Idea finder

What should you build?

Start from what people type into App Store search. This expands a topic into the queries Apple actually suggests, then reads the apps holding each one — how entrenched they are, how well rated, how recently updated.

Or start from a category:

Nobody outside Apple has App Store search volume, and this page does not pretend to. Demand here is a query's position in Apple's autocomplete, which is ordered by popularity — an ordinal signal, not a number of searches. Gap scores rank candidates against each other within one scan and mean nothing across two.

What should you build?

Every other tool here assumes you already have an app. This one runs the step before that, and it starts from what people type into App Store search rather than from a category you already picked.

Apple’s autocomplete is an ordered list of real queries. For each one this page reads the apps currently holding that search — how entrenched they are, how well rated, how recently they shipped. Demand meeting weak answers is a candidate worth researching.

Pick a candidate and it writes a concept brief from those numbers, then hands it to the App R&D wizard to turn into features and screens.

How it works

  1. 1A topic you type, or a category you pick, is expanded through Apple’s App Store autocomplete. A suggestion’s position is the demand signal, because Apple orders them by popularity.
  2. 2Each candidate query gets one live App Store search. From the top ten: how entrenched they are, the median lifetime rating count, how many sit below 4.0 stars, how many have not shipped in 180 days, and how many separate developers hold the result.
  3. 3Queries that are really app names are removed by checking how many of the developers in the top ten use the query’s main word — “habitica” fails that test, “habit tracker” passes it. Every removal is listed with its reason, so you can overrule it.
  4. 4The gap score is demand multiplied by how weak the current apps look. It orders candidates within one scan and is not comparable across two.

What it cannot tell you

  • There is no App Store search volume here or anywhere else outside Apple. A query’s autocomplete position is an ordinal signal and is never a number of searches.
  • Weak competition is not proof of an opportunity. It can equally mean a small audience, an acquisition cost nobody can pay, or a platform rule that makes the obvious product impossible — none of which is visible from a search result.
  • The removal test measures whether the developers in a result agree on a word, not whether a query is a brand. It drops some real queries: “invoice generator” goes because the apps all say “maker”. It also keeps some it should not — a name several unrelated companies share, like a regional grocery chain, passes it, which is why every row shows the apps currently holding that search.
  • Review quotes come from the handful Apple publishes on a product page. That is a selection and it skews positive — measured across nine large US apps, one of ninety reviews was rated below four stars. Treat them as anecdotes to check.
  • The concept brief is written only from the numbers on the page. It cannot tell you whether you can build it, reach those users, or keep them.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find an app idea?

Start from demand you can observe rather than a hunch. This page expands a topic into the searches Apple suggests, then shows how well the existing apps answer each one, so you are choosing between candidates with evidence instead of brainstorming in the dark.

Does this show search volume?

No, and nothing else honest does either — Apple does not publish App Store search volume. What is used here is a query’s position in Apple’s autocomplete, which is ordered by popularity. That ranks queries against each other; it is not a count.

Why was my query left out?

Probably because it reads as an app name. The test is how many of the top ten results use the query’s main word — under 40% and it is treated as a brand. Every excluded query is listed with its score and the app holding the top result, so you can judge for yourself.

Is a low-competition search a good business?

Not on its own. A search nobody has answered well can be one nobody wants answered, or one where reaching the audience costs more than they are worth. This narrows the field; it does not make the decision.