitive nature of the subject matter and highlighting the app’s collaboration with therapy experts to ensure its content’s efficacy and relevance.

SplashLearn

In the digital age, education has undergone a significant transformation, with technology playing a pivotal role in shaping how students learn and educators teach. One such platform that is making a difference in the digital education space is SplashLearn. Founded by four individuals who were classmates at IIT Kharagpur, SplashLearn began its journey with a focus on changing the way students engage with educational content.

The catalyst for SplashLearn’s evolution was the advent of iPads in the US market around 2010. Recognizing the potential of this new form factor for learning, the founders pivoted from the Indian education sector to create StudyPad, laying the foundation for what would later become SplashLearn. Through extensive research with parents and teachers, the team identified key challenges in traditional education, including the difficulty of catering to students of different learning levels and the passive nature of learning in an increasingly screen-dominated world.

Armed with these insights, SplashLearn set out to make learning enjoyable and fearless. The platform offers adaptive learning experiences tailored to each child’s level, ensuring that students remain engaged and challenged at their own pace. Both schools and parents have access to comprehensive dashboards and reports, allowing them to track students’ progress and performance in real-time.

Over the years, SplashLearn has expanded its offerings to include subjects beyond math, introduced subscription-based models, and secured funding rounds to fuel its growth. The platform now serves millions of learners across the globe, with one in three US schools using SplashLearn in their classrooms, one of the co-founders, Mayank Jain, revealed during our interaction.

In this journey of transformation, Apple has played a crucial role as a catalyst for innovation. The introduction of iPads provided SplashLearn with the canvas it needed to reimagine education, offering a seamless and immersive learning experience for students. As SplashLearn continues to push the boundaries of digital education, Apple’s ecosystem remains a key enabler, providing the tools and technologies necessary to empower the next generation of learners, Mayank added.

Meditate

Meditation apps have emerged as powerful tools for promoting mindfulness and inner peace. One such app making waves in the space is Meditate – Mindfulness app, which offers users a seamless and immersive meditation experience tailored to their needs.

The genesis of Meditate can be traced back to the founder, Mithil Jadhav’s personal journey, where a transformative experience inspired the creation of the app. Founded in 2014, the app was born out of a desire to provide users with a distraction-free meditation timer, specifically designed for the Apple Watch. Leveraging the power of technology, Mithil sought to enhance the meditation experience and promote consistency in practice.

The app’s early version employed interval alerts and a unique tracking system based on petals to encourage users to meditate regularly. Over time, the concept evolved to incorporate mandalas – intricate visual representations that blossom and grow more vibrant with each meditation session. This visual journey serves as a motivating force for users, reinforcing the importance of maintaining a consistent meditation practice.

Meditate integrates with Apple Health, allowing users to track their meditation progress and sync data across devices. The app’s interface features a variety of mandala options, which users unlock based on their meditation streaks. Additionally, Meditate offers features such as interval alerts, circular progress bars, and integration with Siri shortcuts, providing users with a seamless meditation experience.

Meditate also has plans to incorporate social elements into its platform, allowing users to share their meditation achievements with friends and personalize their experience further, Mithil revealed during our interaction. The core market for the app includes individuals seeking to improve their lives through consistent meditation practice, emphasizing the importance of tracking and regularity in reaping the benefits of mindfulness.

Noteshelf

Noteshelf is a useful note-taking app by Fluid Touch, spearheaded by Rama Krishna, who hails from the bustling city of Hyderabad, India. This app has made significant strides as a team of 35 members has worked to elevate its functionality and user experience.

At its core, Noteshelf offers a seamless note-taking experience, blending traditional pen and paper with modern technology. Its integration with the Apple Watch allows users to effortlessly jot down notes by recording voice memos on the go, ensuring that no idea goes unrecorded.

With 10 million paid users and over 1 billion notebooks created, Noteshelf has emerged as a go-to platform for individuals seeking to organize their thoughts, ideas, and plans. Notably, the app has also made a substantial environmental impact, with users saving an impressive 2 million trees by opting for digital note-taking over traditional paper notebooks.

One of Noteshelf’s standout features is its Gen AI technology, powered by ChatGPT 3. When asked why not use ChatGPT 3.5 or even ChatGPT 4, Rama said it is not needed for the basic tasks involved in Noteshelf.

But this AI integration enhances the app’s functionality, providing users with intelligent suggestions, contextually relevant insights, and personalized recommendations tailored to their note-taking habits and preferences. During a live demo, Rama showed us how the app can translate text into different languages, summarise comprehensive documents and more.

Speaking about how the Apple ecosystem played a crucial role in his journey as a developer, Rama said: “Developing for the Apple ecosystem is a dream come true for any developer. Not only does Apple provide a rich set of developer tools that are a delight to use, but they also provide invaluable guidance that takes the app’s UI/UX to a whole new level. The Apple evangelism team has been with us every step of the way and has been vital in taking Noteshelf from a single person’s passion project to a beloved app used by millions of users worldwide.”

The next time you use any of these apps, you’ll know there’s a story of passion, innovation, and dedication. Whether it’s finding inner peace, enhancing your learning experience, or organizing your thoughts, remember that these apps are more than just tools—they’re the culmination of creativity and perseverance.