Dev.to
5/9/2026

How I Built a Multi-Sport AI Coach on iOS as a Solo Developer — Architecture Decisions That Actually Mattered
Short summary
SportsReflector, an iOS app built solo, analyzes athletic form across 22 sports using on-device pose estimation, returning biomechanical scores and coaching feedback. Five architecture decisions proved critical: on-device vs cloud inference, sport-specific analysis modules, synchronous vs asynchronous processing, modular feature architecture, and launch-time optimization (sub-500ms cold start). The case study distills patterns applicable to any AI-powered mobile product.
- •Solo iOS developer built SportsReflector analyzing athletic form via on-device pose estimation across 22 sports
- •Five architecture decisions proved critical: on-device inference, sport-specific modules, modular features, launch optimization (500ms cold start)
- •Design patterns are transferable to any AI-powered mobile product requiring real-time inference and extensibility
Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.
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