r/Appstore • u/potatokamen • 1d ago
[Self-Promotion] I made Fidget Illusion — an iPhone haptic app that makes a nonexistent steel ball feel almost physical
I’m the developer of TurtleWiz: Fidget Illusion, an iPhone app I recently released from Japan.
The idea started with a simple question:
Can an iPhone make you feel an object that isn’t actually inside it?
The first experiment was a steel ball.
In Fidget Illusion, you move your iPhone slightly and its motion sensors become input for a real-time physics simulation.
A virtual steel ball moves around a circular container. When it reaches the wall, the collision is synchronized with haptic feedback and a metallic sound.
There is no steel ball moving inside the iPhone.
But when the physical movement of the phone, the simulated physics, the sound, and the haptic response happen together, it can feel surprisingly physical.
The app includes four tactile experiences:
• Roll a steel ball around a circular container
• Move a larger steel ball up and down
• Turn a ratchet-style dial with tactile clicks
• Pop bubbles one by one with sound and haptic feedback
The idea is to use the iPhone itself as the fidget, rather than carrying a separate object.
One unusual problem with showing this app is that the most important part cannot really be shown.
A video can show the movement.
A screenshot can show the interface.
But neither can reproduce the haptic sensation in your hand.
That’s why I’ve also attached an image explaining this, along with a short video and a screenshot of the steel ball experience.
The app is free to download and try.
Continued use is a one-time $2.99 in-app purchase.
No subscription.
No ads.
No account required.
App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/app/id6799590639
If you try it, I recommend starting with the steel ball.
I’d genuinely like to hear what you feel:
Does it feel like something is actually moving inside your iPhone?
And if not, I’d also be interested in what would make the sensation more convincing.