An indie paid Android app reaches 10,000 JPY in sales after about four months: DumbPhone's results and challenges

An app I began making to learn is now being used in many parts of the world.

DumbPhone is an Android launcher app I develop at SANGE Studio. In this post, I look back at sales and usage about four months after release, and consider what comes next for development.

Total sales are approximately 11,530 JPY, including tax. It is not a large amount, but I am happy that people are buying and using an app I made.

Using your smartphone with purpose

DumbPhone is a launcher app designed to help you use your smartphone when you need it, for what you need to do.

You open your smartphone to do something, only to find yourself using another app. DumbPhone provides a simple interface to help change that habit a little.

The starting point was learning. Seeing something I began making for that purpose become part of someone's daily life is a joy that keeps me developing.

Sales over about four months since release

In the production release history I could check in Google Play Console, the earliest release date was June 29, 2026, for version 1.0.2. About four months have passed since that date.

Monthly sales and new device acquisitions are shown below.

Note: Checked on October 29, 2026. Revenue data runs through October 27. New device acquisitions cover July–October as retrieved from the screen; I have not confirmed whether their reporting cutoff matches that of revenue.

Note: June's new device acquisitions include data from before release, so they are excluded from the table above. The 95 devices are not an exact cumulative acquisition count since release. Total sales of 11,530 JPY also match the screen's “All time” figure.

Sales are not profit after deducting Google's fees, development costs, and other expenses. New device acquisitions are also different from purchases, so dividing sales by acquisitions does not give a price per purchase.

A sharp rise in sales in October

Sales in August and September were around 2,400–2,500 JPY. October's partial-month total has reached 5,580 JPY, about 2.31 times September's figure.

October alone accounts for about 48.4% of total sales. This was the biggest change in this review.

New device acquisitions have also increased, from 24 in September to 38 in October, or about 1.58 times as many.

However, I do not yet know why sales increased. I need to examine the mix of countries where purchases were made, differences in pricing, and traffic to the store listing.

It is interesting that sales grew faster than acquisitions, but these figures alone cannot establish why. I will keep watching the trend, including whether sales continue at a similar pace.

Users in many parts of the world

As of October 26, there were 52 users with the app installed. Here are some of the country figures I was able to confirm.

Note: Only some of the countries I could confirm are shown, out of 52 users in total.

An app made in Japan is being used in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Poland, and elsewhere. The numbers made it tangible that the app is reaching people across borders.

“Users with the app installed” does not mean cumulative purchasers or daily users. The country percentages also describe the composition of users with the app installed at that point in time.

The dashboard also showed 55 “active devices over one month.” However, this cannot be directly compared with the user count because the units and reporting conditions differ. Nor can a retention rate be calculated from 52 users with the app installed and 95 new device acquisitions.

Improving the experience alongside sales

While sales have grown, the rating displayed on Google Play at the time of checking was 3.0. I take this as a sign that the user experience still needs improvement.

I want to value both the decision to purchase the app and satisfaction after using it.

I have not checked the all-time number or breakdown of ratings for this review, so the rating alone cannot tell me the cause. I will work on improvements by examining the reviews received and how the app behaves on different devices.

I would also like to investigate the following:

• Which countries purchases come from, and how sales differ between them
• How people find the store listing
• Which problems are repeatedly mentioned in reviews
• Whether behavior differs by device or Android version

I will keep developing the app with attention to the experience of the people who use it, as well as the numbers.

Keeping the original concept in mind

I originally started developing DumbPhone to learn. An app I began making to build my own skills is now being used across borders, in many parts of the world.

I am happy and grateful that people use the app. Thank you to everyone who has purchased it, continues to use it, or shared feedback in a review.

I will continue to value the original idea: use your smartphone when you need it, for what you need to do. I will keep pursuing a simple, refined UI that leaves out unnecessary features and makes the necessary ones easy to use without hesitation.

I hope you will continue to enjoy using DumbPhone.