Feedback on the New Plex Android App:
While the new app has a nice modern look, there are several issues that significantly impact usability:
Photo App:
- The new dedicated photo app cannot play videos within photo albums anymore, which used to work in the previous version of the main Plex app. Now, when attempting to play a video, the screen just stays black and nothing happens.
- On the positive side, it’s now easier to scroll through photos quickly thanks to the improved thumbnail previews.
Main Plex App:
- The design looks fresh, but the new library selection menu on the home screen feels disruptive. Previously, it was neatly tucked away in a sidebar which could be expanded—this was more space-efficient. The current central placement takes up too much room and isn’t necessary since relevant movies/series are already shown on the home screen. A dropdown or sidebar would be a better solution.
- Starting or resuming a video now takes significantly longer. Often, the video starts playing for a few seconds, then buffers endlessly and eventually fails with an HTTP error. This happens both on mobile networks and in the same Wi-Fi as the Plex server, even when playing Plex’s own content.
- Video loading times have worsened in general. Strangely, 720p videos tend to load slower than 4K ones. During a 720p playback attempt, there’s almost no measurable network activity, while 4K content quickly spikes to up to 10MB/s.
- A useful control has been removed: the double-tap gesture (left/right) to skip 10 seconds no longer works, and the “Geek Stats” overlay is also missing.
- The screen rotation is now too sensitive. Although it rotates faster than before, it often flips 180 degrees when the device is laid flat or picked up from a table—this is more annoying than helpful.
- Previously, locking the smartphone during playback would pause the video—now it continues playing, which is inconvenient.
- The Live TV EPG, which used to load quickly and show all channels from my server, now takes noticeably longer. I compared this directly with the old version of the app, which still loads the guide much faster.
- The app frequently freezes or crashes, requiring a full restart. This leads to a frustrating user experience.
- One essential feature seems to be missing: the ability to browse the full Live TV and DVR EPG for upcoming weeks. Previously, you could filter by genre or channel to find upcoming movies or episodes to schedule recordings. This feature is either gone or very difficult to find.
General Thoughts:
I’ve been using the Plex ecosystem for many years and have always been impressed by how the platform evolved and became more user-friendly over time. Even though I was disappointed when server plugin support was discontinued, I accepted that as part of the system’s development. However, the recent changes—especially in the Android app—have made me seriously reconsider. For the first time, I’m actively looking into alternative platforms that may offer a more stable, intuitive, and user-oriented experience.
