Android V6 Beta

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Comments

  • Graham Criddle
    Graham Criddle MVP Posts: 32,467
  • Matthew
    Matthew Member Posts: 941

    The reading progress indicator was removed 

    Thanks for the reply to confirm I did not miss anything. I will definitely stick with the "Bible" app for studying and settings such as Bible classes, but the removal of the progress bar likely means I will start using one of Faithlife's other apps (maybe Vyrso or Noet) for simple reading, assuming Faithlife does not eventually remove the functionality from those apps as well. There was just something very satisfying about seeing how far I could move the progress indicator over the course of the day. Still, very excited about the changes Faithlife has made overall to the app! 

  • Graham Criddle
    Graham Criddle MVP Posts: 32,467

    but the removal of the progress bar likely means I will start using one of Faithlife's other apps (maybe Vyrso or Noet) for simple reading, assuming Faithlife does not eventually remove the functionality from those apps as well

    Once the app moves over into the stable channel I expect the changes we are seeing here will become common across all of them.

  • Liam Maguire
    Liam Maguire Member Posts: 617

    I'm so glad to see the Android Beta arrive so soon after the iOS. Very good sign! Thanks!

    A few things I've noted:

    1. When you open the app for the first time, a few intro screens show off some features. At least one of those will need to be updated for this release.

    Agree. When I first booted the app I was presented with the new split screen view and it took me a little while to work out how to close the lower tab. It was also a while before I'd  cracked the linking system. This could have been solved with a quick intro.

    A couple of other things:

    1. It would be nice two ways to resources open:

       I. As is now.

       II. Resources open in current tab/Pane/workspace/whatever. Long press to open in a new pane/workspace thing.

    2. I am at a bit of a lose as to why you'd go to all this hard work on a new beta when android users still can't do a simple filter to decide which interlined lines show in resources like Lexham Hebrew Interliner, etc. Especially, since this is a feature that I've had on iOS for ages!!! Please look to correct this in the next beta update... Pretty, please? :-)

    Current Mobile Devices: Kindle Fire HD 8; iPhone 8

    Carpe verbum.

  • Willie
    Willie Member Posts: 177 ✭✭

    Thank you for all the improvements and changes.  Reflected below is my feedback: 

    Status Bar in Reading View  

    The Reading View of V6 Beta 1 included a bluish gray status bar across the top of the screen (same color as the background of the tab selection screen).  I thought this was a great color choice.  It allowed me to comfortably focus on the resource text below it.  The black status bar of the original stable version was also an excellent choice which perfectly blended with the black bezel of my phone.

    Unfortunately, in V6 Beta 2, the color of the Reading View’s status bar has changed to a blue shade which in my opinion is too conspicuous for use on a screen intended for distraction free reading.  For use on other screens this color is fine, but for the Reading View screen I believe it is distracting.

    Please change the color of the status bar in Reading View back to the bluish gray color used in V6 Beta 1 or to the black color used in the original stable version.  The transparent status bar of the closed beta version would also be a good choice.

    For the most immersive reading experience, please consider adding an option to hide the status bar all together.

    Displaying References

    Tapping on a reference within a Bible or other resource while in Reading View opens the top and bottom toolbars.  Please allow users to tap on a reference without causing the top and bottom toolbars to open.  (This may be a known UI issue if in the Release Notes thread Faithlife is referring to these toolbars as “section controls”.)

    Bible Button

    Although I personally would have preferred a gray colored Bible Button along the bottom toolbar, since the majority of my time is spent in Reading View with the toolbars hidden, I had come to accept the blue Logos icon used in V6 Beta 1.  The much larger Bible Button used in V6 Beta 2 in my opinion is not an improvement. 

    Please change the Bible Button design back to the smaller Logos icon used in V6 Beta 1 or at least decrease the size of the current button.

    Font Style Options

    Allow users to select a font style of their choice from a set of available options.  Please include Verdana as one of the options. 

    Increased Text Size Options

    Provide more variety of options for larger text sizes.  The current text size selector bar has few usable options (most are too small).

    Highlighting Notes

    Provide an option to filter which highlighting notes are displayed (as is available with the desktop version).  This would allow users to select any one or combination of highlighting notes when they don’t wish to view every highlight that has been made within their preferred Bible.

