This is a pretty big release with a large number of UI changes.

This release adds a lot of user requested features to the app, the biggest one being the post feed header. The post feed header adds some information about the feed to the top of the page. The post feed header is disabled by default and will need to be enabled.

This release also updated the designs of a lot of key UI elements. To be honest I’ve spent so much time working on the UI that I can no longer tell if it’s better or worse than before. User feedback on the new UI is greatly appreciated.

Full changelog

  • Add a setting to disable auto-linking IP addresses. Note that auto-linking IP addresses comes free with Android so enabling this feature will actually cause the app to strip them which is a bit slower.
  • Add a new layout: full with cards. This layout is the full layout but each post is contained within a card instead of full bleed.
  • Add video caching.
  • Add new post feed header. This is disabled by default and can be configured in Settings > Posts feed > Use posts feed header.
  • Change the UI for the post feed toolbar.
  • Change video volume logic to be smarter.
  • Change the left side panel to have subscribed communities sorted by name.
  • Change icons around the app from circles to rounded squares.
  • Change some icon designs.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes expanding the context in the message screen would cause weird behavior.
  • Fix locales being mixed together. (Attempt number 2)
  • Fix a bug where inline video players are not destroyed properly leading to wasted resources.
  • Fix a bug where cache directories are not cleaned up properly.
  • Fix a bug where vote colors are not updated immediately in some places.
  • Fix some minor UI bugs in the post feed.

Update

User reported some UI issues with certain layouts. Will fix and rerelease as v1.55.1

  • Fix a bug where some layouts would show an empty image for text only posts.

Update 2

Some more user reported bugs. Fixing and re-releasing at v1.55.2

  • Fix a bug where some preferences were being ignored or was broken.
  • Fix a bug where disabling community icons would require the user to leave the app and come back for the change to be applied.
  • Fix a bug where the layout “List with cards” option was shown twice.
  • Minor UI touch ups.
  • idunnololzOPM
    2•5 hours ago

    List with cards seems to be on the options list twice.

    Not sure how that bug sneaked in but I will fix it. Thanks for reporting!

    I use List and now it feels pretty heavily padded. Compact is way too tight, but I feel old List let me see 2.more posts per screen. There’s just a lot of dead space now. If that thumbnail were tucked up in the enjoy space above it, I think that’s what it was like before and it seemed better to me.

    I actually didn’t change the List layout with the exception of adding a hair of more padding between the header and the title which I assume should not be noticable. Were you using the community icons before? They were added a long time ago. Maybe something screwed up the community icon setting but you can disable it in the settings to reclaim some space. It’s in Settings > Post feed > Post feed appearance > Use community icons (might require you to back out of the app and come back, just saw this bug now and will fix).

    The padding on the subscribed list you drag in from the left is somewhat the same in that now I have to scroll considerably more. It is nice seeing the community name and the c/whatever since it isn’t always the same, and it’s probably easier to click the right thing. I didn’t have an issue before, and I think the new way looks nicer, but I like it less to use, so I’m split on this one.

    Very fair. There is a lot to balance between UI design, usability and how much information is shown. I will probably continue to polish the UI in the next couple of releases and will keep your feedback in mind.

    • anon6789
      2•5 hours ago

      I had the community icons on as I noticed they changed from circles to rounded squares.

      I do see that switching them off moves the OP’s name up to the top line with the post title and that shrinks it a noticeable bit. I like the icons though, they make the feed look more lively.

      Perhaps it’s just my imagination then, noticing that there were a number of changes and just thinking everything is different.