Apptisan #010 — Sunlitt
Sunlitt is an app that offers precise information about the sun’s position and events throughout the day and year, everywhere in the world.
Name: Sunlitt
Developer / Team: Nicolas Mariniello, Clelia Iovine, Fabio Pizzano, Leonardo Bertinelli, Davide Biancardi, Raffaele Fulgente
Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS
Read this newsletter issue in Chinese (中文) .
Sunlitt’s team has generously offered an exclusive promo code for readers of Apptisan. By entering the code APPTISAN2024 on the Sunlitt > Settings > General > Redeem Code page, or by clicking on this link, you can enjoy a 30% discount on your annual subscription.
Please describe your product.
Tracking the sun’s journey in the sky is essential for many reasons and professions. Photographers can plan their shoots ahead of time, campers can pitch their tents to wake up to a beautiful sunrise, and beekeepers can determine the perfect balance between light and shadows to place their beehives.
Sunlitt is an app that tracks the sun’s position and movements anywhere and at any time, all in a delightful and human-centered interface. In Sunlitt, sun tracking is made quick, easy, and fun.
Sunlitt offers different modes, tailored for various users. From the fun-and-colorful Monolitt Mode to the Explore mode, which combines different map styles and real-time buildings’ shadows.
We are also excited to announce that Augmented Reality Mode is in the works, and will be soon released for beta testing (Here to stay updated).
Along with the sun’s path and position, Sunlitt provides precise timings for several key solar events, such as golden and blue hours, sunrise and sunset, first and last light, twilights, and much more.
Thanks to our in-house Swift Package, sun data is computed locally and most of Sunlitt’s features are accessible offline. This respects the privacy of our users and ensures users are always aware of the sun's journey in the sky, even in the most remote locations.
Was there a pivotal moment that inspired your product’s creation?
Sunlitt was born to address a real-world need: finding a bright and sunny place to live in. A need we experienced as students in Naples, a city with very narrow streets that make sunlight a rare find in apartments.
We aimed to empower people with precise and easily accessible sun data through a delightful, beautiful, and intuitive user experience.
From day one to today, we have been amazed by the diverse ways people are using Sunlitt and how the sun truly elevates human life on Earth. This drives us to keep striving to create the best sun-tracking tool available.
What makes your product unique compared to others in the market?
While other sun-tracking apps focus solely on providing information, we prioritize delivering a delightful and intuitive user experience alongside essential functionality.
Sunlitt is a universal tool that can be used by everybody, even without a technical background, opening up a world of possibilities in the sun-tracking field.
Therefore, we designed Sunlitt for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro, and support for more devices is on the roadmap.
How have you marketed your product, and what key lessons have you learned?
As of today, most of our app traffic is coming from organic App Store Search and Browse.
Based on our experience, providing meaningful and valuable content in the app (and on the App Store) is key to engaging with new and active users.
Showcasing Sunlitt’s features effectively through local and international editorial events has been crucial to reaching a broader user base. Additionally, being featured on the App Store (as App of the Day or with a mention in an App Collection) has significantly bolstered our visibility and user acquisition.
We are now live on major social media platforms; you can follow us on Instagram, X and LinkedIn. For our most devoted users, we have a Telegram Channel where we share insights and sneak peeks of upcoming features and beta testing.
What has been some memorable feedback since your product’s release?
We are always eager to better understand our users and learn how they utilize Sunlitt, aiming to provide them with all the tools necessary for a seamless sun-tracking experience.
In fact, through conversations with our photographer users, we realized how important weather is for proper photo shoot planning, alongside precise sun data. As a result, we dedicated a special section to weather forecasts for our PRO users.
We’ve also implemented several small but useful tweaks based on user feedback, with more enhancements in the pipeline to further improve Sunlitt’s user experience.
Are there any products out there that you feel deserve more recognition?
One tool that we use daily and that helped us for visibility on the App Store is Astro. We find it very handy and accessible for indie developers, definitely a must-have for App Store Optimization.
A product we share a lot with is Anne, a Morse assistant for the deaf-blind. Anne works with gestures and haptics to make communication for deaf-blind people more accessible than ever. We witnessed Anne shaping up in its early days, and we recognize the team’s commitment and passion. Anne achieved incredible results so far, but we believe its mission and value need even more recognition.
Recently, we stumbled upon this extremely cool and neat Reference iPhone App, called Architecture & Landmarks. We love the simplicity, the clean interface, and the overall scope: delivering an immersive animated landscape scene to observe, explore, and admire. Undoubtedly, this App deeply inspired us in the development of Sunlitt on Apple Vision Pro.
I’ve noticed that Sunlitt is available in a multitude of languages. Could you share how you go about localizing for these different markets, and any useful tips or tools you use in this process?
Localizing the app for several markets has been key to Sunlitt's growth. Since our very first days, we've been helped by many native-speaker friends worldwide, and even today we rely on them for proofreading.
Today, we welcome external contributions via Crowdin, which is invaluable in keeping our localizations up to date and simplifying the contribution process for anyone who wants to lend a hand.
In your everyday life, are there any products that significantly contribute to your happiness?
Any type of product is acceptable, such as clothing, accessories, digital devices, appliances, and so forth. You can mention as many products as you like, as long as they genuinely uplift your sense of joy.
Every morning, as we gear up for the day on Sunlitt, we gather for a special tradition: making coffee. With the original Moka pot, steeped in Neapolitan tradition, we engage in this ritual with fondness, using our hands to brew the perfect cup. It's a moment that sets the tone for the day ahead, filling us with warmth and excitement.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you envision for the future.
We are a small indie team sharing a common mission: build innovative solutions that simplify and enhance people’s lives.
We first met at the Apple Developer Academy in Naples, Italy, in 2022, where we shaped our vision for Sunlitt.
Sunlitt is actively developed by Nicolas Marniello (Lead Developer), Raffaele Fulgente (Designer), Fabio Pizzano (Designer) with the strong involvement and contributions of Clelia (Public Relations), Leonardo Bertinelli (Developer), Davide Biancardi (Developer).
From the first release of Sunlitt on the App Store, we are honored to have attended the App Store Foundations Program (March 2023) and the Apple Entrepreneur Camp (Cohort 20 – November 2023). Moreover, in May 2023, we hosted a Sunlitt demo at Today At Apple in Rome, as part of the Apps for the Future session. You can find our profiles and more about Sunlitt here.
We foresee an exciting journey ahead of us, to the sun and beyond. 💫
About Apptisan
Apptisan is a portmanteau of “application” and “artisan”, signifying “a weekly exploration into the world of apps and the passionate artisans who create them.” Each issue is a conversation with global creators, aiming to uncover and present intriguing products to a wider audience.
For those who prefer Chinese, you can subscribe via Quail. Creators interested in featuring their products are encouraged to submit them through our form, and we’ll be in touch promptly.
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