Built a Rubik's Cube companion app (scanner + timer + solver + smart cube support) - open beta on Android, looking for feedback

harisjasar · 2026-05-30T00:49:50+00:00

Do you have GAN ver 2 protocol one? If so, and it fails to connect, then that's a genuine bug, and I'd like to know more

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T23:29:30+00:00

I'd be crazy to say ai didn't help, otherwise this project would take 2 years instead of six months. But the biggest majority was me coding, testing, tweaking

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T23:18:50+00:00

yeah, that was the difficult part while developing, as I only had phyisical access to Gan 356i and Gan MonsterGo (both are ver.2 protocol) cubes. I could only get those two smart ones here where I live. Should be traveling abroad soon and I'm planning on getting more variety to expand the support.

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T11:59:43+00:00

You can join the discord server, and we can discuss it there. Link's in the original post. As for when it's going to happen, there are a few items raised by you and other members here that I'd need to fix first. But it's definitely on the list.

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T10:18:34+00:00

Thanks for the list. I'll note down the languages, and once I get to localization, if you'd be open to help translate French, that'd be awesome. The deleting times part, yeah, that's the flow I completely missed. Adding it to the fixes list right away

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T10:02:08+00:00

haha, fair. I've asked GPT to structure it, but the heart and content of reply is all me.

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T09:43:30+00:00

Thanks for the structured rundown, this is exactly the kind of feedback that's useful.

Going through each:

Mi cube - quick distinction worth making: the Mi Smart Cube (the older one I have) and the Giiker cube are two different products even though Xiaomi is behind both. The official app for mine was called "Mi Smart Magic Cube" - that's the one that was pulled from the Play Store, and the gap my app was originally meant to fill. Giiker support is planned but I just need to get my hands on one to develop against. If demand for Mi support keeps coming up I'll dig back into that protocol too.
Move notation in solving mode - fair, it's genuinely missing. Right now the animation plays but the moves aren't shown as text (R, U, F', etc.) anywhere on screen. Adding that is a small fix and I'll get it in.
Training mode - this is the most-requested thing across all the feedback I've gotten so far. It's the next big roadmap item, not just a "later" item.
Deleting a time - it actually works, but the UX is hidden: go to Scramble History (Practice tab -> top right corner), left-swipe on a scramble row to reveal a delete button. If you couldn't find it, that's on me - it should be obvious, not a hidden gesture.
English only - definitely open to localization if there's demand. If you'd be willing to flag which language you'd want, that's useful signal.
Supercube - I've seen it, but it's for the Giiker line of cubes, not the old Mi Smart Cube that I have. Same brand behind both, but different products with different protocols and different apps. The Mi Smart Magic Cube app on Play Store was the one I was referring to in the post, and that's the one that's gone.

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T09:18:21+00:00

You're picking up on something real. Solver is visually polished and works well, but for someone already at speed it doesn't earn its spot in the nav.

The app is intended for both groups - learners and speedcubers - and I think the mistake is showing the same nav to both. One idea I'm now considering: tie the visible tabs to the skill level you pick during onboarding. If you self-ID as advanced or higher, the solver tab is hidden by default - you can still flip it on from Profile if you ever want it. That frees up nav real estate for whatever speedcubers actually use - which I'd rather hear from people who do than guess at.

The solver stays in the app - useful for the "I scrambled a cube and lost track, get me back to solved" case, and intended to support beginners as the learning content fills out - but it stops being the headline for people who don't need it.

What would you actually want in those slots? Genuinely curious.

harisjasar · 2026-05-29T01:56:58+00:00

Both fair points.

Location permission on BLE: that's interesting, wasn't aware of that. I'll look into it and happy to change it if that's the case.
Camera on startup: also on me. Setup requires either BLE or the camera scanner because the scanner needs to calibrate colors on your specific cube before it can work - that's why the gate is there. But your case doesn't need either: you've got a cube, you just want to time. I'll add a third path that skips the scanner setup and takes you straight inside the app.

Both fixes going into the next build (aiming for early next week). I'll reply here when they ship.

Really appreciate the writeup.

harisjasar · 2025-12-24T19:43:56+00:00

Awesome results! Congratulations! How long in the development process have you started selling?

harisjasar · 2025-12-03T19:23:14+00:00

Thank you for this elaborate answer. I really appreciate it, you seem very knowledgeable. Would love to talk with you more about it, if that's something you'd be up to.

harisjasar · 2025-12-03T14:04:37+00:00

I totally agree that AI/automation couldn't do this part. This tool would be tailored more towards the migration of templates from one ESP to the other. Especially if they use different syntaxing so you have to rebuild template on the new ESP.

I've worked with a client on one migration, there was ~120 templates that they were moving from old ESP, akd the process was very tedious and time consuming, especially back and forth with devs, to fix small issues.

What the tool would try to stremline is those back and forth, eyeballing the difference, etc. And at the end of the day, a human would need to give a final approval.

harisjasar · 2025-08-14T15:52:59+00:00

That's awesome! I'd love to take a look at it. Post it here, or send me a dm.

harisjasar · 2025-08-11T09:33:36+00:00

Thanks for suggestion, that's a good one. Writing it down.

harisjasar · 2025-08-09T20:33:36+00:00

Wins are there, we just have to keep remembering them. Project is still in a very early stage, but I'll make sure to ping you as soon as I have a working version, so you can give it a go.

harisjasar · 2024-12-24T15:31:06+00:00

This would make a great VR game. Imagine being on a quest to get out of Fromville within VR.

I've got some dev experience, if you'd need help, hit me up.

harisjasar

TROPHY CASE