I’m a solo developer based in Austria and over the past year I built a ski technique analysis app that runs fully offline on the phone.
No cloud processing.
No account system.
No subscription model.
I originally built it because I was frustrated with two things:
1. seasonal sports apps charging year-round subscriptions
2. performance data being tied to cloud accounts for no strong technical reason
Instead of debating the model, I decided to try building something different.
⸻
The technical approach
The app processes:
• GPS
• motion sensors
• acceleration data
All analysis happens on-device.
The biggest challenges weren’t UI. They were:
• sensor noise during aggressive turns
• battery drain during long ski days
• balancing sampling rate vs. usable signal
• designing a scoring model that feels intuitive but is still technically grounded
The offline requirement made architecture simpler in some ways and harder in others.
No backend meant:
• no server costs
• no sync logic
• no auth system
• no cloud ML pipeline
But it also meant:
• everything must run within phone constraints
• optimization matters
• no ability to “fix it in the cloud”
⸻
What didn’t work
• I overestimated how much people care about privacy as a primary selling point.
• Distribution is significantly harder than engineering.
• Launch posts don’t move the needle nearly as much as you think.
The app currently has 600+ downloads across iOS and Android. No investors. No paid marketing.
Getting the first 100 users was easier than getting from 300 to 600.
⸻
The business decision
I chose one-time pricing instead of subscription.
From a pure revenue perspective, subscription would likely generate more predictable income.
But I wanted to see whether a niche sports product could survive without recurring revenue and without cloud dependency.
It may turn out that this was financially naive. I genuinely don’t know yet.
⸻
What I’m struggling with now
• distribution without hype cycles
• explaining “offline” in a way that isn’t marketing-sounding
• deciding whether staying small and sustainable is enough
I’m curious how other builders think about:
• offline-first architectures in 2026
• one-time pricing viability
• building for niche seasonal markets
No cloud processing. No account system. No subscription model.
I originally built it because I was frustrated with two things: 1. seasonal sports apps charging year-round subscriptions 2. performance data being tied to cloud accounts for no strong technical reason
Instead of debating the model, I decided to try building something different.
⸻
The technical approach
The app processes: • GPS • motion sensors • acceleration data
All analysis happens on-device.
The biggest challenges weren’t UI. They were: • sensor noise during aggressive turns • battery drain during long ski days • balancing sampling rate vs. usable signal • designing a scoring model that feels intuitive but is still technically grounded
The offline requirement made architecture simpler in some ways and harder in others.
No backend meant: • no server costs • no sync logic • no auth system • no cloud ML pipeline
But it also meant: • everything must run within phone constraints • optimization matters • no ability to “fix it in the cloud”
⸻
What didn’t work • I overestimated how much people care about privacy as a primary selling point. • Distribution is significantly harder than engineering. • Launch posts don’t move the needle nearly as much as you think.
The app currently has 600+ downloads across iOS and Android. No investors. No paid marketing.
Getting the first 100 users was easier than getting from 300 to 600.
⸻
The business decision
I chose one-time pricing instead of subscription.
From a pure revenue perspective, subscription would likely generate more predictable income.
But I wanted to see whether a niche sports product could survive without recurring revenue and without cloud dependency.
It may turn out that this was financially naive. I genuinely don’t know yet.
⸻
What I’m struggling with now • distribution without hype cycles • explaining “offline” in a way that isn’t marketing-sounding • deciding whether staying small and sustainable is enough
I’m curious how other builders think about: • offline-first architectures in 2026 • one-time pricing viability • building for niche seasonal markets
Happy to answer technical questions.