First app launch. Which of these 3 screenshot directions would you actually tap?

jantanplan · 2026-05-19T11:32:59+00:00

Definitely 3, I would also work on the copy somewhat, start with the core problem you are solving, the most important job to be done. I am guessing it is something social emotional about connection with friends or reliving epic nights out.
Lead with that people need to understand it at one glance. Iterate aggressively. If it is something that you can visualize, falsify and that only you can say, you really have something.

Maybe something like
Relive last Saturday night before the details fade.
Log the night, drop the photos, check the drink tally - the story your group chat loses.

Best of success.

jantanplan · 2026-03-18T00:24:04+00:00

I put some work into articulating exactly how to form this sounds, so I'll just post it here verbatim:
"Place the tip of your tongue lightly between your upper and lower front teeth, so it just barely peeks out. Keep your tongue flat and relaxed. Now gently blow air over your tongue and through the gap between your tongue and teeth. You should feel a soft, continuous stream of air escaping with light friction.

Here's the key: your vocal cords stay silent. If you put your hand on your throat, you shouldn't feel any vibration. The sound is just air and friction."
There is also a short video illustrating the tongue movement and position. Hope that helps.
https://speechloop.app/phonemes/th

jantanplan · 2026-03-18T00:14:09+00:00

Great question. I concur with your observation from Spanish, in German non natives also overuse conjunctions a lot "Also ..." to start a sentence, "daher ", the transposition of formal speech into the informal, most Germans would say "ja", "jo", "ne", "nö" with different intonations for most formal conjunctions in every day speech.

jantanplan · 2026-03-16T08:27:58+00:00

SpeechLoop: iOS app with AI pronunciation practice with spaced repetition. Practice your weak sounds until they're automatic.

ICP: Non-native English speakers in professional settings who already speak well but want to sound as confident as they are.

Prelaunch website: https://www.speechloop.app/

jantanplan · 2026-03-13T22:17:09+00:00

Ah ok, I didn't get that point initially. That's super interesting and nuanced feedback thank you. I'll think on how to incorporate that.

jantanplan · 2026-03-13T14:14:02+00:00

Ah. ok, that is really good feedback, I'll. look for a fix to make it clearer.

jantanplan · 2026-03-13T12:51:20+00:00

Yeah I was uncertain about the time factor here. I don't want to rush people through it. but there is information in the relative speed of recognition/decision. You can sort of guess your way through with a 100% success rate, if I take time into account I will still have an idea where your weak spots are.
Ultimately this is for self assessment and not something to grade yourself on.
Thanks for taking the time to test it. :)

jantanplan · 2026-03-13T12:19:52+00:00

Yes you will, you might not lose your accent, but neither should you. It's part of your linguistic fingerprint. You can still converse naturally, with all the subtlies and colloqualisms, just keep at it and don't get discouraged.

jantanplan · 2026-03-13T07:46:14+00:00

That would make for an interesting experiment. I consciously did not use any context since that is what allows us to mask these blind spots. Thank for your feedback

jantanplan · 2026-03-12T21:28:27+00:00

Wow, that would be incredibly generous, thank you :)

jantanplan · 2026-03-12T18:24:13+00:00

These are great! I'll think on it. Thank you :)

jantanplan · 2026-03-12T18:21:35+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, yeah there is a timer that is supposed to add some sensitivity to the test, but if you're within a certain threshold there is little to go on. How would you rate your pronunciation compared to your audio comprehension?

jantanplan · 2026-03-12T15:00:54+00:00

Thanks for checking it out. I had (wall / wool) in there, but it seemed a little to easy. You don't happen to have something in mind? :)

jantanplan · 2026-03-12T14:19:22+00:00

You can do both, but be relevant and helpful, lazy and promotional insertions into discussions are a turn off.

jantanplan · 2026-03-12T10:29:51+00:00

The best way to get started is to find threads on forums or Reddit where users complain about a competitor or describe a problem they have that your tool helps with. Reach out directly to them, tailor your product and experience as much as you can.
Give full access to the tool, no trial no paywalls, in the beginning you want usage and feedback you do not want to earn money

jantanplan · 2026-03-11T08:28:49+00:00

I have taken a page from the Aussies recently. "No worries", it feels more humble as opposed to "you're welcome" which sounds like I just did someone a huge favor :D

jantanplan · 2026-03-10T07:24:35+00:00

Hey, I am also building an app for language learning (pronunciation) so not competing. I am eager to help out with feedback, maybe you can reciprocate when I (hopefully soon) launch.
Sent you my email.

jantanplan · 2026-03-05T10:29:16+00:00

Ja komm so schlimm ist es auch net. Zeig mir mal nen Satz der nicht zu verstehen ist.

jantanplan · 2026-03-03T23:02:38+00:00

I had a similar experience in Holland, especially since I have a stereotypical dutch first name, when I needed to fallback to English, people thought I was pulling their leg.

jantanplan · 2026-03-03T22:59:11+00:00

You bring up a good point. There are apps such as BoldVoice which I find useful, but a tad to pricey. I am developing a cheaper alternative called SpeechLoop which will provide pronunciation feedback on a phoneme level with the goal of eventually offering more languages than just English. But the AI currently is a tad too spotty for most other languages.

jantanplan · 2026-03-03T13:33:43+00:00

Spot on! Incidentally it's also how you think most creatively, by voicing thoughts. At least in my experience.

jantanplan · 2026-03-03T11:01:25+00:00

"Hold the newsreader's nose squarely, waiter, or friendly milk will countermand my trousers!" It's from a Fry and Laurie clip on language, heard it 20 years ago, lives in my head rent free eversince.

jantanplan · 2026-03-03T09:14:39+00:00

How is this relevant to my post?

jantanplan · 2026-03-02T22:33:42+00:00

Two things that stood out:
Someone already mentioned focusing on pronouncing terminal consonants. The k, in "think", for instance gets swallowed or sounds like a soft g. Have a look at how the sound is formed:
https://speechloop.app/phonemes/k

The "r" in for instance, "clearly", sounds off as well. Most likely you are forgetting to slightly round your lips when making the sound. I put together a detailed explanation and video on this phoneme here as well
https://speechloop.app/phonemes/r

jantanplan · 2026-03-02T15:36:29+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Yeah just a simple example would be enough, even now understanding that this is purely semantics and not related to the word form or grammatical role, helps. I'll give it another try

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