Spyke

Sync for Lemmy pre-registration is now open

Afternoon all,

Sync for Lemmy (Android) is now available for pre-registration on Google Play.

I'm currently working with 100 internal testers to add the final parts / resolve any issues and should be ready to go live within the next week.

I'll be emailing everyone that signed up with the previous form today too.

Cheers,

Lj

Sync for Lemmy pre-registration is now openhttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.syncapps.lemmy_syncOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
xaerareply
sh.itjust.works

Considering the API/experience is quite different (with its own nuances) in the fediverse, the idea to create an app from scratch was a good idea. Copying and pasting UI code and framework from Sync aside. Especially when the platform is being improved to handle some meaningful load/traffic right now and is clearly needing further development - he's got time. We are already week 4 of a 3-6 week estimate, and he's teasing us with some very nice screenshots already. Reddit gave very short notice of the API changes, and they then carried them out. Ultimate subscribers leaving in droves, sadly. Even with the choice he was just making about usernames, it's clear to me that he's been putting a lot of attention to detail in the first appearance of Sync for Lemmy. Everything is important when it comes to being a class leader, there is nothing more important than setting the example that others follow or copy. When other developers come into your Lemmy community and try to snipe users so blatently as what has happened - is it any wonder he's wanting perfection!

It's about sending a message. He's clearly wanting to show these other android developer noobs how it's done.

6
canreply
sh.itjust.works

I'm not even sure the link is formatted correctly? I don't think there needs to be text in parentheses of an embed.

1
lemmy.world

Can't wait to say goodbye to Liftoff and welcome back Sync as my daily toilet scroll addiction

69
ashteferereply
lemmy.world

I'm testing it now. Honestly you couldnt tell this isn't just like before. The main thing sync has over the other clients is speed. Scrolling the feed doesn't result in it jumping everwhere as images load in. They are already loaded and sized properly. And a million other little things and polish that make it amazing. (Posted from sync!)

31

Liftoff has been pretty great, Lemming looks polished already but it does not seem to be active anymore

9
lemmy.world

I'm sure it's nothing personal. For instance, I've been using Sync for reddit for over 10 years as my primary method of accessing reddit, so I know this is going to make me a lot more comfortable using Lemmy.

14

Yes! Meant nothing towards the Liftoff devs, it's the best app I've used for Lemmy. I had been using Sync for about the same amount of time and loved everything about it

2
Encode1307reply
lemm.ee

I posted this in another thread-

People should expect these reddit apps to be buggy when they come out. I loved and paid for both apps but I think people have pretty unrealistic expectations for sync and boost. The established lemmy apps have a big head start in getting those bugs worked out.

0

but the devs of these popular reddit apps likely have recycled a tonnn of their reddit app's code into the Lemmy app and and are therefore working with a much more mature codebase that they're also much more comfortable with. for example, I'm loving liftoff but it has so many random bugs that, while not awful, are a bit jarring. and the vast majority of them aren't Lemmy bugs, they're just normal app bugs that haven't been worked out yet. and while I'm sure the liftoff devs are great, it's a new app and will experience growing pains that sync likely won't deal with as much.

4

Nah I'll stay with liftoff. Never used sync.. came from baconreader and liftoff has the same vibe.

-1
Cabeza2000reply
lemmy.world

I used RIF in Reddit, never used Sync for Reddit.

Now I am using Liftoff here in Lemmy because is closer to the RIF experience among the apps I tried so far (Jerboa, Connect for Lemmy, Voyager).

I am looking forward to see if the experience is closer to RIF than Liftoff, or not.

4

Liftoff has been great. Really got me addicted again to a scrolling feed and the easier navigation. Was starting to break the habit because mobile browser isn't as slick. Been a sync user for over a decade so that'll be my daily driver when it's ready. There's nothing wrong with liftoff, it's just not where my heart is.

4
Tetsuoreply
jlai.lu

I remember vividly the day I got a Nintendo 64 when I was a kid. I also had pizza that day.

It was a good day.

9

Oh yes, I remember, Christmas of 1998, my dad got it for me and my brother, had it with Body Harvest and F1 World Grand Prix, my Dad is an F1 fan, so got an absolutely awful V3 racing wheel to go with it. During covid, I got back into racing games, and went a little mental.

7
lemmy.world

Hi, something you might want to check before releasing; several current Lemmy apps are having trouble displaying lists of very large images. Either they try to load them all in one go, instead of going for the thumbnail as a preview (causing the app to crash), or they only get the preview and then don't show the full size when opening.

Example:

![email protected]

17

Currently being discussed in the discord. Likely to have free, pro (no ads) and ultra (extra features) similar to S4R

11
lemmy.world

Amazing, i registered! Is there an expected release date? And thanks again!

12

based on the app screenshots, it looks amazing!! can't believe the hype is almost over!!

12

Within the next week sounds much sooner than I though...!

11

I think so, I like sync because of its massive customisation potential, and it also offered some quick template like way to change them, so it was never overwhelming. You can make sync the way you like it, and I've been following the dev for a while as well. Truly passionate fellow.

