OC I haven't seen anyone mention the kbin native(?) app!? I tried it and it seems perfect and amazing?
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).
A good PWA is almost indistinguishable from a native app.
On Android, where they've bothered to implement the apis for it you've got access to all the same stuff (camera, location, Bluetooth etc)
Apple has less, which is ironic because originally the iOS platform was only going to be PWAs. I guess discovering they could take a 30% cut of all money taken changed their mind.
I recommend you take a look at https://elk.zone as an example of an excellent PWA (be sure to actually install it and use it that way)
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...
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)
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.
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.
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
Sometimes the 'tap three times' is just that it's busy generating the next page for you. It 'heard' the first tap. Can use that time to scroll a bit further until it's ready and the page changes.
@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.
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.
Wefwef for Lemmy nailed the PWA build. I don't know how they manage to make it so smooth and with buttery smooth animation. I really wish there's that kind of speed and fluid Ness for kbin PWA.
There is an close bug report on this on codeburg: https://codeberg.org/Kbin/kbin-core/issues/233
I think that means it has been pushed as an update to the test servers... Should be fixed here soon!
The settings in the PWA app for me are independent from the website. Basically, I had to do my settings again in the PWA for them to work. I’m using safari on iOS. My biggest issue, though, is that I can’t get UI improvement user-scripts for safari to apply in the PWA.
The settings are the same for me in the PWA, but I'm on Android with Firefox. But I have tried changing the setting and then changing it back to make sure in the PWA, and that doesn't seem to help either. It always starts on All. I have also tried installing the PWA from Chrome on Android, same result.
But a silver lining is that I can can use user-scripts in the PWA with Firefox.
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.
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.
Only issue I have is that I have auto load media enabled, and going 'back' after reading an article often dumps me at the end of the previous page and I have to read scrolling up, or jump to the top and work my way down to where I was. (on mobile.)
A dedicated app is probably more likely to keep track of the anchors when going back.
I tried it maybe a week ago but got frustrated with a bug. The app was locked in landscape mode. I have auto rotate disabled, but enabling it did not fix the issue. No worries though. The mobile page is quite nice.
Be mindful of the fact that the PWA is effectively a browser tab running with the profile from which the PWA was installed. There is no separation or segregation of site data, browser history, etc.
Alas, the PWA cannot be installed from an Incognito browser session, however on (some?) mobile devices the site can be added as an icon or launcher from a more private browser such as Firefox Focus. This is not the same as the PWA, but will open the site in a browser tab at the click of the icon. When site data is not stored between sessions, it will be necessary to log in each session - a trivial task when using a modern password manager.
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