Updated iOS beta version. Getting ready for launch

LingQ Beta Testers
1

Hi all,

We are now targeting a late December launch for the beta app so really appreciate any last minute feedback and particularly bug tracking! Get the latest version from TestFlight.

This latest version has

  • TTS generation for imported lessons that have no audio. These can also be added to Playlist.

Otherwise, mostly just refinements and bug fixes.

2

will all versions of 5.0 come out at the same time or as they are ready? Like if you’re only just starting the beta on iOS (though the work on android probably carries over somewhat) does that mean that even when the web version is done and ready for launch that we’ll need to wait for iOS and/or android to catch up?

3

We are hoping to have all apps launch at the same time but only if all are ready. If they don’t all launch together, the laggard apps won’t be far behind. We aren’t just starting the beta on iOS, it has in fact, been running the longest. This thread just announces the latest version of it.

4

Hi. Looking forward to the official launch. I was experimenting with the home screen widget and noticed that it appears to tell me I have an unbelievably long streak …

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5

oh right i wasn’t aware

6

Thanks, we’re trying to figure out what is going on there.

7

I think the confusion is because you stated you are targeting a late December “launch of the beta app.” By “launch” did you mean the current beta app will out of beta (ie launched) by the end of the month?

8

Yes, that’s what I mean. I’m not sure why that is confusing.

9

My guess is that the confusion lies here: Does “launch the beta” mean “release the beta” or “release the final version”?

I don’t know what’s correct, although I would guess it usually means “release the beta”. In this post, you’ve used it to mean “release the final version”.

I figured that out because I know the beta was released long ago (and your post does make this clear). But I see why someone who knew nothing about the beta could be confused.

10

Makes sense. Yes, I should have said we are planning to launch version 5 or essentially take it out of beta.

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11

Hi,
New iOS version 5 just launched on this day. I would like to ask or request something or comment on the new version. Would this category be OK?

1 Like
12

Sure, that’s fine

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13

Just did my first import using the current iOS beta (settings app tells me it is “v5.0.0 (20)'”. Encountered some issues, and have some suggestions, all related to the import workflow:

Issues:

  1. When entering lesson title, text is grey font on grey background, and is hard to read. See screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/ygWzTkD.png … Can you alter these colors to make the text more readable?

  2. After tapping the Save button, I see this alert: “Import Successful! Would you like to open the lesson now?” But when I tap “Open”, the lesson never opens. Rather, the app stays on the “Import Lesson” screen. So I have to cancel out of that screen. This of course makes me think the lesson did not get imported (but it usually is). Can you please fix the “Open” button on the “Import Successful!” alert?

  3. After importing, I see the imported lesson at the front (ie to the left) of my “Continue Studying / Lessons” screen. However, I do not see the course that I imported to at the front of my “Continue Studying / Courses” screen. It seems that the course I imported to should get bumped to the front (ie to the left) of the courses list, just like the imported lesson gets bumped to the front of the lessons list.

Suggestions:

  1. Would be awesome if the Title were pre-filled with a current date-and-time-stamp. Often I’m importing a small chunk of text that does not need a title; a timestamp would be sufficient, and having this pre-filled would be so helpful.

  2. Would be awesome if I could long-press on the LingQ app icon and get an option like “Import clipboard”. Selecting this would then pop up the “Import Lesson” screen with the clipboard contents already pasted into the text field (similar to using the share extension with selected text). If the title timestamp were pre-filled, then it would take just one more tap to import the clipboard text, and another tap (once the “Open” button is fixed) to start reading it.

Let me describe my usage scenario that prompted these suggestions. I am part of a few chat threads in my target language. Usually, when I do not quite understand a message, I copy the message, long-press on my translation app, and select the option to automatically translate the copied text. Of course, it would be preferable to import these messages to LingQ, and read them there. It currently takes too many steps to do this regularly. But with the above changes it would become just easy enough. It would let me study a whole new realm of texts using LingQ.

Thanks for considering. Please let me know if you have questions.

14

Issues:

  1. Fixed
  2. Fixed
  3. This has been an ongoing issue that we’re continuing to look at

Suggestions:

  1. This is very specific to your use case, but wouldn’t necessarily benefit all users who want an actual title.
  2. Highlight text in any app → Share → LingQ → Your text will be pre-filled in the extension. You may have to add LingQ via the “More” button the first time.