    As an example, I routinely create several highlighting notes for each book of the Bible I study with each highlighting note containing highlights saved from a specific custom pallet (e.g., Initial Observations, Theological Themes, Hebrew Poetry, etc.).  Having this option would allow me to focus on one of these areas of study at a time, several of them together, or all of them.

  • Fr Devin Roza
    Fr Devin Roza MVP Posts: 2,409

    I've been using the Android v6 Beta quite a bit. In general I like the new interface. I only have one major complaint about how it works.

    I like how the top and bottom bars disappear when scrolling down, reading a resource. However, when you tap on a Bible reference in the text (or other reference) to pull up the pop-up window, the bars appear on the top and bottom of the page. This is quite irritating. It makes sense for the bars to appear if I tap in the text in general, but not when tapping on a hyperlink / reference in the text to make the pop-up window appear with the reference, please do not activate the bottom and top bars.

  • Todd Frusti
    Todd Frusti Member Posts: 233

    when you tap on a Bible reference in the text (or other reference) to pull up the pop-up window, the bars appear on the top and bottom of the page

    I noticed that the bars at the top and bottom will appear and also disappear when clicking on a reference within the text.  If the bars are already visible/revealed when clicking on a reference, the bars will then hide when the reference pop-up appears.

    This doesn't interfere with my reading . . . just not sure I understand the reason behind it.

  • Fr Devin Roza
    Fr Devin Roza MVP Posts: 2,409

    The back button in Android is totally broken in this beta. For example, open the ESV Bible, select a cross reference and tap to navigate to it. Read it, then select the back button to try to go back to where you previously were. Closes the app or does some other thing that is not going back. Previous to this beta this works properly.

  • Kevin A. Purcell
    Kevin A. Purcell Member Posts: 3,405 ✭✭✭

    Dr. Kevin Purcell, Director of Missions
    Brushy Mountain Baptist Association

    www.kevinpurcell.org

  • L.A.
    L.A. Member Posts: 582 ✭✭
    1. Swiping between workspaces doesn't work anymore after the last update. (ANDROID 6.0.1 on Sony Z3 Tablet)

    2. A more general problem: if the user's divice has a non english system UI language, it's quite difficult to describe bugs or errors, or even ask questions about the app because the app's UI language depends on the System language. Suggestion: an option to select between available UI languages within the app after a restará of the app.
  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Can anyone on the Android beta confirm whether or not the pop-up problem has been fixed? On iOS, when you pop-up a link to a verse-range, you'll get all the verses in the pop-up (or at least a decent number of them). On Android, you often don't even get the whole of the verse. (If you want to test this, commentaries are a good place to see links to a verse-range). Thanks. (I'm on a Kindle Fire, and therefore don't have access to the beta.)

    This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!

  • Fr Devin Roza
    Fr Devin Roza MVP Posts: 2,409

    Can anyone on the Android beta confirm whether or not the pop-up problem has been fixed? On iOS, when you pop-up a link to a verse-range, you'll get all the verses in the pop-up (or at least a decent number of them). On Android, you often don't even get the whole of the verse. (If you want to test this, commentaries are a good place to see links to a verse-range). Thanks. (I'm on a Kindle Fire, and therefore don't have access to the beta.)

    It has not been fixed.

    I think this is easily the biggest downside to the Android app compared to the iOS app.

  • Gary Belhomme
    Gary Belhomme Member Posts: 31 ✭✭

    Hello,

    I love the new version, but it would be great if you provide us with a close all button.

  • Kevin A. Purcell
    Kevin A. Purcell Member Posts: 3,405 ✭✭✭

    Can anyone on the Android beta confirm whether or not the pop-up problem has been fixed? On iOS, when you pop-up a link to a verse-range, you'll get all the verses in the pop-up (or at least a decent number of them). On Android, you often don't even get the whole of the verse. (If you want to test this, commentaries are a good place to see links to a verse-range). Thanks. (I'm on a Kindle Fire, and therefore don't have access to the beta.)

    It has not been fixed.

    I think this is easily the biggest downside to the Android app compared to the iOS app.

    i confirm, still broken.

    Dr. Kevin Purcell, Director of Missions
    Brushy Mountain Baptist Association

    www.kevinpurcell.org