Dominik Maglia

Portfolio

I Build and Acquire Apps People Actually Love

Building software products since 2015. When I take on an app — built or bought — I run it for the long term and treat the people who already depend on it with care.

App Lane

Apps I've Acquired

Apps built by other developers who put real care into them. My job is to carry that work forward — modernizing and growing it without losing what made it good.

Menu Bar Controller for Sonos app icon

Menu Bar Controller for Sonos

macOS
Menu Bar Controller for Sonos on macOS

MBC lives in the macOS menu bar and gives you full Sonos control without opening a separate app — keyboard shortcuts, Apple Shortcuts, full Music Library browsing, and much more. It's — in the users' words — the Mac app Sonos should've built.

mbc-for-sonos.app

After the acquisition

The foundation Acquired July 2025

Menu Bar Controller was built as a hobby project in 2018 and refined over years into a focused Sonos controller with a worldwide following — it does one thing, perfectly. That's exactly why I wanted to take it on — to build on that work, not replace it.

What I've added since
  • Migrated the codebase to SwiftUI and rebuilt the interface — Liquid Glass styling, a new settings view, and video onboarding
  • Moved to a customer-first one-time lifetime license with a 14-day free trial, instead of paying for the download and again for every major upgrade
  • Integration of full local (NAS/SMB) music libraries, and improved streaming service integrations
  • Fully rebuilt the website, App Store pages, and support documentation
  • … and hundreds of other improvements to make MBC the definitive Sonos app for Mac
Lyd for Sonos app icon

Lyd for Sonos

iOS · watchOS
Lyd for Sonos on iPhone and Apple Watch

Lyd controls Sonos from the Apple Watch — including remote access over the Sonos Cloud, which no other third-party app offers. Since acquisition, I've grown it into a full iOS citizen focused on maximum efficiency in its core UX.

lyd-for-sonos.app

After the acquisition

The foundation Acquired July 2025

Lyd was already the gold-standard Apple Watch controller for Sonos — including remote control over the Sonos Cloud that no other third-party app offers. Its developer nailed the hard part. I loved the app since first use — and acquired it to grow the iOS experience into more than the setup utility it then was.

What I've added since
  • A full SwiftUI rewrite of the iOS app, laying the foundation for iOS app extensions
  • Moved to a customer-first one-time lifetime license with a 14-day free trial
  • Extending the iOS app from a simple, Watch-App setup utility to a full-blown iOS Sonos controller with Widgets, Live Activities, Siri, and Apple Shortcuts
  • Fully rebuilt the website, App Store pages, and support documentation
  • … and hundreds of other improvements to make Lyd the most efficient Sonos control app on iPhone and Apple Watch
Mowbius app icon

Mowbius

iOS · Android
Mowbius on iPhone

A CRM for solo lawn-care professionals — customers, schedules, and payment tracking in one app. Built by Adam Lyttle to run his own mowing business, acquired in October 2023 as my first venture into what became App Lane.

app-lane.com/mowbius

After the acquisition

The foundation Acquired October 2023

Mowbius was built to replace pen and paper for small, solo lawn-care professionals that didn't need an expensive, full-blown CRM solution. Built to solve the developer's own pain, I was drawn to the app due to its obvious utility and gaps that I could close with my skills and experience.

What I've added since
  • Full UI redesign to make the core flows of the app simpler and more appealing
  • Updated the legacy Cordova codebase to Ionic Capacitor
  • Rewired the legacy PHP backend into a more robust, secure, and distributed Firebase backend
  • … and many other improvements to keep its simplistic CRM easy to use, robust, and dependable

App Lane

Apps I've Built

Apps I built from nothing, because I wanted them to exist.

HRM Heart Rate Monitor app icon

HRM Heart Rate Monitor

iOS · watchOS
HRM streaming Apple Watch heart rate to a bike computer

HRM broadcasts your Apple Watch heart rate to any Bluetooth fitness device — Garmin, Wahoo, Karoo, Peloton — using your iPhone as the bridge. No chest strap, no extra hardware. I'm a cyclist; I built it in 2023 to solve this for myself, and it found an audience well beyond me.

gethrm.app
AirHRM app icon

AirHRM

iOS
AirHRM streaming AirPods heart rate to training apps

AirHRM does the same as HRM, but from AirPods — broadcasting their heart-rate signal to gym equipment, bike computers, and training apps. When Apple introduced the AirPods Pro 3 with an integrated heart rate sensor, a new audience appeared; I forked HRM in April 2026 and shipped within days, because the hard problems were already solved.

airhrm.app

Co-Founded · Since 2020

Lightray Innovation

The company I co-founded with my business partner in 2020. We turn the cameras already in people's phones into accurate light meters — replacing expensive dedicated hardware with software, device-specific calibrations, and an optional hardware accessory.

