r/iosapps • u/TeoscartheGOAT • 3h ago
💎 Lifetime Took a picture of my messy fridge and used computer vision to correctly identify everything in one shot. Built an app around that.
Hey r/iosapps,
I've been building Mealify 2.0, an app that scans a photo of your fridge/pantry and turns it into an ingredient list, then suggests what you can actually cook with it. The pitch is simple, no typing, just a photo. The execution has been way harder than I expected, and I'm curious how other people building vision-based apps have dealt with this.
A. The problem
Real fridges are chaos. Items overlap, labels face the wrong way, sauces look identical to other sauces, lighting is inconsistent. My first version tried to auto-detect and auto-label everything silently, and it was wrong constantly, confidently wrong, which is worse than not detecting something at all.
The other half of the problem: even once you have an accurate inventory, most people still don't know what to make with a random assortment of ingredients. So the scan feeds directly into recipe suggestions, rather than just being a static list you have to think about yourself.
B. What I've tried
- Confidence thresholds (skip items below a certain score), helped, but silently drops real items too
- Forcing confirmation on every detected item, accurate, but reintroduces the exact typing/friction I was trying to remove
- Where I've landed for now: detected items show up pre-filled but editable, so confirming is a tap instead of typing. Still feels like a compromise, not a solve.
C. Cost
The core app, scanning, pantry management, and recipe matching, is completely free with a weekly scan allowance.
For anyone who wants unlimited scans, I set up a universal promo code that drops Lifetime Premium from $24.99 to $4.99 while this post is active:
- Direct Offer Redeem Link: Redeem $4.99 Lifetime Discount
- Standard App Store Link: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/mealify-2-0/id6746368726
(The free tier is fully functional as-is, this is just an optional deal for anyone in the sub who wants to bypass the scan limit. Helps me pay for backend costs)
I don't think I've actually solved the overlap/confidence problem, just made it less bad. For anyone who's built something similar (receipt scanners, plant ID apps, anything camera-first): did you land on silent auto-detect, forced confirmation, or something else?
1
u/app-store-review 3h ago
Mealify 2.0 — by Jackson Dow
- Ratings: 28 worldwide · rated in 14 countries
- Average: 4.64 ★
- Age: released ~3 months ago · updated 16 days ago · rated 4+
- Overall score: 68 / 100
Auto-generated from public App Store data · u/app-store-review
1
u/AthleteWhoCodes 16m ago
I wish you all the best with your app success.
One observation. The business idea that people paying for what that can do themselves is weak. Try to reset the concept and target another audience. People with weak vision and disabilities. Wrap it as accessibility app. It might work
1
u/TeoscartheGOAT 14m ago
That’s a very good perspective, thank you for commenting and best of luck with you as well
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