Brother William (Yuxuan) Xiao, Delta Iota/Northwestern 2017, started learning to develop telephone applications during winter break of 2013. He had downloaded an eBook on creating Android apps, but soon grew bored.
“I decided that I could learn more by jumping in and making an app that I would actually use rather than working on a textbook sample,” said Xiao. “I use a flip case with my phone and I decided to make an app that would lock and unlock my phone whenever I opened and closed the case. The idea for Pocket Lock grew from there,” he said.
Xiao didn’t have much time during the school year to work on his app, so he mostly worked on it during breaks.
“Creating Pocket Lock was my way of using what I had learned in the classroom to make an actual, useful product,” said Xiao. “I was also a way to keep my coding skills sharp,” he added.
Xiao’s Pocket Lock app was released this summer and has been well received. Pocket Lock currently has more than 40,000 downloads, and has been featured on sites such as Lifehacker, Digital Spy, Gizmodo, Android Community and Kim Kimando.
“I'm absolutely floored at the reception Pocket Lock has received,” said Xiao. “I read articles about other apps on Lifehacker, the site that jump-started Pocket Lock, all the time and I almost had a heart attack when I woke up and saw my app featured. It's an incredible feeling knowing that users across the world use something I made,” he continued.
So what are some of the features of Pocket Lock?
“Pocket Lock aims to make your phone a little smarter by locking and unlocking your phone when you put it in or take it out of your pocket using data from the proximity sensor and accelerometer,” said Xiao. “The ultimate goal is to make your phone's power button obsolete. Most users can simply run Pocket Lock once and forget about it, but advanced users can fine-tune options from sensor sampling rates to excluding certain applications,” he added.
Does Xiao see himself in a career as an app coder?
“I could definitely see myself working on Android apps as part of my future career,” said Xiao, “but for now I am going to continue adding new features to Pocket Lock and studying hard in school. I’ve got some more app ideas in the back of my mind that I definitely plan on turning into reality once I have more time,” he said.
Pocket Lock can be downloaded at the Google Play Store.
Brother Xiao was recently featured on the Northwestern Engineering website. To see the article, visit http://eecs.northwestern.edu/announcement/865-william-xiaoa-app