For those who are unaware, some background:
Our iOS/iPadOS app (ugh, why’d you have to split those, Apple? I’m going to stick with “iOS”) was developed first, and our Android app came out later. Unfortunately, because the iOS app is so old, it was based on pretty rickety old code and database software. So before a lot of new functionality (eg messages, a more complex Explore page) could be added, we wanted to strip out that underlying code because it had to be rewritten anyway.
However, its not easy to strip and replace fundamental underlying code and still keep an app functional, so it had to be done slowly and in a piecemeal fashion by Alex, who in addition to being our iOS developer, is also our lead Computer Vision developer. That underlying code replacement was finally finished in 2020, with version 3.0.
The Android app, on the other hand, did not need that underlying code replaced and it’s mainly been developed by Yaron, whose sole focus has been work on our Android app. Thus, the two apps got out of sync when it came to functionality.
IMO the biggest differences between the apps are the iOS app’s lack of message functionality and its rudimentary Explore page, as well as the limited ID functionality.
Since we’re moving to creating one unified app, we’ve stopped adding major new features to the existing native apps, which is why their development is pretty static, aside from bug fixes and small things.
Sort of separate from the issues I addressed above, the apps are also designed to mostly be simple recording and “exploring nearby” apps, not fully functional apps like, say, Facebook’s mobile app. So it’s unlikely they’ll ever have all of the features on the website, but I think there’s a happy medium to strike.
I believe this is the thread you’re referring to. I added a new post there today. Unfortunately it’s taking longer than we hoped for and we can’t provide an estimate as to when it will be available - it’s a pretty big project.
I agree.
Personally I mostly use the iOS app to check for updates on my observations and to import photos I take with my phone’s camera. Sometimes I’ll use Explore as well.