I tried Jerboa briefly and couldn’t get it to work well for me. Then I visited kbin on my phone’s browser and was prompted to install the kbin app!? I haven’t seen any references to it, but it’s exactly what I wanted…? Has anybody else tried it?
The version you’ve installed is the PWA (Progressive Web App). It’s effectively just a stripped-down browser window that loads the mobile site in its own dedicated “app” on your device, even though it’s technically just a separate Chrome window.
For a lot of users, this may be all they need. But because it’s just the mobile web page, you won’t get any extra features that you might find with a dedicated app (like notifications or custom UI elements).
This, the app is just a webpage that doesn’t appear like one. Though I have to say that it is good for the time being (until some better app gets done)
Say no more… Artemis is the name, albeit currently in an early-access beta state.
I still don’t understand the benefits of a PWA to be honest.
Easy to develop and works on all platforms,
Nice, I had a feeling it was something like that, but it’s honestly really slick. I like it better than Jerboa, I think. It’s all I need for casual browsing, commenting, etc…
Theres a web app for lemmy too, its in the style of apollo.
wefwef.app
@hariette is working on ArtemisApp and there is a private beta first as it’s all from the ground up. There’s a lot of work Kbin needs itself to have 3rd party integrations as it is a little newer and younger than some of the alternatives.
@dansup is also working on another alternative too, kbam
Both of them are working hard on getting something to community is wanting. All in due time! You can join the /m/ArtemisApp magazine or dansup for following along with their progress. Getting involved with them seems to be the best way to help.
I don’t like that it doesn’t keep me logged in. It also takes like 5 times to get a successful login.
If you think that’s nice, try it with the Kbin Usability Pack userscript. You’ll need the Tampermonkey extension to use it, so you’ll have to get Fennec (a fork of Firefox mobile) on F-Droid to use it. A bit of a hassle, but well worth it. I pair it with the Kbin Enhancement Script.
Some screenshots:
https://i.imgur.com/dsUfb6J.png
https://i.imgur.com/1onawoh.png
https://i.imgur.com/uNEr45b.pngRegular Firefox Android also supports Tampermonkey.
As of a few days ago, Tampermonkey wasn’t compatible with Firefox Android (it’s what I tried first). There was a way to get Firefox Beta to install Tampermonkey, but it wasn’t straightforward. This happens often with the official Firefox Stable, where add-on compatibility gets left behind sometimes during updates.
Oh wow, yep. That’s really odd, Tampermonkey was only added to the list of supported extensions on Android a few months ago. Weird to see it removed again so soon. There used to be 22, now it’s back down to 18 again.
The extensions which were previously installable but aren’t any longer are FoxyProxy Standard, Privacy Possum, Tampermonkey and Firefox Relay.
It’s better than nothing, but it’s missing quite a bit. I’m actually finding it to be quite janky.
Things like every time I go back from reading a thread or something, all the filters get reset. Opening a link to a post is inconsistent, and won’t always scroll to the exact post. Tapping on a title doesn’t always open the thread, I have to tap 3 times to open a link, no notifications etc etc.
To be clear, I’m not complaining. Kbin is still quite early in it’s life and until recently was only being built by one person. This is all to be expected, and I’m sure it’ll get smoothed out in time.
Buuuuuuuuut a nice smooth native app experience would be lovely, ngl
It’s neither perfect nor amazing. But it’s good enough.
And good enough is good enough until something better comes along. Things don’t need to be the be all and end all in order for them to be useful, or worth using in a given context.
Have been using it through Firefox since I joined kbin.
Straight up doesn’t work on iOS. There’s no way to navigate back at all.
There’s no UI element for it - but I’ve found if I swipe in from the left edge of the screen it does go back on iOS :).
Nope, that was my first thought as well. Doesn’t work on iPhone 14 with the latest version of iOS. I’ve seen a few other people mention it as well.
You mean the chrome based web app thing right? I think it’s literally just a separate window that runs the mobile site on chrome. It’s pretty functional though, I agree.
Really missing notifications though.
Yep, that thing. Yes, I think you’re right, but it feels a lot like RIF, etc… I like it better than Jerboa.
Do you mean notifications in the app or in general? I only learned yesterday that notifications are off by default. Just go to top-right your username –> Settings –> Notifications and toggle them on. By default, you only get notifications like this @Andjhostet
There’s a bug impacting mobile notifications. It’s been submitted but I (and many others) experience it as well. Despite notifications being activated.
