In recent years, Apple’s dominance in the consumer market has seamlessly extended into the app developer space, proving to be a catalyst for success, especially among India-based creators. The App Store supports them through various initiatives and features, providing them with a global platform to distribute their apps, reach a wide audience and earn income. Indian developers have been successful across a diverse range of app categories such as games, health and fitness, lifestyle and utilities. Sudhir Chowdhary explores some of the budding entrepreneurs in the arena
Tool to enjoy sunny outdoors
Lumy
Sun & moon tracking app
Founder: Raja Vijayaraman
Raja, based in Chennai, is a self-taught iOS developer and designer. Recognised as a 2024 App Store award winner, he has relied on the App Store to put Lumy, a sun & moon tracking app, into the hands of more users across the world. It is a handy tool for anyone who wants to track sunlight and plan their outdoor activities. “I am a mechanical engineer by degree, but everything changed 11 years ago when I got my first iPhone. Like many others, I instantly fell in love with its simplicity. The apps I discovered on the App Store were beautifully crafted,” he said.
Curious to learn how they were made, Raja came across stories of indie developers around the world building apps through the Apple Developer Program. “I found that anyone could join the initiative for a $99 fee and start distributing apps to over 100 countries. It felt simple and accessible, so I taught myself how to code and design apps. The App Store made it possible for an indie creator like me to turn passion into a sustainable career,” he said. With support from Apple, Vijayaraman has been able to build out new features in Lumy, such as State of Mind, which offers users personalised sunlight suggestions like stepping outside for a break or enjoying a peaceful sunset.
Access to a wider audience
FluidTouch
Note-taking app
Founder: Rama Krishna
A self-taught developer and entrepreneur, Fluid Touch’s founder Rama Krishna has relied on the App Store to expand the reach of their apps. Available in over 150 countries and 10 languages, the company’s popular note-taking app, Noteshelf app, utilises Apple technologies like Interactive Widgets and Apple Intelligence to provide users with well-crafted notes and a customised experience.
“Noteshelf is the preferred note-taking app for millions of users worldwide, and we’re incredibly proud of the business we’ve been able to build on the App Store over the last decade,” said Krishna. “Developing the app (in 2010) was both fun and challenging at the same time. These were the days before the Apple Pencil, so I spent a lot of time perfecting the math required to make the handwriting experience to be as smooth and natural as writing with real pen and paper,” he added.
“Being an Apple fanboy, I’ve built a team of developers who share a deep passion for Apple technologies. We embrace nearly every new API and innovation Apple introduces, often being among the first to implement them in Noteshelf,” he revealed.
As of 2025, Noteshelf is powered by a dedicated team of 35 members based in Hyderabad, working relentlessly to provide the best possible digital note-taking experience.
Walking for good health
GO Club
Steps & calorie tracker
Co-founders: Ranjith Ramanan & Kamal Kumar Lakshmanan
Step Counter is an easy to use steps and calorie tracker. The simple and clean dashboard helps in maintaining the focus on the right things such as steps, calories burned and floors climbed. “The simplest form of workout anyone can do is walking; finding the right time to walk is equally important. We considered these parameters and built GO Club for the casual users,” said Kamal Kumar Lakshmanan, co-founder and CTO.
The app has AI integrated which generates weekly walk plans and shows users the best time to walk based on their location. The recent addition to GO is the hydration tracker. “With Apple Developer Centre in Bengaluru, we have devised an optimal strategy to safeguard user data privacy and security,” he added.
AI’s connection with eyecare
Remidio
Ophthalmic app
Founder: Anand Sivaraman
Retinal diseases are a major cause of preventable blindness in India. Anand Sivaraman founded Remidio, an AI-powered medical devices company that provides accessible ophthalmic care. Remidio’s solution is highly cost-effective. Available exclusively on iOS, it uses a smartphone camera to identify and resolve retinal issues. Multiple AI algorithms in its devices, powered by Apple’s Core ML, enable frontline health workers to diagnose conditions like diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma in under 10 seconds. This innovation makes retinal healthcare portable, affordable, and efficient, Sivaraman said. Remidio has garnered a reach of 15 million+ patients screened across 40+ countries with nearly 4,000 devices deployed in hospitals, clinics and community programmes, in India, as well as the US. Sivaraman believes that in order to create disruptive healthcare access product innovations need to be combined with both delivery and business model innovations.
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TASTING SUCCESS
$5.31 bn Billings and sales from India-based developers on App Store in 2024
755 mn App downloads worldwide
22 mn Weekly visitors on the India App Store in 2024
80% Developer earnings came from international markets
5X growth in developer earnings from users in India since 2019
Source: Apple
