Same just got it this morning. I don’t understand 1) the no comm in the app to inform2) opt-in approach to gather feedback and adapt 3) drop of features 4) broken feature.
We are in 2025 how can they do a rollout so badly botched.
I understand they want to push the on demand items and it is fine but that should be done incrementally.
3 Likes
It has all the design and functionality of a 3rd party app created by a group of 1st year Computer Science students as a weekend hobby project
9 Likes
The iPad app can’t stream Live TV. The new home screen is so bad when you have multiple libraries that you try to split for kids content and adults. Revert back to the old one!
Side note:
The AppleTV app continues to talk to all your shared servers as you stream from just one server. Talk about wasted bandwidth.
6 Likes
Hi Sonos, I mean Plex.
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In January 2024, Plex closed a $40 million Series C-3 round led by existing investors to support profitability goals and new features like a TVOD marketplace.
I would love to observe the next board meeting to watch the plex team explain this disaster to Intercap and Kleiner Perkins.
All you had to do was literally, not this. Plex needs to let us enable “legacy mode” while they work out all of these bugs.
6 Likes
For the time being just downgrade your Plex App.
This latest apps just a total mess, so many things broken. How can I reinstall the previous version on iPad OS?
2 Likes
4 Likes
Loyal user here. I just can’t believe how Plex can launch something as bad as the “updated” version of the app. Read about it from other users and thought it must be over exaggerated but now the update was pushed on me. The app now resembles something +15 years ago released on windows mobile os. I rarely type this but Plex should be ashamed of themselves pushing this crap put the door. You have successfully destroyed your brand. Congratulations.
11 Likes
So, did Plex just hire all the fired Sonos managers? This is a disaster!!!
6 Likes
Well, they won’t be profiting from me, not one penny! I managed for years without them and I will manage again!!
So what is the alternative?
Just got the new app(s) on my iPhone. From a UX standpoint this is quite poor. It’s ALL media, and one can only play one thing at a time so there is no point for separate apps. The idea that one is great for music and one is great for photos is corporate manager top down profit driven garbage. Groups that are profit driven strive for larger footprints on devices and going from 1 to 3 apps is one way to do it. Another way is to keep pushing more content and ads that are not part of our personal media collections. This is the natural progression of most companies that eventually turn into something other than how they started. Facebook, Classmates, Windows OS, are just a few things that started out pretty great but are either on their way or are completely morphed into profit driven irrelevancy. To be fair, Plex isn’t there yet and I’m guessing most of the disgruntled users (including me) will swallow this bitter pill and hope for the best in the next round of updates. But the pattern has begun.
If you are a Plex dev, truly ask yourself what are your top drivers for making Plex “great”… what is great? Where are your ideas coming from: you, your users, your managers, your shareholders? Is your main driver creating the best product with the best experience for users where usage growth is based on things people want, use, like? Or is it creating a product that squeezes out pennies from your long term users, taking advantage of the goodwill you have created over the years? Those are the two ends or the spectrum. Neither can survive on their own in the long run.
As a developer and a long time plex user/administrator, do this:
- Create a best in class UX across every device. Easier said than done but the TV app should feel like it works the same as a phone app. This would also mean going back to one app.
- Be profitable the “right” way. I can’t believe I’m saying this but offer a garbage free ad free tier for those dedicated users/admins like me. Drop the permanent plex pass option. That will cause an uproar but if you are to remain profitable, the permanent thing won’t work. I still can’t believe I paid like $100 ten years ago and I never have to pay again. Estimate how much ad and data revenue you’d make with “tricks”, then charge slightly more for the premium tier. There’s no way your ads and data gathering tricks would make more than $20-50 a year. Charge different amounts for admins that have lots of users if you must.
- Increase your user base. Right now, I’d have a difficult time making the case for a new user to start using Plex. You need how many apps? It’s essentially serving up ads? It works different on the TV than on my phone? They are currently on the road to be even more ad driven? Their forums are lit up with long time users who aren’t happy and are actually talking about alternatives in their own forum?
9 Likes
I’m just like everyone else on here… this new setup is HOT GARBAGE. Separating Plex music and photos from the main app is an epic mistake, and the stupid PlexAmp doesn’t even work. If this is the future of Plex, I will be switching to Jellyfin or Kodi instead, and will be taking my ~40 friends with me. Put it back the way it was, Plex. You’re making the same stupid, unnecessary mistake that Apple made when they split iTunes into separate TV & Music apps. Fix it. Now. You have two days, or else I will be leaving, and taking my friends with me, in addition to me NEVER recommending Plex to anyone ever again, which up until today, I’ve always done. Your move, idiots.
7 Likes
AMEN. Well said.
1 Like
Jellyfin and Kodi are the best alternatives available, and they’re totally free, although they typically require a more advanced setup, meaning having a static IP address for your home internet (or Dynamic DNS, which is a pain in itself), and at the very least a blank SSL certificate. But it can totally be done, and is what I will be doing if Plex doesn’t put things back the way they were (and always have been).
3 Likes
Just not true at all in my experience and people are overreacting. The new UI to my surprise is much better, modern and clean. I downloaded on iOS this morning just to see what all the hype/fuss was about, and to my surprise it works well, plays video smoothly, and downloads FINALLY work.
PlexAmp works fantastic and has worked amazing for years. It’s the only music player I recommend for anyone with personal media, and the only way to play bit-perfect, hi-res music correctly via Plex. Far superior to music in the main plex app.
Yeah, PlexAmp won’t find ANY of the servers I’m connected to, even my own. I, along with seemingly everyone else on here, want it back the way it was. If people want to use PlexAmp as an alternative, great, but don’t force me into it. And the UI for the regular Plex mobile app? BEYOND counterintuitive and stupid. As a designer myself, I find it repulsive, borderline offensive.
2 Likes
Been there, done that. In the end I came back to Plex. For all the hassles and sometimes quirks and bugs, Plex is still far superior to Emby and Jellyfin. I tried switching to both, and they just feel inferior and unpolished in comparison. And I don’t like relying on FOSS because at any moment the devs can just decide to move on and the whole thing gets abandoned.
Interesting. Do you host your own server? PlexAmp finds both audio libraries I have (music, and audiobooks). Maybe some kind of firewall blocking your connection? PlexAmp in my experience is the best designed, well maintained app that Plex as a company has ever made. I don’t think I’ve ever had it crash or not work in all the years I’ve used it. For music it is unmatched IMO.
1 Like
Yeah, that doesn’t work on mobile. It won’t let me roll back, and now I’m stuck with this useless mess.
