It feels a little bad to pile on to the already tepid feedback for this new app experience, but this release is so bad, I feel the need to chime in.
I) This App is Still in Alpha
First of all, and perhaps most importantly, this app is clearly in the alpha stage and should not have been released, yet. By Plex’s own admission, there are several popular features present in the old app that have not been completed. Feature incomplete means alpha. I don’t care what you call it.
Honestly, it’s okay that the app isn’t done. Take your time. But don’t force an update in the production release branch that reverts back to an alpha state, it’s ridiculous.
II) Notable Missing Features
Personally, these are missing the features I use frequently and are enough to be a deal-breaker:
- Watch together - This was not only removed, but I didn’t see a mention in the announcement that it’s planned. Are you really killing this?
- OTA Casting - Having the button present but nonfunctional is comically irresponsible. How did this pass QA?
- Changing app icons - I use a pride icon, and for a minute I thought y’all jumped on the anti-DEI train, which would be an instant boycott for me. Then I read the release forum post and realized it’s just another victim of the rushed launch. I’m no Swift dev but, the icons already exist and the iOS integration was already done. How hard is it to just put the same function & icon files in the new app?
There are many others that I personally don’t use, but I can understand why others are upset by them.
III) Symptom of Plex’s Misguided Priorities
For context, I’m a lifetime Plex Pass purchaser, and I strongly believe that it’s been one of the best value software purchases I’ve ever made. I have integrated Plex into my life as my primary method of media consumption. I’ve stated multiple times that despite my lifetime pass, I would pay more money for certain features.
I even stayed through the privacy nightmare that was sharing watch history with you entire friends list by default 
–only because it could be disabled.
Unless this app fixes it’s issues extremely quickly or gives the option to roll back somehow, I’m done. The Plex team clearly shifted focus in the past couple years from a media server software to a 3rd party content aggregator, and that’s not what I paid for.
<— I get it, you want to distance yourself from the reality that your software is used by many to play 
content. But turning your software into something it’s not isn’t the answer.
IV) Alternatives Are Catching Up
I’m definitely going to dust off Jellyfin and see how far its come. I’ve heard great things, but stayed with Plex because it was ahead in features. I think that lead is quickly disappearing. Jellyfin isn’t perfect, but that project clearly has its priorities much more in-tune with its user base than Plex.
