In the iOS app we can no longer select and copy a line of text rendering it useless for my studies.
I can’t use the web app for my studies as when the user listens to a video, it does not allow them to switch to the current line and copy the text.
A few months back we had a week where every time the user opened the iOS app, it crashed. I discovered a workaround which was to uninstall and reinstall the app, after which it worked for about half an hour.
Then we had weeks when import did not work at all.
Import now works but every video has the same nonsense title.
Watch a video in the iOS app and switch to another app and then back, and the video resets to the beginning. It can take quite a while to find the original location.
In summary iOS app is not stable and for long periods of time it is not even usable.
What is going on? This is a paid for product not a student project.
In my humble opinion, the core of the problem comes from the fact that Lingq, in trying to attract customers, has spread it self far too thin by trying to offer feature after feature. So instead of focusing on one thing and doing it well, they are trying to be a jack of all trades and end up being a master of none.
Lingq was originally intended to be a reader and it’s on that primary functionality that the team should have focused their efforts. Trying to integrate AI and importing from third parties like YouTube, Whisper or Netflix often results in countless bugs because these platforms make amendments to their code or rules in the meantime and the import function breaks down.
I now solely use Lingq as an e-reader to read novels just to avoid pulling my hair out everyday because something is wrong. Now I understand that not everyone wants to use Lingq that way, but the reliance on third party websites means that these issues will never be fixed once and for all.
I think LingQ has spread itself too thin because many of its users were demanding that it be something it was never intended to be: i.e. a sort of be-all and end-all of (reading- and listening-based) language-learning.
I think this is what comes of the folks at LingQ trying to please everyone instead of focusing on what they do well.
While I do not disagree, there are now lots of copycats and a mere reader that tracks your word count no longer justifies paying for it. I overall welcome Lingq’s effort to become the dominant language learning app and cut the developers some slack.
That’s all Lingq is to me, now that I’ve stopped wasting time trying to create lessons with with imported audio or video.
If a free app can do the same thing, I don’t see why I’d renew my subscription.
I’ve heard Lute is good, but I haven’t checked it out yet.
Any suggestions?
I agree, I like a lot all the new AI introduced but as usual, nothing is stable and it’s the main problem of the platform, that can’t be fixed.
The main problem is not having too many features or less. I know that there’s a hope that having less features would give more time to the devs to make the platform stable. But it’s a mere hope, the software should be completely rewritten from scratch and this would cost a lot. There was an old discussion that was explaining all on what probably happened since the beginning.
I too think that the software should be focused on the concept of comprehensible input. It would be easier to explain and manage but the market is what it is.
Even if there are alternatives that are coming up, I don’t want to waste time in learning new platforms that could disappear in one year. So far, there’s nothing that can replace LingQ the way I use it. With a great iOS app as well that I use on a daily basis.
Btw, this last year, LingQ has improved a lot, and yes, we have had periods where we were not at all happy about too many problems. We can handle just a few per month
If the software has been failing constantly over the last year, and is still failing constantly, how is that an improvement? If Lingq keeps adding more bells and whistles, but doesn’t address issues related to basic core functions, how is that an improvement?
If the selection is <= 9 words, I have to copy from the pop-up, otherwise I can make a selection and the copy option comes up, though it is limited to a sentence at a time.
As you see, the start and end of the selection is shown, but the text between is not selected, and when I click in that region, no menu options appear. Thus I cannot select the text.
Exactly. What is the point of an application that does not work ?
Software should not regress when new features are added. If that happens, then it suggests the software is poorly architected. Old products suffer from spaghetti code, as do products written by people who aren’t familiar with modern techniques such as Agile, dependency injection and Software As A Service.
Unfortunately simply throwing more engineers at a problem does not always solve it.
My own understanding of the language learning process is evolving, and I’m not sure I need LingQ. The concept of CI is nonsense, but LingQ does offer value, when and if it works.
It makes me wonder what Duolingo does with all the money it earns. The app is much simpler, the courses are well defined with not much content, and the app is used by massive numbers of people. I suspect they’re all sitting around thinking of new icons to promote equity, diversity and inclusivity. (Tongue in cheek humour for people who have used Duolingo.)
I see. Definitely weird and frustrating behavior. What’s more, I’m still able to select and copy in the edit sentence dialog using ver 5.5.41 on an iphone w/ iOS 17.6.1. (see below image)
Not sure why there would different behavior. I suppose that just adds to the frustration.
I’m on iOS 18, I noticed issues in Anki relating to text selection. It works, but it’s not right, so I suspect it’s the new iOS. No doubt LingQ didn’t get round to full iOS 18 testing, or maybe none, just assuming it’s kosher.
