Please release the old app as a "new" app (new app id)

[SuperSecret]

A while back I was talking briefly with @McWanke in another thread, which quickly got overrun. I would like to resurface this conversation in a dedicated thread to hopefully get what so many of us are asking for.

@SuperSecret

@McWanke

a lot of the feedback isn’t super actionable for us

@McWanke I understand a lot of what you’re saying here but I’m going to push back and disagree on this point. You have a very large number of users, across many threads, for many weeks now, asking to revert the app or at least release the old app in a Legacy form as a stop-gap, a bandaid until the bugs are worked out.

That’s an extremely easy lift and very actionable. The response to that ask from the Plex team has been complete radio silence. That is why we are the most frustrated.

@McWanke

if the argument is that you don’t care about the data side of things and want a fresh and clean app (assuming a new app id) then it is much easier and I would agree more on the lower lift comment. However, this creates big future headaches. Again, at this time, that is not a path that we are looking to provide.

@SuperSecret

@McWanke I believe many of us would very much appreciate a clean app of the old version (new app id). Signing in and getting our libraries in the app would be trivial at that point. I for one would absolutely love to have the “old experience” side by side with the “new experience” apps. This would allow everyone to continue their use cases and workflows mostly uninterrupted while still being able to provide feedback on the new app.

While I am personally not a fan of the new UI, I do understand this is the direction that has been chosen and there is not much we can collectively do to change the minds of Plex, however I will be much more willing to slowly migrate as it’s features catch up instead of just losing almost all of the functionality we previously had. I hope that makes sense.

At the end of the day it has been months since the new experience dropped and I would say it’s a fair assumption that 90% or more of the users do not like it. Period. We don’t like the UI, the lack of features, or the pace at which it is playing catch up to its previous version.

The ask here is to simply re-upload the old version of the mobile apps as a stop-gap. We understand that Plex will eventually move us toward the new experience regardless of what we want as paying customers but at least you can meet us in the middle until the new app is actually ready for wide use.

[ChristianKent]

It is way too late for this. There is no way they’re doing it at this point. They’ve already taken all the blows and persisted with their decision; from their perspective, they’ve already crossed the Rubicon. Reverting back to the old app would mean even more work and more delays.

Basically, the way I see it, and I’m sure it’s the same way they see it, changing course at this point and creating a separate new app will mean that more dev time will be lost; instead, that time could be used to work on and fix problems on the new app.

If you ask me, they should’ve created a new app right from the start. Or at least kept the beta phase for a few months longer. But this is the reality now. I’m willing to wait a few months. The new app is getting better after every update.

I suspect the code that limits remote streaming to plex pass subscribers is only in the new app, that’s why there was a rush to push it out.

[SuperSecret]

@ChristianKent

Reverting back to the old app would mean even more work and more delays.

Not necessarily. They have the app, the code is done, all they have to do is submit it to the respective app stores as a “new” app, Plex Legacy, and wait for approval. We know that version of the app still works as people are reverting to it and reporting success. The issue is that not everyone has the time or knowledge to do that.

[BanzaiInstitute]

It would be so much more pleasant for everyone if those that were happy to live on the edge could use the new app, and the rest of us could stick with the old app for another year or so.

But I agree, their actions so far have made this look impossible.

Right now I am just praying they don’t blow up the Google TV legacy app for a long time…

[MrFancyPants1999]

I agree with this. They could release a “Plex Legacy” or “Plex UNO” app for all the platforms they intend to replace with the new experience. It would require no effort or development to do so as the previous apps have already been “finished”.

And Plex can make it clear that the legacy app will receive no more updates or bug fixes and will remain “as is” and that active development will be for the new experience only. Really see no downside to this approach and although I have no issues with the new experience, I hope they do. I think they did it for Roku a few years back when they introduced a new UI change actually.

[shauncore]

If you want the old version, just download the apk from before the update.

[Selpro]

I keep seeing you guys posting this, “just download the BLAH BLAH BLAH”. Sorry brah, it ain’t just a “download”. It’s what looks to me like more than a “just download”. Some folks, myself included, don’t want to go off the deep end going through the steps outlined in those instructions.

We would however, like the plex devs to fix their caca.

Savvy?