How much of the final app would have been different if you'd built it the traditional way at your desk in Spain? My guess is 40% of the features you shipped only existed because you were IN Japan using it. Context shapes product more than we admit.
The UI part was a bit challenging because we did not have immediate feedback. Every change required deploying a new build to TestFlight and waiting around 15 minutes before we could actually test it. That delay made fine tuning layouts and small interface details slower than it would have been sitting at a desk with instant previews.
That said, testing the phrases in real situations was invaluable. We could try them in restaurants, shops, or train stations, and even ask locals how something should be said more naturally. That real world loop shaped the app much more than instant UI feedback would have.
The app probably contains some translation imperfections, and we are fully aware of that. It was built by us and for us. The goal was not linguistic perfection but usefulness. And for our own trip, it genuinely worked and made things easier.
lordokami|16 days ago
That said, testing the phrases in real situations was invaluable. We could try them in restaurants, shops, or train stations, and even ask locals how something should be said more naturally. That real world loop shaped the app much more than instant UI feedback would have.
The app probably contains some translation imperfections, and we are fully aware of that. It was built by us and for us. The goal was not linguistic perfection but usefulness. And for our own trip, it genuinely worked and made things easier.