Theine — An Interview with Martin Lexow
Martin Lexow explains how Theine became feature complete, why long-lasting design matters, and how he has supported it for more than ten years.
Theine is a focused Mac utility that keeps the system awake and prevents the display from dimming. It was the first app Martin Lexow published on the App Store. For My Mac Apps Story, I asked Martin how Theine began, how it became feature complete, and how he has supported it for more than ten years as a one-time purchase.
Interview by Ighor July for Reverse Everything.
Martin replied while working on a new version that will take Theine in a new direction.
Martin Lexow
I’m glad you’ve come across my app Theine!
Your timing is quite interesting: I’m currently working on a new version of Theine, and with it, the app is making a bit of a pivot.
Interview
Ighor July
What originally inspired you to create Theine, and what did you want it to do differently from other ways of keeping a Mac awake?
Martin Lexow
I originally wrote the app back in 2014/2015 while studying interface design. It was the very first app I ever published on the App Store. At the time, I was determined to get an app out into the world, and I deliberately looked for problems I could solve with my then rather limited programming knowledge.
To my knowledge, Theine was the first app of its kind on the App Store. Retina displays were becoming more popular around that time, and Theine’s role model “Caffeine” (available outside the App Store) hadn’t been updated in a long while, so its menu bar icon kept looking pixelated. As a trained designer, that probably bothered me a bit more than most people.
Ighor July
What have been the greatest technical challenges in keeping Theine reliable as macOS power management, App Sandbox, Apple Silicon, and Mac hardware have changed?
Martin Lexow
Functionally, the app quickly reached a point where users simply stopped asking for anything new, so for most of the years since, my main effort has been keeping the app in step with the latest technical and design requirements of macOS. There were a few breaking changes along the way in Swift itself (the programming language I use), but nothing so challenging that I ever questioned further development. By the way, I’ve never experienced an app becoming “feature complete” a second time with any of my other apps; that’s probably reserved for ultra-focused apps like this one.
Ighor July
How has user feedback influenced Theine?
Martin Lexow
In general, I rely heavily on user feedback, since none of my apps use analytics. I’m proud of that: building successful products not by spying on people’s behavior, but through honest conversations.
Ighor July
What motivates you to continue developing and supporting Theine after so many years?
Martin Lexow
If you study design in Germany, there’s no getting around Dieter Rams. One of his principles states: good design is long-lasting. I try to carry this attitude into my work, wherever it makes sense and is possible. My favorite example is the 606 Universal Shelving System that Rams designed for Vitsœ. It went into production over 60 years ago, and matching parts can still be purchased for it today. Knowing that an app I designed has been accompanying many people for over ten years is a fulfilling feeling: for both sides.
Ighor July
Theine remains a true one-time lifetime purchase, without a subscription or time-limited update period. What has made this model sustainable, and why is permanent ownership important to you?
Martin Lexow
As a creative who makes products, I generally prefer owning my tools. That’s why I offer one-time purchases in my own apps whenever I consider it economically sustainable, and in most cases, I manage to. Occasionally, though, I do believe a subscription is the better choice. Because in my understanding, that’s also part of “good design is long-lasting”: a product that needs to be maintained or consistently receives new features demands my time, and that alone creates costs. It’s in every user’s interest that I put in this effort, because it serves the quality of their product.
An app like Theine, for which a user may have paid 3 EUR eleven years ago, has received updates ever since, and has never required any further monetization, doesn’t sustain itself economically. I can only justify it through cross-financing from the rest of my app portfolio.
What I miss on the App Store is the ability to monetize new major versions of an app. An app like Theine, whose first version I wrote for OS X 10.11, still runs great on that operating system today. Nobody should have to pay a second time for that, obviously. But it is fair to make significant updates optional, and then paid. At the moment, this model can unfortunately only be implemented outside the App Store.
Martin also explained what is changing in Theine 4.
Martin Lexow
This year, I’m rethinking Theine: keeping a Mac awake is especially helpful for people who present their screen. For this audience (among others), there will be two new features: 1) Hide Desktop: hides desktop icons and widgets. 2) Focus Dim: visually highlights the currently active window and dims the background. In addition, the new version places great emphasis on accessibility and automation (Shortcuts, Focus Modes).
Theine 4 has been completely rewritten. All existing features remain in place for current users, at no cost. And for those existing customers who’d like to use the new features, I’m trying something new: an optional in-app purchase that unlocks the new stuff. The app itself remains pay-upfront, and new users will of course get all features right away.
Will it work? We’ll see!
This interview is part of the developer interview series connected to My Mac Apps Story, Part 5.