Sign in

Juan Arzola

@ancientbuho.bsky.social
685 followers 591 following 418 posts

Apple platforms dev, BG3 modding, my dog, photography etc. Working on @benkyobox.bsky.social, a simple but powerful memorization app: benkyobox.app Other: linktr.ee/juanarzola

PostsRepliesMedia
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
went back to the gauge score control on #iphoneduo, I think it's more fun
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
SF Swift meetup today, see you there if you are going #iOSDev
luma.com
AI Agent Teams and macOS Sandboxing — SF Swift × CocoaHeads · Luma
Please join us for this month's session together learning about Swift with talks by local members of the Swift community. We are so excited to see you all…
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
If you are using SplitView - tweaking navigationSplitColumnWidth with +1/-1 width can drastically change how it behaves on #iPhoneDuo. I ended up customizing based on container size for ideal behavior in partially open, open, portrait-open modes.
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
thanks! I was going to skip doing this for now, but I thought that taking a good educated guess or two before having an actual device could be fun.
012
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Now the study view's bottom half is for study controls, and top half for study content in iPhone Duo's mini-laptop/seated mode (just assumed that "partially folded mode" splits the screen in half and added 1/2 height as bottom padding). Now to wait for a real device to see how it feels 🤞🏻
120
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I've surprisingly spent more time redesigning large UI to fit in small areas than small UI to utilize big areas in #iphoneduo (shorter heights, narrower lists, narrower toolbars, etc).
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I think I can do a little bit more optimization for seated mode (more prominent bottom controls) and partially open mode, but I'd rather play with a real device first before changing too much.
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I decided to change Benkyo Box's classic flashcard score control to a swipe-able button strip to make it easier to fit in iPhone Duo's reduced vertical space while folded. I left it in bar mode for all fold states to preserve visual continuity. #iphoneduo
110
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Reworked Benkyo Box's flashcard previews to a custom layout so that they re-layout on #iphoneduo super narrow split view content view. Similar layout they had on accessibility large size, but it animates now.
021
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Seems like my brain typealiased onHingeChange to unhingedChange
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Renaming a type in programming: "bikeshedding" / "just pick a name and go with it" Renaming a type during FoundationModels prompt engineering: You fundamentally changed how everything works and it's fixed now.
100
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I was struggling to get Foundation Models to refer to "variables" in prompts from Guide descriptions - seems like adding the variable itself to Generable struct that contains the description that refers to them does the trick.
FoundationModels code. It has a @Generable Cookie struct with a variable whose Guide refers to a variable in the prompt, userText:. It can actually refer to it because there’s another variable in the struct called userText, which the model fills out with the user’s input.
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
iPhone 18 pro should come with a lens polishing cloth so all those f4 pictures don't show off your lens dirt
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
My super analytical, data-driven criteria for deciding when paywalled features become free: "I ran out of feature block background colors"
A subscriptions view of Benkyo Box, listing all the 7 features that Advanced Learner unlocks, all of them sporting a different background gradient..
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Duo pro, with all the camera features of 18 pro 🤞🏻
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Variable aperture ❤️ - now time to get a new iPhone and update Vloggie to use it / control it
autorelease.io
Vloggie
Vloggie helps you record better vlogs iPhone’s rear cameras: grip the screen freely while recording, start hands-free with face detection, and stay in frame with haptic guidance.
021
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
a quick demo of Benkyo Box features coming up in the iOS 27 update
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Titan would like to report an important matter: there's a burger stuck on the fridge
A burger fridge magnet attached to a fridge, on the left side. To its right, a Pomeranian dog stares, confused by this anomaly.
030
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
justin time
030
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
set theory is hallucinating, quick, add axioms to the prompt until it stops - Zermelo and Fraenkel at some point
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
now make it multi-select
070
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
it should be in the Xcode 27 beta builds soon (testflight.apple.com/join/jZXFDA46)
021
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Trying iOS 27 multi-modal support in Foundation Models in Benkyo Box, to help suggest answers in image annotations depending on what you point to (there's some delays, probably due to lack of pre-warming / other reasons, but feels useful so far).
111
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Hmm, I wonder what's a standard order for File -> Import, Export and Share actions on Mac. *checks various apps* 😱
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
sometimes declarative APIs are // the system and environment defines what turbulence means. It can and will change in the future. If you see something weird, don't worry about it. MyButton() .turbulence(.severe)
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Tomorrow I'll be presenting at SF Swift (at the Lyft office) about my experiences / patterns working with SwiftUI on Mac www.meetup.com/swift-langua... see you there if you are in the area
meetup.com
Swift Language User Group (SLUG) x Cocoaheads | August | San Francisco Bay Area, Thu, Aug 13, 2026, 6:00 PM | Meetup
Please join us for this month's session together learning about Swift with talks by local members of the Swift community. We are so excited to see you all again! 📍This ev
171
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Vloggie's out in the AppStore. It makes it easier to take video selfies with the rear camera 🤳🏻 apps.apple.com/us/app/vlogg...
