Version 1.4 :0

Hey there! Really excited to announce this next update as I think it has some big improvements for both new and existing users.

In-app plant requests

This is a feature I slightly resisted, but in hindsight was always going to be necessary. Previously, the app has just returned a link to our Discord when the list is empty (i.e. you can't find what you're looking for). But now there will also be an option to request new plants from within the app. This feature will be reserved for those with accounts, and probably eventually those with paid accounts.

I'm mostly hoping this is able to have a big impact in reducing negative reviews on app stores, most of which are made up of people saying the app is lacking certain plants. I'm sad that it will result in less footfall into the Discord channel! But will definitely be a time saver for people overall.

Obscurity setting

This feature has 2 parts. Firstly, I have added a new Setup page for when people first use the app. This will simply take people through a couple of basic settings before they go to the home page.

But then the most important part of the setup is a new feature I'm calling "plant obscurity". Using the existing data from users, I have ranked all the plants in the database based on how commonly logged they are. The plant obscurity setting will simply exclude anything below the threshold they set - so if you want to see the full list then thats fine, but if you just want to see common plants then this is also now possible. Again, I am hoping this will have a big impact on negative reviews and is an attempt to solve the "impossible problem" of people complaining simultaneously about too many and too few plants in the list.

Note that any plants you have previously eaten or favourited will not be excluded based on their obscurity.

Auth / Login Redesign

I had been meaning to put some time into this part of the app for a while. It has always been completely functional, but it has always been a bit scrappy looking and the error handling left a lot to be desired. So, I have totally recreated the login page with a new design and refined the flow slightly to be more streamlined. Errors should also now be much clearer and instructive as to what has actually gone wrong.

Navigation overhaul

Lastly, I spent a bit of time looking at the app's performance this update and in particular found a few bottlenecks when navigating between different pages / screens. These interactions should now feel much smoother, and I also slipped in a mini redesign in the process.