Photone — Grow Light Meter screenshot
Photone — Grow Light Meter app icon

Photone — Grow Light Meter

Measures PAR (PPFD), Daily Light Integral (DLI), and more — the metrics indoor growers need to tune artificial lighting. Used worldwide on iOS and Android. The flagship of my company Lightray.

growlightmeter.com
Light Meter LM-3000 screenshot
Light Meter LM-3000 app icon

Light Meter LM-3000

A precise lux and foot-candle meter for architecture, health, photography, and more. Built on the same measurement engine as Photone, packaged as a simple-to-use tool — our first attempt at scaling the core technology into new verticals.

lightray.io/lightmeter

Earlier Work · 2015 — 2022

A Decade of Building Things

Before App Lane and Lightray, I spent years building across very different disciplines — audio electronics, IoT hardware, e-commerce, SaaS, and even enterprise software with decades of legacy. I learnt more than I ever imagined.

  • Rocket Science blackDSP screenshot Rocket Science blackDSP — alternate view

    2015

    Rocket Science blackDSP

    A 2+2 channel audio DSP platform for a Swiss audio startup. I designed the full circuit and 4-layer PCB and it shipped commercially — my first time turning a schematic into something you could hold and buy.

  • Rieglia HORTUS screenshot Rieglia HORTUS — alternate view

    2016–2017

    Rieglia HORTUS

    My first startup — LoRaWAN IoT sensors and a cloud platform for remote plant monitoring. We became a Swisscom partner before their network launched, then sold the IP to what is now Akenza. The project that shaped how I approach people, products, and businesses.

  • insidr screenshot insidr — alternate view

    2017–2018

    insidr

    A crypto market-sentiment platform for traders. Distributed Node.js scrapers, an Angular dashboard, a companion Ghost blog. Dropped before launch. Taught me not to start what I don't have the capacity to finish — a very valuable lesson.

  • das chili abo screenshot das chili abo — alternate view

    2017–2019

    das chili abo

    A premium monthly subscription box for chili lovers — hand-curated products, three tiers, custom brochures and recipes each month. Sold through Geschenkidee, a major Swiss retailer. My one physical-product business, stopped by choice to focus on software.

  • Belimo Cloud Frontend screenshot Belimo Cloud Frontend — alternate view

    2020–2022

    Belimo Cloud Frontend

    The central configuration and monitoring tool for Belimo's connected HVAC devices — concept to release with nearly 50 people across three continents. My first ship in a large corporate environment.

  • Belimo Display App screenshot Belimo Display App — alternate view

    2020–2021

    Belimo Display App

    A mobile NFC app for non-technical users to read and adjust Belimo room sensors. I led a small UX team from a visionary idea to a validated concept, focused on a low learning curve inside a professional design system.

For Developers

Thinking About
Selling Your App?

I acquire iOS and macOS apps with real users and genuine product care — not as a fund or a flipper, but as a solo developer who takes on a few apps from developers who no longer have the capacity or desire to continue maintaining them.

What I Look For

I'm picky about what I take on — I'll live with it for years, and its users will live with my decisions:

  • iOS, watchOS, or macOS apps
  • Niche markets with loyal users
  • Apps that do one thing really well
  • Stable revenue, or clear room to grow with focused work

What You Can Expect

Your users will be treated well. I'll keep continuity, be honest about changes, and protect what made the app good.

This is my track record, not a promise. When I took on MBC and Lyd, I moved both to a one-time lifetime license — the opposite of squeezing the people already using them. The handover itself is clean — I do the heavy lifting, so it's no hassle for you and no disruption for your users.

There's no process here — just me. If any of this sounds like you, email me and we'll talk it through. No pressure, and I'll tell you honestly whether I'm the right home for your app.

Get in Touch