this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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I’m currently trying Voyager. Initial impression is that it seems like a great app.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Here is a shameless plug for my own Lemmy app Arctic. It’s not left TestFlight just yet, but it hopefully will soon. It’s a pure Swift based app built with performance and content presentation in mind.

More information is available over at [email protected]

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I just tried it, and at first look, it seems great!

There’s one thing that I need to use it long term, and that’s a way to collapse comments to get to the next parent. Doesn’t matter to me if it’s a button or a swipe, as long as there’s a way to skip out of a long comment chain and get to the next parent.

Thanks for the work so far!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thank you!

I implemented collapsible comment chains in v0.2.1 which should be out within the next day or two. I added settings as well to choose between (tap|swipe|both|disabled) for the feature. I’ve been testing it for a few days and it seems to be working great.

I’m also working on a feature to automatically collapse low score chains when opening a post, though that needs some work and likely won’t be included in this next release.

Thanks for the feedback!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I look forward to testing the new update! Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

My pleasure. I’m really excited for the next release. I have a bunch of new features, enhancements, and fixes in this release that should make the app as a whole, feel more polished.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hey, downloaded and tested for a bit, looks brilliant!

Will there be an option to move the compact images to the right? My wee thumb struggles reaching over the phone to the left and I prefer it to the card look.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Thank you, much appreciated!

Yes, I’ll definitely add that option in. I actually broke a few things with the compact cells while working on some performance optimization yesterday, so I have some work to do on those anyway. I was also planning to add a medium cell option as well.

This will all be included in v0.2.1 which should be out within a couple of days.

Thank you for checking Arctic out, and for the suggestion.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Avelon is also a really nice one. All Swift too I think.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

Tried them all and Avelon is my favourite

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago

I settled on using Bean. Great app!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

I started with Mlem, then Memmy, tried Thunder, Limbo, the Voyager web app. The new Voyager app definitely seems the most polished. I will say though, a new discovery and my primary lately has been Avelon. It is buttery smooth and many options in the settings. One that was missing from Apollo was the “mark above as read” option for posts, which is present on this app.

Definitely give it a try: https://testflight.apple.com/join/IzB0ZiBO

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Oh snap! I didn’t realize that

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Thanks for the suggestion. I am trying it out now and it seems pretty solid. I’m not sure the customization features are worth a subscription yet for me, but if they end up adding moderator functions, that might make it my new favorite.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Are these actual native apps, or more react/web view in an app wrapper?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Depends on the app. Mlem is native, and Voyager is a web view app wrapper. But Voyager definitely doesn’t feel like a web view. It was written to feel like a native app, I’m really impressed. And that’s coming from someone who generally hates web apps.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Voyager used to be a web app, but has now gone native too.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Pretty sure its still a web app under the hood.

A web app doesn't magically turn into a native app when you put it on the app store. The way it gets installed, and the system access is different, and better for stuff like notifications...

But the word "native" refers to applications made using the native SDK, which in Apple's case is Swift. I'd be extremely impressed if the devs re-wrote the entire app in new code. But that would be unnecessary.

You can have non-native apps on the app store. A lot of your apps probably aren't native. SDKs like flutter, used by liftoff and thunder, make development much easier in exchange for the resulting application running a bit less efficiently. Flutter applications can also run on both Android and iOS, and even desktop, with little additional work.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

You’re right

[–] spiritedpause 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah Voyager has both a native iOS app and an installable Progressive Web App

iOS App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voyager-for-lemmy/id6451429762 Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.vger.voyager Installable Progressive Web App: https://vger.app/

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Did they actually re-code the whole thing to make it native? You can ship a web app via the app store just fine. Only making changes to take advantage of the better system access that provides.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Recently I installed all the Lemmy apps I could find, and started using them. Every time I came across a problem, I made a note of it and used that as a benchmark to rate all the other apps. All apps had issues, some annoying, some severe, some catastrophic. In the end, I sorted my app list by score and uninstalled all those that I could live without. I was left with only two apps: Bean and Thunder. Voyager and Liftoff are also pretty, good, but not quite as good as the two I use now.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Bean is exactly what I want out of a lemmy app. I’ve been using it since TestFlight launch and every missing feature I’ve requested has been added. Feels so good to use!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I think Bean has a bright future ahead of it. It’s clearly the bast app for me, but it’s not quite perfect yet. I’m happy with all the features except two:

  1. When I go to my inbox and tap a reply, I’m taken to to a part of the thread that’s approximately correct in a short thread. If the thread is long, it’s getting harder and harder to find the spot where that comment actually is. Once this gets fixed I no longer need the keep Thunder on my phone.
  2. The community grouping isn’t ready yet. It’s a very promising feature, but in its current state it just isn’t good enough yet. I’m really looking forward to seeing it improve in future updates.
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

My favorites for iOS are all Swift apps:

  • Arctic: [email protected] (incredible smooth performance and feels like Apollo, pretty new app and still in TestFlight)
  • Avelon: [email protected] (great features like gallery slideshow view inside posts for images and individual hide read posts settings)
  • Mlem: [email protected] (many customization options including unique ones like rearranging vote/save/… buttons in a widget style)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

Ayyy, thanks for the shoutout! This is the first time seeing Arctic mentioned in the wild.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thunder has also been available for a while.

It is overall a bit behind in development compared to others, but IMO it's the best looking. Next update is bringing another big set of improvements.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I like thunder except for the way it displays long horizontal images in my tablet.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

There's not a lot of work that's gone into using it on a tablet. It would be nice if posts got split into columns, like you can do with the feed.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I’m still using wefwef (original web version of voyager) but I always reach the end way too quick. Maybe it’s time to try the actual app I guess.