6

Using Voyager and the devs have been more than awesome. I don't encounter any bugs on Android. Still gonna throw my money at Sync when it arrives though. Sync was the only reason I even used reddit. A bit wierd but before I stumbled on the Sync I couldn't even stand reddit. I was a Sync user, not a reddit user.

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total_9814reply
feddit.uk

You should just be able to click on the link in the title of this post.

9
lemmy.ca

Guess I can't do it from my phone, I get an error when I try to open in the play store

2

Wow! Congratulations! It's really weird - I feel like going back to reddit, because it looks and feels exactly like when I used Reddit back when it was awesome to do - through sync... But it's not reddit. Kinda tells me how much of my "Reddit experience" was actually not Reddit, but sync.

6
sh.itjust.works

Huh, interesting it's not showing up in my play store, even Aurora either.

5

Correction, it doesn't show up when I searched for it but the link works so thats good

5

I guess I goofed the form as I can't find anything in my email, but I pre-registered through the play store! Super excited.

5
lemmy.world

Will it run without Google Play Services like Reddit Sync Pro did prior to v22?

Edit: answering my own question. Yes it runs on degoogled devices, at least this one with microg.

5

Yes, but there are alternative clients like Aurora which allow you to download your apps that you've purchased on Google Play. It essentially scrapes the Google Play website to get the apk that you have access to after purchasing.

It's a different issue than requiring Google Play Services on the device. I think you implemented some new license checking in v22 which broke the app on degoogled devices (just a guess). V19 worked great.

1

Been a full time sync user for the last 5 years or so. Very excited to get it for lemmy. Thanks for all your hard work!

4

Honestly, to me, Connect feels much like Sync for Reddit did. Itvs to be expected that devs are going to learn from eachother in the process of developing for Lemmy, especially given the "youthfulness" of the platform.

1

Excellent. I can't wait. From the Play Store screenshots it looks gorgeous. I can't believe how far you've come in such little time. 🙏

3

I'm really looking forward to it! I've been using the novelty of Lemmy to try out a bunch of different apps, and I look forward to trying Sync for the first time.

3
lemmy.world

Will there be a Sync for iOS in the future? Not sure if this has been asked before and I missed it but I am curious.

3
ecoreply
lemmy.world

As I understand it, LJ gave another developer his blessing to take a stab at Sync for iOS (I imagine with some sort of financial arrangement) but development had been very slow, and it never left TestFlight.

6
lemmy.world

Pre registered! Will this also have the option for the old style of comments? I've been using sync for so long that I prefer the old sync comments style to the new one lol.

3

Registered! Voyager has been good to me, but I can't wait to use this app again

2

It's an Android app for browsing Lemmy, from the developer of very well-loved app for browsing Reddit.

1

It's back! Posting this from Sync for Lemmy from the Play store.

Oh this is nice.... Can't wait til work's over so I can start playing more.

1
kbin.social

That's great! I do have an iPhone now but might switch later. Does anybody know if an iPhone app is being made for Kbin/Lemmy?

1

Alot of apps are waiting on kbins API as it wasn't created and it currently still being worked on -been following in dev chat on elements and codeberg

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rick_yreply
kbin.social

It looks great, but when I try to log-in it tells me there is an error. I just use my normal credentials and 'kbin.social' as server. Very weird, thanks for the tip though!

1
Neve8028reply
lemm.ee

Does memmy support kbin? It looks like it's just a lemmy app after I skimmed the page for it.

1

It only seems to support Lemmy, I tried it. Registered for Lemmy and love the Memmy app!

2

Memmy is my favorite for lemmy but unfortunately no Kbin apps have been released. Artemis is an awesome KBIN app but in closed beta.

2
kbin.social

What's the difference between lemmy and kbin, as far as Sync is concerned? I don't mean APIs, but in terms of user experience, what would change for me coming over from kbin?

0

You should theoretically have access to the same communities/magazines.

On desktop kbin seems to have nicer looking UI and also seems to have better sorting algorithm (at least by default) because when I connect to lemmy server even though I subscribed to the same communities, it feels more deserted for some reason.

2
canreply
sh.itjust.works

What are your profile language settings? I tried to reply to you three times.

1
canreply
sh.itjust.works

Testing. Is this the only reply you see from me?

You should add "undetermined" as a language in your settings in addition to English. Otherwise you will miss out on content and interactions.

1

Hm, maybe it's called something else. I know that lemmy will default to post's language to "undetermined" if not manually set upon submission. This means if you disable it as a language option on your profile it won't show up. I'll try and get on kbin and see what the equivalent is. Because I have to go to the website in my browser to be able to reply to you. I'm sure apps will allow setting language on a per comment basis in the future but for now this is it.

1
can
sh.itjust.works

Any chance of android 7 support? I know existing app devs had to do some things to make it work. If it would prevent the app from being the best it could be though then I understand.

Edit: I don't intend to sound ungrateful. I recognise that few people are stuck on such an old device. I was just curious since the original Sync worked fine here.

0

I'm well aware. It's like three phones back for me. Just happens to be the only one in my possession fully working right now and thought I'd ask, sorry if it sounded rude.

Either way, thanks for your hard work. I still intend on getting pro. Hopefully I'll be able to get my main phone fixed soon.

4