Apptisan #014 — Miraa
Want to learn languages through videos you love? Try Miraa!Audio and video bilingual subtitle transcription, real-time translation, and AI assistance to navigate the challenging sections.
Name: Miraa
Developer / Team: Myoland
Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, Android
Read this newsletter issue in Chinese (中文) .
Please describe your product.
Miraa is an AI-driven bilingual language learning tool. It lets you transform your favorite multimedia - be it audio, video, or podcasts - into bilingual subtitles, offering a comprehensive “listen, watch, and learn” experience. Leveraging AI generated explanations and the “Echo Method”, you can significantly boost your comprehension, pronunciation, and auditory skills. As of now, Miraa offers robust support for languages including English, Japanese, German, French, and Italian.
Was there a pivotal moment that inspired your product’s creation?
After moving to Japan in 2023, I found myself participating in meetings conducted entirely in Japanese, and also started using Japanese in my daily interactions. The desire and determination to communicate seamlessly with the Japanese speakers transformed my learning targets, kindling a passionate drive within me to enhance my listening and speaking skills in the said language. I began to record our meetings, transcribing these recordings manually into subtitles for repeated review and practice. After realizing the effective contribution this method made to my learning curve, I decided to turn this idea into a mobile application, seeing it as something I significantly needed.
What makes your product unique compared to others in the market?
The standout quality of this product is the visual mapping it achieves with bilingual subtitles at a word level. This feature, I believe, has sparked an innovative change and allows users to focus more intensely on the content with the guidance of the cursor. Another compelling characteristic of our product is the “echo method”. This method, built upon the four steps of - listening, recalling, speaking, comparing - aims to assist users in systematically augmenting their listening and speaking proficiency. As we move forward, we plan to continuously fine-tune this aspect and our ultimate goal is to make it incredibly user-friendly.
How have you marketed your product, and what key lessons have you learned?
As a product primarily designed for the international market, I initially contemplated launching ads. However, considering the hefty cost associated with advertising, I realized it was beyond my budget. Subsequently, I decided to focus on enhancing the product’s video presentation and initiated its promotion on ProductHunt. This strategy yielded substantial traction on X. Looking ahead, our marketing approach is likely to emphasize word-of-mouth publicity and experiment with strategies that trigger viral trends.
What has been some memorable feedback since your product’s release?
One piece of feedback that particularly struck me was from a high schooler participating in the beta test. They flagged the accuracy of lyric recognition just before the product launch. Their remark brought me back to reality and made me realize my oversight, as my personal usage primarily involved listening to podcasts. However, this user intended to use the app for watching unsubtitled videos and jested, “Who uses it for listening to podcasts, for heavens sake?” This criticism profoundly made me realize that my fine-tuning process was excessively tailored to my personal usage. Further research revealed deep-seated technical causes lying behind the inaccuracies in lyric recognition and short sentence issues. Although addressing this issue led to a delay of a month in our schedule, we were eventually able to improve the song recognition capabilities significantly. Moreover, the product now provides considerable accuracy and sentence coherence in multiple languages, including English, Japanese, German, French, and Italian.
Are there any products out there that you feel deserve more recognition?
Recently, I find the Poe App particularly impressive. This app facilitates the use of various advanced algorithms to address individual needs effectively. For instance, each time a new algorithm is introduced, I utilize Poe to run some preliminary tests and gauge its performance. Moreover, it functions well across various network conditions.
Are there any independent developers you admire? What outstanding qualities have you observed in them?
There are numerous exceptional developers, and I would like to start by mentioning those I frequently collaborate with:
Baye - A developer who places a significant emphasis on privacy. His dedication to ensuring user privacy is remarkable, and it is evident in his products; users can be assured that their information will never be tracked or leaked.
RocZhang - The creator of Mr.Weather and Lok Board. He is an independent developer who possesses both excellent taste and technical prowess. I’ve known him for many years and have been pleased to watch his products continually advance and thrive.
Tolecen - Tolecen’s Bai Miao series perfectly illustrates the philosophy that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what you envision for the future.
Currently, I am an independent developer working from both Japan and Qingdao, engrossed in exploring the limits of language learning products. In 2018, I conceived my first Japanese language learning app, Kana Origin. Come 2020, I introduced a Japanese grammar analysis app Oyomi that was grounded in machine learning. In March 2024, I ventured further into the domain of AI by launching Miraa, a bilingual language learning product that applies artificial intelligence. On the whole, I consider it as a continuous exploration in the realm of AI technology and plan to persist in this direction. As part of the strategy, I plan to enhance my previous inventions while maintaining a strong drive for novelty.
As an independent developer with several successful product launches, what insights or advice do you believe could be beneficial to other developers in your field?
Fail fast and fail early.
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.
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