The idea of founding AppMajlis (The Indie App Lounge) was born from my personal journey as an iOS developer since the beginning of 2012. As I write this inaugural post on May 3, 2026, I reflect on the significant challenges that app developers—particularly independent ones—face in the marketing and promotion phase after successfully launching on the Apple App Store.
Having witnessed the evolution of the App Store over many years, I’ve seen it grow through various stages. In the beginning, the number of apps was incomparable to what we see today. Currently, the iOS ecosystem has reached a staggering milestone of over 2,271,918 applications in the App Store alone.
The Discoverability Challenge
Navigating this massive ocean is nearly impossible without a robust marketing strategy and a significant advertising budget. No matter how technically superior an app is, it risks being lost in the crowd. Today, every developer is competing with approximately 959,345 active publishers, according to statistics from 42matters.
Consequently, discovering new, high-quality apps has become a shared struggle for both users and developers:
- The Popularity Trap: Apps that dominate search results or “Top Charts” are not necessarily the best in quality; they are often simply the most famous or the most aggressively marketed.
- The Discoverability Gap: Truly innovative tools often remain invisible to the users who need them most.
Our Mission at AppMajlis
In this “Digital Majlis,” we aim to bridge this gap. Our goal is to shine a spotlight on exceptional applications created by independent developers and small teams. We believe there are “hidden gems” out there that users have yet to find.
While everyone knows the famous apps, AppMajlis is dedicated to finding the hidden treasures—the innovative, well-crafted tools that deserve a chance to be seen.
Hussain Barakat
Director of AppMajlis