It’s that time of the year again! Looking back, I’m so glad I started writing these yearly reflections back in 2021. Now that this is the fifth yearly reflection, it’s great to read those previous ones, and see what has changed - and what has not.
If you want to read about my previous yearly reflections, here they are:
- Year in Review - 2021 Edition
- Year in Review - 2022 Edition
- Year in Review - 2023 Edition
- Year in Review - 2024 Edition
Let’s see what 2025 was about.
Accomplishments
Looking back at 2025, the biggest accomplishment I want to share is that, in the spring, after being on burnout sickness leave for a month, I gave my two weeks' notice at my old job. At that point, I had no plan; I just knew I needed to get out. After that, things came together quickly, and two weeks after my last day at Oura, I started my own company, helping with mobile app accessibility. If your organization needs workshops, coaching, coding, or other mobile app accessibility-related services, send me a message and let’s talk!
Another thing I’m super proud and happy about is that in December, I sent the first issue of Inclusive Android Apps -newsletter. I’ve been contemplating starting a newsletter for a while, and in November, I finally decided to give it a go. I already have some upcoming issues scheduled, and I can’t wait to send them out! You can subscribe to it behind the link: Inclusive Android Apps.
On the coding front, I’ve learned a ton this year. One big theme has been Wear OS-apps, and I published my first Wear OS-application in August. It’s a simple stitch counter for knitting, and building it taught me a lot. I wish I had some time to continue developing it at some point, but so far my fall has been busier than I expected.
The final accomplishment I want to share is that I was asked to serve as a judge for Grand One, a Finnish award for digital agencies and marketing. The category I’m judging for is the most accessible digital service, and it was an honor to be asked.
Speaking
In 2025, I gave talks at both meetups and conferences and participated in a couple of roundtables. Here’s the full list:
- Conference talks
- Future Frontend
- Droidcon Berlin
- DevFest Czech
- Droidcon London
- Roundtables
- GDE Summit
- Droidcon Berlin
- Meetups
- GDG Helsinki: Mobile Tech Spotlight
- Aurajoki Overflow
In addition, I’ve given a couple of internal talks at the companies I’ve worked at this year. This year's topics included accessibility, Android, and creative coding with Kotlin.
From a numbers point of view, my 2025 speaker year was pretty close to 2024, just with roundtables in addition to talks. But what’s different is that last year at this time, I had one event confirmed in my calendar for the next year - right now, I already have three.
Writing
On the writing front, I was not as productive as in 2024. I wrote a total of 20 posts (this being the 21st). I wrote one guest post in Selko Digital’s blog in Finnish (Vieraskynä: Verkkokauppojen mobiilisovellusten saavutettavuudessa on parantamisen varaa)
My blog posts were shared in multiple newsletters, and, according to analytics, the top three sharers were Android Weekly, JetC, and Accessible Mobile Apps. Thank you all for sharing my posts!
As always, I’m sharing some of my favorite posts from the past year.
This blog post was so much fun to write! And when I say write, I mean code. In the post, I explain how to add interaction (in this case, touch exploration) for Compose Canvas. The example used is a collection of Valentine’s day hearts with a queer twist.
This blog post is part of Dev’s WeCoded-challenge, which started as a #SheCoded-campaing, turned into #WeCoded, and is now a writing challenge, happening around International Women’s Day. In the post, I share some comments and situations I’ve faced this year, mostly related to talking about diversity and inclusion.
It’s a hard post to write, but the feedback has proven that it’s an important one. So, I will continue writing these posts every year.
The final post I’m sharing is about accessibility considerations for Wear OS. I got into Wear OS development this year, and as an accessibility specialist, I naturally dove into the platform's accessibility features as well.
Other Content Creation
In the first quarter of 2025, I also started my own YouTube channel. I started publishing these Shorts with silent coding of different things on the Compose Canvas.
The Bingo
At the beginning of 2025, Dev had a writing challenge about 2025 predictions, and in my submission, 2025, Please, Be Gentle, I created a bingo card or two for this year's predictions. Let’s see how it turned out.
The Good Stuff
First, as a picture:
And then as a table:
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talk accepted to Kotlin Conf | I get invited to be a guest in a podcast | My research article gets published | Happened: Learn a new skill | Happened: More non-binary representation in conferences |
| Happened:Man speaks up against biased behaviour | New elections in Finland | Night outside, in a hammock | Get into a Doctorate program | Start mentoring again |
| A project is launched without a last-minute crunch | More women and non-binary in staff+ positions | **Free space (Dream big!)** | Happened: Blog post gets boosted or selected to Dev's top 7 | Happened: #WeCoded without jerks commenting |
| Happened: Conference swag socks in my size | Happened: Someone says my work inspired them | Happened: A new tattoo | A genuine apology from someone after being a jerk | Get a book deal |
| Get promoted to Tech Lead position | Happened: 100K views in Dev | Not burning out during the year | Build a new, useful feature for Neule.art-app | Finish building a keyboard |
Many of these things were things I hoped to accomplish, but I didn’t do much to achieve them. So it kind of makes sense that, with this card, I didn't get a bingo.
The More Realistic One
First, as a picture:
And then as a table:
| B | I | N | G | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happened: Being addressed as a guy | Happened: Someone gaslights me | Happened: Biased AI-generated content | Happened: Man speaks over me | Called "intimidating" for being assertive. |
| Someone interrupts when I'm presenting | Happened:"Gender doesn't matter, just talent" | Man takes credit for what I said | Happened: Being left out of an important meeting | Happened: "You'd be heard better, if you weren't so angry" |
| Someone assumes I can't handle my tech setup | Meeting a new person who assumes I'm not a developer | Happened: "I've never seen anyone being discriminated" | Happened: "Intent over impact" | Happened: Man needs to repeat what I've said |
| Happened: Invalidation of lived experience | Happened: "Women just don't want to code" | Someone else credited for my work | Happened:"But they clearly didn't mean it" | Happened: Sexist comment in a blog post or talk |
| "You were hired just for diversity quotas" | Happened: Everyone's surprised after something I warned happens | Happened: Man splaining my expertise to me | Happened: "Equality has gone too far" | Happened: Hypothetical developer is referred to as "he" or other gendered noun |
So, there it is - a realistic bingo. Unfortunately, I was right to predict these things, but hey, let’s hope next year is better in terms of the things I’ve listed in the bingo cards.
Other Things
Last year, I wrote a wish for 2025:
I wish that a year from now, I wouldn't have to think or write about burnout so much.
And this time, my wish came true. It wasn’t the easiest year, but today things are much, much better than they were this time last year. One major contributor was that I resigned from my old job and started pursuing things I’m truly interested in - and a better work culture.
What About 2026?
From where I stand, 2026 looks pretty good, and I can’t wait to get there and see what it actually holds. I already have some speaking engagements confirmed for the first half of the year. I also have some cool ideas and projects I’m working on and can’t wait to share them.
And hey, if your company needs expertise in mobile app accessibility, please do contact me! Let’s discuss how I can help you.
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