Newcastle Forge LLC
We build small, fast software for iPhone.
Newcastle Forge is an independent software studio. We design, build, and maintain a small number of iOS applications, and we support them ourselves.
The studio is deliberately small. One person writes the code, answers the support email, and decides what ships. That constraint shapes the work: we would rather maintain three things well for years than launch a dozen and abandon them.
What we do
Native iOS development
Applications built in Swift against Apple's own frameworks — no cross-platform wrappers, no embedded browser views.
Long-term maintenance
Shipping is the start of the work. We keep our apps current with each iOS release and answer support mail directly.
Our products
Podland — a podcast player that respects your time
Podland is a minimal podcast player for iPhone. It opens in about a tenth of a second and asks for no account. There are no recommendations, no autoplay, no listening streaks, and no analytics — just the shows you subscribed to and a play button.
How we work
- Subtraction is a feature. Most of our design decisions are about what to leave out. An app that does one thing at speed beats one that does nine things slowly.
- No engagement mechanics. We do not build streaks, badges, push nags, or infinite feeds. Our apps are not trying to increase your time in them.
- Direct support. Email reaches the person who wrote the code. There is no ticket queue in between.
Company & contact
- Legal entity
- Newcastle Forge LLC
- Type
- Limited liability company registered in Washington, United States
- steve@newcastleforge.com
- Website
- newcastleforge.com
For help with one of our apps, see Support. For anything else — press, partnerships, or general questions — email is the fastest way to reach us.