Some Apps Deserve a Second Life: Quote Circles Reborn as Version 2
It's been six years. Six years since Quote Circles disappeared from the App Store, another casualty of iOS updates I didn't have time to fix. Tonight, as I submit version 2.0 to Apple, I'm not just relaunching an app—I'm completing unfinished business with the help of an unexpected ally: Agentic AI.
The Original Vision (2010-2018)
Back in 2010, Quote Circles started with a simple idea: what if quotes weren't just text, but art? It was beautiful, minimal, and honestly, ahead of its time.
But life happens. My career took off, demanding projects consumed weekdays and weekends, and when iOS 12 broke something critical in the app, I made the painful decision to let it sunset rather than ship a broken experience. Quote Circles quietly vanished from the App Store in 2018.
When I saw the old app this year, I brought it back to life in a different way!
Solving My Own Problem (Again)
This year, something changed. I started experimenting with Agentic AI for various projects, and suddenly, the impossible became possible. Tasks that would have taken me weeks could be done in days. Code that would have required hiring help could be generated, refined, and optimized with AI assistance.
The real catalyst? I found myself constantly screenshotting quotes from Twitter and Instagram, saving them in a mess of folders, losing them in my camera roll. I was solving the same problem Quote Circles originally addressed, but with worse tools. Meanwhile, I watched friends and colleagues doing the exact same thing—sharing quotes as Instagram stories, posting them as Twitter threads, creating quote graphics in Canva.
The behavior was everywhere: people want beautiful, shareable quotes in simple way that actually stick with them.
Building 2.0: The AI-Assisted Approach
This time was different. Instead of months of solo coding, I had a co-pilot to test the product faster. Here's how AI transformed the rebuilding of the product again:
Market Research in Hours, Not Weeks
I fed competitive apps data to Generative AI, analyzing features, reviews, and patterns across several quote apps. What emerged were clear gaps: everyone had quotes, but few had memorable experiences. Everyone had shared, a few made it beautiful. Everyone claimed "inspiration," but few delivered habit formation.
As Generative AI has limitations and some gaps, the market research was based on my experimentation. This means it will continue to improve by shipping new features, reviewing the results and feedback, and learning from them continuously.
Why Spend Months Migrating When AI Can Do It in Days?
The original Quote Circles was built in Objective-C. Migrating to a cross-platform framework like Ionic would have been months of work. With AI assistance, I can prototype how the app will look in the same day, and rebuild the entire app architecture in a few days with back-and-forth prompts, starting with a small scope and iterating after that, as Vibe Coding won't give the expected result the first time.
Feature Prioritization Through Behavioral Analysis
Instead of guessing what users wanted, I analyzed several of quote-related posts on social media. The patterns were clear:
- Morning routine posts with motivational quotes
- Story-format quotes with aesthetic backgrounds
- Quote reminders set as phone wallpapers
These weren't feature requests—they were features people were already used together using multiple apps.
The Strategic Decisions: Less But Better
Benchmarking existing apps revealed a troubling pattern: feature bloat. Apps with community features, AI coaches, meditation timers, journal prompts—everything except focus on the core experience.
Quote Circles 2.0 would be different. We'd do fewer things, but do them exceptionally:
1. The Quote theme
While tempted to add layouts and formats, I kept the design simple and straightforward. But now it's enhanced—a chosen background suits the quote, and the ability to change the background is just one tab away, making it easy to match moods or aesthetics. Each quote can be customized while maintaining our iconic look.
2. Habits Over Features
Instead of adding meditation timers or journal prompts, we focused on one thing: making quote reading a daily habit. Smart reminders let you schedule specific quotes for specific times. Your favorite quote at 6 AM based on your choice to be daily, weekly, or monthly. That resilience reminder before your weekly team meeting. Wisdom exactly when you need it!
3. Sharing as a First-Class Feature
People share quotes constantly, but usually with screenshot quality issues or awkward cropping. I built sharing into the core experience—every quote exports as perfect social media art, optimized for Instagram Stories, Twitter posts, or sharing with friends on social apps.
4. Progress Without Pressure
The Insights Dashboard tracks your journey without gamification gimmicks. See your consistency, understand what resonates, watch your growth—but no badges, no levels, no artificial rewards. The wisdom is the reward.
The Launch Strategy: Building for Myself First
Without existing users to survey, I became my own primary user. Every morning for three months, I used Quote Circles as intended. The friction points became obvious:
- Forgetting to open the app → Smart Reminders
- Screenshots looking bad on Instagram → Native sharing optimization
- Losing track of favorites → Better organization with visual previews
- Not knowing if the habit was sticking → Insights Dashboard
If it didn't improve my own experience, it didn't ship.
This approach led to some unexpected discoveries. The background-switching feature? That came from my own frustration with quotes that didn't match my mood. The individual quote scheduling? Came from wanting specific quotes before an important event. Building for myself first ensured every feature had a real purpose, not a hypothetical one.
What's New in Quote Circles 2.0
The new version brings features that transform quotes from passive reading to active practice:
Dynamic Backgrounds
Every quote now lives and breathes. Tap to choose carefully curated backgrounds that suit your mood at the time of day.
Smart Reminders
Your favorite quotes become daily companions. Schedule that morning motivation, lunch-break wisdom, or evening reflection. Each quote can have its own timing, turning inspiration into routine.
Seamless Sharing
Export quotes as stunning visual art optimized for any platform. Instant clipboard copy, or share to social media—all maintaining the quality and composition.
Insights Dashboard
Understand your inspiration journey through beautiful metrics. Track your reading streaks and watch your collection grow—all without the pressure of gamification.
Premium Experience
For those wanting more: exclusive quote categories, unlimited daily quotes, access to new backgrounds, ability to have the smart reminder for each favorited quote.
Lessons from the Graveyard
Bringing back a "dead" app taught me invaluable lessons:
Maintenance is a Commitment
Letting Quote Circles die wasn't about the code—it was about not respecting the commitment required to maintain an app. This time, I've integrated sustainability into both my business model and workflow.
Simplicity is a Superpower
The temptation to add features after six years was immense. Resisting that, keeping the core experience pure—that's what makes Quote Circles special. Every feature serves the core mission: making wisdom beautiful, memorable, and actionable.
Personal Projects Need Personal Motivation
I'm not building Quote Circles for a hypothetical user. I'm building it for myself, my friends, people like us who want wisdom to be beautiful and accessible. When you solve your own problem authentically, you solve it for others too.
A Message to Fellow Indie Hackers
If you have a dead project haunting you, consider this: The tools available today make complexity and challenge things possible in ways that weren't imaginable even three years ago. AI assistance, modern frameworks, simplified deployment—what once took months now takes weeks.
But more importantly, sometimes a project fails not because it was bad, but because the timing was wrong, or it did not align with the market, or it lacked a strong value proposition.
Don't just update the old code—reimagine what the app could be with today's tools, today's user behaviors, and today's possibilities, importantly, the user needs. Use AI as your co-pilot, but keep your vision as the north star.
Try Quote Circles Today
After six years, Quote Circles is back. It's not just updated—it's reimagined for how we live, share, and seek inspiration today.
Download Quote Circles on the App Store →
The app is free, with optional premium features available for a complete experience. No ads in the free version because inspiration shouldn't be interrupted.
Have a feature idea? Found a bug? Want to share how you're using Quote Circles? Let's get in touch!