Rudrank's Dispatch: Inspiration, Again.

Hi everyone! How did the first week of the second half of the year treat you? It has been an amazing one in Bangalore, India, where I stuck to my exercise routine (the first time during a trip!) and enjoyed meeting old friends!

Journaling Suggestions

I was exploring the new changes to the framework this year and came across the Reflection prompts that are now available to developers. Here is a quick post about them:

Exploring Journaling Suggestions: Adding Reflection Prompt

SwiftUI

There are many new changes to ScrollView APIs this year, and while I have not had the time to play around with them, it is always fun to read about them! Here is one by Thomas, whose work I always look up to!

Some tips & tricks with the new iOS 18 ScrollView API

Pagination, hiding navigation and tab bar & more.

Here is another one by Alessandro:

ScrollViews in iOS 18

What’s new in iOS 18 regarding ScrollViews

App Store Connect

Screenshots are a nightmare. I have literally delayed releases for it for years. (That is an exaggeration to excuse my procrastination, but it is a nightmare!)

Good news! It is going to get better. Much better for iOS and iPadOS.

Our App Store screenshot nightmare is (almost) over

I previously wrote about how the requirements for screenshots on the App Store have become increasingly burdensome over the years. It is truly a nightmare. B…

visionOS app

Apple Vision Pro is releasing in more countries this week, so to celebrate it, I localised Fusion in German, French, Japanese and Simplified Chinese! 😍

To celebrate the global launch of Vision Pro, Fusion is now localised for German, French, Japanese and Simplified Chinese! 🥳https://t.co/NoseK8CWwX pic.twitter.com/ciMDK3hhOy

— Rudrank Riyam (@rudrankriyam) July 7, 2024

macOS app

Sometimes, songs on Apple Music do not have lyrics associated with them. Or, after getting into J-pop, I want to translate the lyrics into English to cherish the music more. Apple Music does not have this feature, so I created my own app, LyricsLink! 🥳

Apple Music does not have an option to translate lyrics, so I created an app for it!

Introducing LyricLens - Translate beautiful songs using the new Translate API! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/AtEoVHDMc5

— Rudrank Riyam (@rudrankriyam) June 20, 2024

I am writing this dispatch on my way to meet a friend, who is one of the reasons I continue writing these newsletter issues. (Apart from Sinchan, who validates my insecure writing soul after every edition)

I am back in Bangalore, and it feels both familiar and new.

I booked flight during sunset and it was so worth it. 😭 pic.twitter.com/XgETZZzZsL

— Rudrank Riyam (@rudrankriyam) July 2, 2024

The traffic is as chaotic as ever, reminding me of my visit in February. But this time, I was trying something different instead of getting frustrated. While stuck in traffic, I explored the app Astro, an app for App Store optimisation.

Fix, not fixate.

The real reason I keep coming back to Bangalore is the people.

It is fun catching up with old friends to see what they have been up to. I met a friend I had not seen in a year. What an inspiration. The way his mindset has developed over the past 365 days is amazing—the gleam in his eyes. You could tell he had put his heart and soul into it.

It made me want to find that thing I was truly passionate about. I love writing, and I have a lot to write, too. It is my escape from reality, and I am confident that I can do it for the rest of my life.

I have so much to say and so many words to type.

I wonder if I could make a living from writing. Maybe someday I will earn money from articles like this one. A distant dream, but who knows? There will be a day when I look back at this moment and realise it was the start of something big.

One day at a time, one word at a time.

For now, I am inspired enough to keep writing.

Some Discipline, Not Enough Yet

Motivation does not last; obsession does.

I am slowly realising this over the past few weeks as I work on myself. You may get some motivation due to an external event in your life, but to keep that fire burning for days, weeks, months, and years, only obsession and discipline are the way.

I am working on fixing my diet first and then my exercise routine. This is the first time I have had the same breakfast for eight straight days: eggs, sausages, and fruits. Instead of making the most out of the breakfast buffet, I am making the most out of the hotel gym instead. It is not a sacrifice. This is what I want. I feel more energetic throughout the day and more confident about myself, and it is nice when people tell me I have lost weight.

Some discipline, but not enough yet. I want to be harsh on myself; fixing the sleep schedule is the biggest hurdle. Sleeping after midnight and waking up at 8-10 AM is far better than what I had last year, but not enough.

Palm of Your Hands

A veteran speaker, one of the best in the iOS community, told me after my opening talk at Do iOS, Amsterdam, that he wants to see me at more events. He said I had the audience in the palm of my hand, and that's a rare trait as a public speaker.

Of course, I did not believe him. At all. I was too insecure about my public speaking skills to decipher what he meant.

Fast-forward to last week, and I had the opportunityin to participate in a panel discussion related to WWDC 2024. I was nervous in the beginning, but by the end, I could feel I had the audience in the palm of my hand.

I felt that I somehow recreated this atmosphere of FOMO with my experiences, my voice and my words. I could feel the goosebumps when I was concluding the panel, wanting all the attention and spotlight on myself, and I am glad the moderator gave me the liberty to do that.

Gosh, that felt amazing. At that moment, I felt I was a decent speaker.

This was one of the first time I felt I am a decent speaker when I could captivate the audience to feel the FOMO of WWDC 2024 with my words 🥹😆 pic.twitter.com/eGPU8m3OBX

— Rudrank Riyam (@rudrankriyam) July 5, 2024

And this is just the beginning—just the beginning of embracing my vulnerable parts and proudly putting myself out there for the world to know who I am.

Also, proudly vulnerable on stage telling everyone how I am an over-thinker and working on a Journal app for myself. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/G5bP84w6CJ

— Rudrank Riyam (@rudrankriyam) July 5, 2024

Music and Happy Me

I visited the Indian Music Museum, and it was fun to learn about the history of Indian music through visuals and demonstrations. However, as much as I liked it, I was more focused on one thing: this grand piano on the first floor.

Music and happy me. 😊 pic.twitter.com/kX1Y5EUqcL

— Rudrank Riyam (@rudrankriyam) July 4, 2024

I started learning the piano when I was probably when I was seven. I spent seven years on it before switching to the guitar. But piano remains my first love when it comes to instruments. Listening to piano pieces always ends up in beautiful sleep and dreams.

My skills are as rusty as ever, but I learned the introduction of one song on the spot for a friend who got an exclusive concert. It was my first time singing in public, and I wish I sang well, too, haha.

That's it for this dispatch! I am working on a lot of stuff simultaneously this week, and I look forward to writing about it in the next one! 😊

Hope you all have an amazing week ahead! 🤗