HyperNails

Inspiration

The idea for HyperNails came from a common frustration: the "realism gap" between the beautiful nail art we see online and how it actually looks on our own hands. My friends and I would often leave the salon feeling disappointed because the final result didn't match our expectations. Existing virtual try-on apps felt like cheap stickers. I was inspired to build a tool that could close this gap, giving users the confidence to see a photorealistic preview of their manicure before ever committing to a design.

What it does

HyperNails is an iOS app that lets users virtually try on nail designs with stunning realism. Users simply upload a photo of their hand, browse a library of styles, and our AI renders a high-fidelity image showing exactly how that design will look. It eliminates the guesswork and uncertainty of choosing a new manicure, ensuring the final look is always perfect.

How we built it

We built HyperNails on a modern, lean tech stack designed for speed and scalability:

• Frontend: We used Expo (React Native) to develop the mobile app, which allowed for rapid, cross-platform development and easy access to native device features.

• Backend: Supabase served as our all-in-one backend solution. We used its Auth for user logins, Storage for photo uploads, and its Postgres Database to manage user data and generation counts.

• AI Core: The magic behind the previews is a third-party image generation API. The app sends a user's photo and a text prompt to this API and polls for the result, which is then displayed to the user.

• Monetization: We integrated RevenueCat to manage our $9.99/month "Pro" subscription, which unlocks unlimited generations. It provided a simple way to handle the complexities of in-app purchases.

Challenges we ran into

Our main challenge was handling the asynchronous nature of the AI. Generations weren't instant, which initially created a poor user experience. We solved this by implementing a polling system that checks the task status every few seconds, keeping the user informed and making the wait feel interactive.

Another hurdle was ensuring high-quality, photorealistic results. The output quality is highly dependent on the input photo and prompt. To overcome this, we created a library of pre-defined style templates with optimized prompts, guiding users to get great results from their very first try.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud of successfully closing the "realism gap." The feedback from early users has been that the previews are almost indistinguishable from real photos. We're also proud of building a fully-functional, monetizable app on a lean, modern stack, proving that a small team can create a powerful and polished product.

What we learned

The biggest lesson was the importance of solving a focused problem deeply. Instead of adding dozens of features, we concentrated all our energy on making the virtual try-on experience as realistic as possible. This focus is our key differentiator. We also learned the technical skills to integrate a BaaS backend and a third-party AI service into a seamless mobile experience.

What's next for HyperNails

The future is exciting. We plan to build a community feature where users can share their creations and "try on" designs from other users. We also aim to partner with professional nail artists and brands to feature their exclusive designs and products in the app. Finally, we'll continue to refine our AI prompts and explore new models to push the boundaries of realism even further.

Built With

• bolt.new
• revenuecat
• supabase