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
I think the challenge rating of recaptchas has been increasing... "so you think that class A RV is a bus? or that blurry fire truck in the distance is a bus? not allowed!
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
A simple app i've been working on to make video selfies better. I hope that you find it useful! Apple Log is enabled in Test Flight builds, and I would appreciate feedback on how it's working, since it'll be some time before I get a test device that supports it. #apps #iphone
autorelease.io
Vloggie
Vloggie helps you record better vlogs with the rear iPhone camera: grip the screen freely while recording, start hands-free with face detection, and stay in frame with haptic guidance.
012
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
I wish that #Xcode Cloud had a setting to build using the version of xcode that triggered the build. So that I don't forget to update the pinned Xcode version, and boom problems that didn't happen locally happen in the shipped builds.
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Trying to vibe code an mlx model for targeted noise cancellation, being humbled with concepts I couldn't understand, spending hours of gathering wasted training data, was my venture into "yeah sometimes understanding programming/stuff still matters"
030
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Really nice, this came at a really fortunate time - I was looking at replacing odd-looking popovers with menus in my annotation editor, now there's visual parity with Mac. Thanks!
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
heh, I wish I had gone to one 😄, I meant more like this thrill that is caught 1-2 times per Telemundo game
120
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
scariest thing of going to a World Cup game is being caught by the slow-mo lips camera
150
Reposted by Juan Arzola
Tom Rolfe @rolfebox.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
It's here! The first in my Indie Apps Showcase series features a handful of faves from the comment section of my callout post last week. Thanks to everyone who submitted an app – those I missed this time might turn up in the next one.
tapsmart.com
Indie Apps Showcase: 6 hidden App Store gems for July 2026
Apple gets more than 1,000 app submissions every hour, meaning it’s tougher than ever to find something that’s worth your time.
397
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Thank you for your kind words on Benkyo Box, and I am happy that the app's philosophy resonated with you. There's many ways to make it enjoyable to use to get you learning without resorting to manipulation.
010
Reposted by Juan Arzola
Benkyo Box @benkyobox.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
🚀 1.12.0 is out - Now your flashcards can contain LaTeX equations (Advanced Learner). And many other things since we last posted here: 1. Annotate screenshots on Mac to study them 2. Hide or annotate irregular areas of images 3. Study maps and mind palace pics with emoji pins and arrows #studytips
A screenshot of Benkyo Box with an equation editor, with buttons to add LaTeX snippets.Arrows and irregularly shaped annotationsAn emoji annotation on a fantasy map.The emoji is a castle, pointing to a town, named “Wei Lin”
012
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This NSContentProtocol to load images from anywhere is such great architecture. Basically a server that renders anything you want by URL… …except when you want accessibility labels for images. Because there's no way to make them survive jpeg/png serialization🤦🏻‍♂️
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
I read this today so it confused me in a new way
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
snapshot tests are so nice oh whoops i don't remember what device I originally used to generate these snapshots 😅 btw @pointfree.co 's snapshot test library is awesome
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Thank you!
000
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
expanding on "opening the app is not the goal" - you can even print the cards as a mini booklet. So you can store cards in your pocket or traveler's notebook, and study without using your phone: www.autorelease.io/benkyobox/ma...
110
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
nice app! yeah best to leave kids out of those dopamine loops
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Thanks, I am not against it in all contexts (and I enjoy Duolingo), but I want Benkyo Box to help you learn without any artificial encouragement like medals, leaderboards, etc. Opening the app often is not the goal. Benkyo (勉強) means "Study" in Japanese. It is a play on Bento Box / Study Box
110
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Thanks for doing this! Benkyo Box - Capture and actually learn from photos, screenshots, web articles - anything you encounter and want to truly remember. www.autorelease.io/benkyobox/
autorelease.io
Benkyo Box - Simple continuous learning.
Benkyo Box is a spaced repetition flashcard app designed for continuous learning. Study efficiently with a simple interface, smart scheduling and image annotations on iPhone and iPad.
140
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Going through app stickers I got at wwdc and … no idea what half of them were because they don't have the app name anywhere
Photo of my journal with app stickers. There’s LookBack, community kit, a nondescript wind icon, verza, a circle icon, a book icon, photo catch, and omnigraffle
070
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
exif orientation tag: wouldn't it be great if images had incorrect data, and a tag tells you how to fix them
010
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Swift meetup tonight at Sentry: - - luma.com/pdrj5h10 7:00 – 9:00 PM Sentry HQ, 45 Fremont St, San Francisco tonight's topics are all about accessibility. See you there!
meetup.com
Swift Language User Group (SLUG) x Cocoaheads | June | San Francisco, Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 7:00 PM | Meetup
Please join us for this month's session together learning about Swift with talks by local members of the Swift community. We are so excited to see you all again! 📍This mo
020
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Just a regular day trying to make a custom SF Symbol
A macOS alert saying “The symbol could not be imported.” And “Errors: The provided variants are not interpolatable.”
021
Juan Arzola @ancientbuho.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Ah WWDC, the "demo my app" week and find all of the bugs for features that I mainly use in conferences
010