Native iOS Apps on the Roadmap?

Does anyone know if native iOS apps are actually in the works? I see requests for this going back to 2015, yet nothing still. I use iPads and iPhones as controls and the fact that the Roon apps are non-native (and all that implies) is becoming a deal breaker.

2 Likes

Agreed. My trial is coming to an end and this is the single most annoying issue with Roon imho.

1 Like

What specifically is lacking/deficient that you feel might be addressed by re-implementation in objective-c or swift?

I think if you could state what the issues are along with the specific affected device, then I guess if a large enough number of users have the same issues with the same devices and if a high enough number of such issues could only be resolved by an implementation in swift or objective-C, then maybe that could justify a native implementation of that component, though I doubt the whole app.

Moving an app from xamarin to swift or objective-c wont automatically yield improvements to a running connected app (it might help download size, initial load time, first time server interactions etc, but maybe nothing else). Most benefits come from making the right design and architectural choices in the first place. Where there are problems, feedback needs to be specific so that the design and implementation can be improved where needed.

I know there are some specific scenario that can have relatively poor performance when using a xamarin component in a certain way, but without specific feedback, no one will ever make the connection and consider design/component changes to address the issues.

Demands for a native app are just noise - they donā€™t tell anyone anything useful.

1 Like

The problems with non-native apps have been discussed here ad infinitum for over 5 years. It seems pointless to beat that dead horse yet again. My specific question is whether or not the Roon developers are ever planning on creating a native app. If the answer is ā€œnoā€ thatā€™s fine, but why the lack of transparency on this?

1 Like

Well a lot has changed with Xamarin over 5 years. As a developer I hated it 5 years ago. As a technical business decision maker OTOH it was attractive even back then.

Any issues raised over the past 5 years and attributed to Xamarin probably have to be re-evaluated in the context of Xamarin today.

The only obvious exception is UI view detail which comes down to how annoyed certain discerning iOS users (myself included) might be about android-like UI elements and behaviours and especially about swiping and scrolling response that may be a bit flimsy compared to a correctly implemented iOS UI. There are reasons why I stick with iOS devices and why as a user I dislike android and to me it just feels like a cheap knock off. Having an android-like user experience inflicted upon a iOS app is something I find offensive :wink:

But fixing that doesnt need a native app.

2 Likes

Being a developer, you clearly know more about this than I do. As a user, hereā€™s one example of what is irritating to me: I currently have 86 apps on my iPad Pro, 85 of them use consistent navigation, one doesnā€™t - Roon (there are other issues but I have no interest in going over all of that again.) To me, this is unacceptable as I only use iOS devices to control music playback. A simple answer to my original question from the Roon developers would help me decide whether to continue waiting or move on to another solution.

OK, so your issue is about the lack of nav buttons at the buttons of the view? (And setting pages controls and layout I assume as well).

This is something that is a entirely a developer choice regardless of the technology used to implement the app (native objective-c/swift or xamarin or even single page web app).

If this is your issue, then you should be complaining about the Roon UI layout in comparison to similar Apple apps instead of it not being ā€˜nativeā€™ in swift/objective-c. Apple music would be the obvious comparison and the UI of the setting pages would be the other obvious area that comes to mind.

As Iā€™ve stated a few times now, thereā€™s no reason to dive into the myriad issues with the Roon iOS app that have been exhaustively discussed here. My question is simple: is a native iOS app on the roadmap or not?

If youā€™re dead set on a native app, I donā€™t think youā€™re going to be happy with Roon long term. I gather their plan is to improve the existing app based on feedback, not throw it out for another implementation.

Yeah I suspect youā€™re right. I see this question going unanswered for 5 years, but I thought Iā€™d ask one last time before throwing in the towel.

@Adam_Goodfellow thanks for your input here, itā€™s great to have such knowledgeable users and posters.

.sjb