Fixes will be available in 5.0.2. Thanks for the feedback!

1 Like
15

In the previous iOS App if I clicked on a new word , a grey shaded area thing came over the previous word or after the said word which was very usefull as it showed me a bunch of words or phrases which I could save , now in the new iOS version , whenever I click on a word no such grey thing/shaded area comes over , which is a downner because previously i could have saved the phrase but not now . Please fix it . that feature was very helpful

16

You can still see related phrases if you expand the pop-up to see the full yellow widget. Underneath the meaning you will see any related phrases and you can tap on them to see a meaning and create LingQs for these related phrases. We have removed the gray shading from the text but may decide to bring it back at some point.

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17

Thanks for the reply and the quick fixes!

I appreciate the advice to use the share extension with selected text. It works great. Only problem is with apps that don’t let users activate the share extension with selected text. This is unfortunately common behavior, especially in messaging apps. For example, in WhatsApp, GroupMe, KakaoTalk (Korea’s most popular chat app), and even the iOS Messages app, you can copy text, but cannot activate the share extension.

This is why I requested a home screen action to import copied text. Other users who are trying to chat in their target language might find this useful too. Still others might appreciate the flexibility for other reasons. No pressure; just wanted to add some more reasons to perhaps consider this feature in the future :slight_smile:

P.S. Now that the final version is out, would you recommend I switch to that? Or will the beta remain a couple steps ahead of the app store release, in which case I could keep using/testing that?

18

Thanks for clarifying about share extension. We’ll take that into consideration.

At this point I wouldn’t expect any activity in the beta app, no. You should switch to the App Store version. Thanks so much for testing!

2 Likes
19

The tts generation is like a gift from Santa THANK YOU. I usually import book PDFs my friends from China give me so this is just great

1 Like
20

Thank you, Mark!
Now I’m getting used to the latest version little by little. Characters on the screen are easier to read than in the previous ver.4. I notice there are several functions which existed in the ver.4 and might be better to have in the ver.5 too, including one I definitely want. I use a relatively old iOS7 now, so what I list may be related only to me.

  1. Copy and touch function (definitely want)
    In my language learning, it is very meaningful that at first I save some words and phrases of one sentence, I copy&paste the whole or part of the sentence into the memo frame. By doing so, even if I can neither understand the meaning of them nor know how to use them, I gradually get to know. In the German learning, there are separate verbs or phrases (Redewendungen), all of which it is often hard to save (they are placed both at the beginning and the end of the sentence separately), then I save the sentence including the verbs or phrases. In addition, in Youtube videos, one sentence is very often split and even if I save a word, I can’t know the whole sentence. So I copy&paste split parts to make one sentence.
    In ver.4, I could do that, but in the latest version, except in the memo frame, there is not copy & paste function. I am disappointed and would definitely like you to revive this function.
  2. words or phrases saving (might be related to 1)
    When I save phrases (more than one word), no parts which are 4 characters ahead or behind of the phrases are in the vocabulary list displayed. When I saved words or phrases in the ver.4, I could see other examples which were made by other users. In the latest version, I can’t see. This function is actually not very important for me, but I report it.
  3. the start-up screen -1
    When I have read a text, moved on to the next one, then read it and stop reading and put the quit button, the start-up screen is not updated. That means the text I’m reading now is not displayed on the screen. In the ver.4, it was shown as the top list. I need to close LingQ and start it again, which is a little bit annoying for me.
  4. the start-up screen -2
    In the latest version, the contents available in all categories such as Ministories, Travel, news, songs, etc are shown on the start-up screen. I wonder all categories need to be displayed there. I hardly see many categories, only two or more ones. Options which enable users to adjust to what they want on the screen might not be bad.
  5. brief explanations or instructions
    There are some functions which did not exist in the previous version but do in the latest one. That we can read texts even without connecting the internet (like electronic books) seems to be one function (I’m not sure), but it might be better to have brief instructions about the new functions or how to use them. I’m getting used to know, but some of them and buttons do not seem to be very intuitive (instructions might be being prepared, though)
  6. the memo (trivial)
    In the be-ta version, I can’t begin on a new line when I click the button “enter”. This may be a bug.
    These comments or requests might be what other users have said before, or I misunderstand some functions of the latest version.
    Thank you for reading my text.
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