Developing the TalkIt Mobile App

After setting up the backend infrastructure in the previous post, it’s time to focus on the mobile application that users will interact with. I’ve chosen React Native for cross-platform development.

UI/UX Design Philosophy

For TalkIt, I wanted a minimalist interface that puts audio content front and center. The key design principles are:

1. Audio-first - Optimize for listening and recording
2. Minimal visual clutter - Clean interfaces with focused functionality
3. Intuitive navigation - Users should never feel lost
4. Accessibility - Usable by everyone, including those with disabilities

Core Screens

The app consists of these main screens:

1. Feed - Personalized stream of talks from followed users
2. Discover - Find new users and trending talks
3. Record - Create and publish new talks
4. Profile - User profile and published talks
5. Notifications - Activity related to the user

Recording Interface

The recording interface is the heart of the app. I’ve designed it to be simple yet powerful:

const RecordScreen = () => {
  const [recording, setRecording] = useState(false);
  const [audioFile, setAudioFile] = useState(null);
  const [duration, setDuration] = useState(0);
  
  const startRecording = async () => {
    try {
      await Audio.requestPermissionsAsync();
      await Audio.setAudioModeAsync({
        allowsRecordingIOS: true,
        playsInSilentModeIOS: true,
      });
      
      const { recording } = await Audio.Recording.createAsync(
        Audio.RECORDING_OPTIONS_PRESET_HIGH_QUALITY
      );
      
      setRecording(recording);
      
      // Start duration timer
      startTimer();
    } catch (err) {
      console.error('Failed to start recording', err);
    }
  };
  
  // ... more code ...
  
  return (
    <View style={styles.container}>
      <View style={styles.waveformContainer}>
        {recording && <AudioWaveform />}
        {audioFile && <AudioPreview uri={audioFile} />}
      </View>
      
      <View style={styles.controls}>
        <TouchableOpacity 
          style={[styles.recordButton, recording && styles.recordingActive]}
          onPress={recording ? stopRecording : startRecording}
        >
          <Icon name={recording ? "stop" : "mic"} size={32} color="#fff" />
        </TouchableOpacity>
      </View>
    </View>
  );
};

In the next post, I’ll cover user testing and the iterative improvements made based on feedback.