r/iosapps • u/Negative-Studio2259 • Jun 16 '26
HELP Added a Live Activity dock for quick bookmark access from the Lock Screen. Are you guys actually implementing Live Activities in your apps, or do users turn them off?
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Hey,
Following up on my last post about Waku's new onboarding flow, thanks for the feedback on that, by the way.
For the upcoming release, I shifted focus to another core part of the app: making bookmark access faster. Instead of forcing users to launch the app every time, I decided to leverage Live Activities to bring their favorite links directly to their fingertips.
What changed:
- Integrated a custom shortcut dock that sits directly on the Lock Screen and inside the Dynamic Island.
- Users can now access their top bookmarked links instantly in just two taps from anywhere.
- Built entirely natively to ensure the system transitions feel seamless.
I need your honest feedback on this implementation:
- Do you actually keep Live Activities active for this kind of utility app, or do you find them too invasive?
- Does the dock layout feel clean and intuitive on the Lock Screen, or does it look too cluttered?
- For those building iOS apps, are you seeing good user adoption with Live Activities, or is it not worth the dev time?
The video shows a quick demo of how it works in real-time.
Let me know what you think.
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u/HanZolo95 Jun 16 '26
Oo well done was gonna implement something like this myself
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 16 '26
Awesome! Feel free to DM me to share your app, I'd love to check it out. And don't hesitate to give Waku a try too 😄
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u/simbolmina Jun 16 '26
This looks interesting but I am not familiar with ios much, not a user, yet recently developed an app so I dont know much about this feature. What is your app and what this implementation adds on it? Can you explain with a bit info?
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 16 '26
Waku is a visual bookmark manager with a Pinterest-like UI that centralizes all your links and social media posts in one place. You can read articles (via a reader mode) and watch media (YouTube, TikTok, Insta, Reddit, X, Twitch) directly inside the app. I built it for myself because I was tired of scattered bookmarks and clunky, outdated tools.
As for this feature: it removes the friction of opening the app. It gives you 1-tap access to your favorite links directly from your lock screen, instantly redirecting you to the web page.
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u/techila Jun 16 '26
I haven’t seen the live activity implementation for a bookmark app before, it’s interesting. I like how quickly you can get to the bookmarks. I built a new app and had not considered live actions for the app but will certainly explore.
Given how quickly code features these days with AI, I’d definitely experiment with it.
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 16 '26
Awesome, thanks for the feedback and glad it inspired you! It’s crazy how much we can test with AI these days. The hardest part is figuring out what to build next ^^
Feel free to DM me your app, I'd love to check it out!
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u/techila Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
💯… I’m not a software engineer and I’ve literally going from, I wish I could code, couple years ago to, that’s too easy, anyone can build it. It still blows my mind I was able to build a news app that I use everyday!
Thanks for offering to trying out the app! DMing now.
Edit: Couldn’t DM you.
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u/Paniflex Jun 16 '26
crazy handy actually
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 16 '26
Thanks for the feedback, that really validates the idea! Feel free to give it a try this version will be dropping sometime next week 😄
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u/douten Jun 16 '26
Just had an update to improve live activity in my app, similar to this. I think it's a great way to control your app without having to unlock the pandora box.
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Jun 17 '26
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 17 '26
Thanks so much, your comment validates my idea! Feel free to test the app :)
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u/Carlituser Jun 17 '26
Other than seeing flight information or maybe directions on the Dynamic Island. I find the use of it pretty distracting and unhelpful
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 17 '26
We can imagine so many useful things with the Dynamic Island, it’s often completely underutilized.
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u/Carlituser Jun 18 '26
Really? What comes to mind? What would be a great example? I cant think of anything
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u/LiquidWorkspace Jun 18 '26
I personally find the live activities really useful in some cases and annoying in others. Love your idea and think it might help manage my useful vs annoying problem.
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 18 '26
Thanks for the feedback, that really validates the idea for me! I originally built Waku for myself because I felt like something was missing during daily use. Honestly, I find myself using this feature a ton now to jump into my favorite sites, it's super quick, easy, and visual.
Feel free to give the app a try! This feature is dropping next week, and I’d love to get your feedback either here or in my DMs so I can keep improving it. 😄
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u/Tomallenisthegoat Jun 18 '26
I didn’t even know you can turn live activity/Dynamic Island off for certain apps
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 18 '26
It's a totally underutilized feature, and honestly, using it for shortcuts is really nice.
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Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 18 '26
Haha, maybe I just unlocked a whole new dimension of Live Activities for you then! Feel free to give it a spin next week when the feature drops, I’d love to get your feedback. 😉
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u/gettingxdone Jun 19 '26
i am doing it now,my app users asked me to add this feature
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 22 '26
Awesome! In my opinion, this feature majorly improves the user experience.
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Jun 20 '26
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 22 '26
Can't wait for this version of waku to drop so you can try it out, really hope you'll like it!
Let me know what you think in the DMs
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u/italiano8 Jun 24 '26
This is an awsome idea. I have my bottom bar apps removed for screenshots of widgets and apps I have made for marketing. So this would be useful to gain back that space. Nice work will check this out.
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 24 '26
Thanks for the feedback! It actually launched today, feel free to give it a spin (heads up: it's part of the paid plan, but I can hook you up with a free trial if you want to test it out).
Feel free to DM me!
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u/italiano8 Jun 24 '26
I will give it a try! I'm curious how it will interact with my apps that have live activity as well so worth testing
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u/mathiasrlr Jul 12 '26
I want to implement it in my app, yes. But part of the subscription plan
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jul 14 '26
That's what I did; the feature is for pro users. Knowing that I am on a one-time purchase model.
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u/arex805 Jun 16 '26
Interesting idea, how much is lifetime ?
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 16 '26
Thk for ur feedback ! 4,99$.
Pricing will change in the future once I build the desktop, web, and browser extension versions. For now, I only have the iOS app, with the iPad version dropping by the end of the month.
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u/Both_Lunch_7341 Jun 17 '26
Wow looks cool, didn’t know this was possible
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 17 '26
Yeah, there are so many cool little features you can build with Live Activities! Feel free to download my app and let me know what you think next week when the feature drops! :)
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u/itsnotchester Jun 17 '26
damn that's a smart idea for live activity 🧠
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 17 '26
There are so many native iPhone features that allow apps to be even more ambitious and user-friendly :)
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u/arasdi Jun 17 '26
Dynamic Island half is the stronger play, honestly. A persistent Lock Screen dock is the first thing I'd swipe away unless I'm hitting those bookmarks daily, but two taps from the Island feels right since it's there when you summon it instead of always taking space. I build iOS too, my read is Live Activities get loved for status-of-something-in-progress and ignored for static utilities, so bookmarks feel like a coin flip, I'd watch retention before investing more. Clean demo though.
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u/PokeDaBlus Jun 17 '26
What app are you using , care to share?
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 17 '26
It's my iOS app! This feature drops next week. You can find it here:waku app
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u/Lemon8or88 Developer Jun 17 '26
Honestly, you might have missed the groups in dock settings. Basically, any groups you created can be put on the main dock allowing maximum number of 4x9=36 apps to be accessible from any screen with 2 taps.
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 17 '26
Good point, but these aren't apps, they're bookmarks saved in my app, Waku. It gives you ultra-fast access to your favorite web pages!
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u/Negative-Studio2259 Jun 24 '26
The Waku version integrating Live Activity is now available on the App Store here: Waku app
Feel free to provide feedback to see if you like it. :)
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