It's been a while since our last blog post and I wanted to update you on all the goodies we have been working on. I guess you have seen most of it online or in the apps, but here is a summary nevertheless.
A new and shiny Checklist iOS App
The past few months were big for our iOS app. We have scrapped the previous app, which we have always considered as not up to our standards, and finally launched a totally new Checklist app for iOS. The app includes all the basic functionality of the previous app, but is based on a new code base. Since launch, a few weeks ago, we see a much more robust app for our users. The other main advantage is that we have used a much cleaner design, which is more in line with iOS guidelines and our Android app. The app also includes the Checklist Wizard: our tool to help you get your tasks done (although it is not fully rolled-out yet - more to come).We are now busy updating the iOS app to include ALL the great functionality that our Android users have come to enjoy. We would love to hear your feedback as we continue developing the app. Please share your thoughts below.Android updates
We have continued to improve our Checklist Android app and added the most requested feature: Sorting & Filtering. Although manual sorting has long been supported, you have asked for more flexibility: alphabetically, by due date, importance and created date. For those who want to hide completed tasks, the option is there. Read more on how to sort & filter you checklists.We have vastly improved the stability and performance of the app. We are sure you have noticed that. One of the main challenges with Android is its huge fragmentation (i.e. its availability on so many devices which are all different from each other). This makes it a challenge to ensure we offer a consistent experience across those device. So please share with us your feedback in cases where the app does not perform well on your specific device. We are here to help!We have changed the color of the checkboxes for a smoother experience. We have also added the Turkish language. We rely on our community to add new and improve existing languages. Please let us know if you have any comments on a translation or can help us get Checklist in your language. Last, we have improved the social login integrations (Facebook & Google) for a smoother sign in.Your feedback is what makes us successful, so please do share your feedback and suggestions for the future of Checklist.
A word about User Accounts
In the new iOS version as well as the latest Android, we have removed the "try without account" option- SKIP. This has resulted in a small, but sometimes nasty response. We love all of our users, even the passionate ones. We thought it would be a good time to explain our rationale for the change.There are many reasons for using a Checklist account, the main being automatic backup, sync across devices and sharing of checklists. Over the years we got complaints from users who chose not to have an account and ended up losing their phone or accidentally deleting the app. This resulted in the loss of their checklists. Unfortunately, without an account, there was no backup and a way for us to help. So we decided to make sure this does not happen. Developing and maintaining an app for both "guest" and "user" mode is also more complex and we like to keep things simple (but that does not mean not-powerful!).This is 2017 and social logins are everywhere. Using Google or Facebook sign in does not mean you sell your soul to the devil. We value our users and their privacy above all. A social login is simply there to make it easier for you to sign up (or in) to the app. We never sell or trade your data. There is no "evil conspiracy".Still not convinced? We listen to our users. So please voice your opinion on our user forum where we draw our development plans from.A side note: we are working on a new "Recycle bin" feature (TBA). Wouldn't it be great if you could simply get back that checklist you worked on for so long and accidentally deleted? A backup in the cloud which would keep the checklists in this bin would be awesome! Do you agree?Last, we would like to remind you that Checklist is 100% free. There are no drawbacks to registering and using the account. It is there for YOU, our user.
What's next for Checklist?
Beyond bringing iOS to the same level of the Android app, we are busy with Checklist v5. One of the main discussions we have with our users is about Checklist being a To Do app more than a Checklist app. We acknowledge the fact that people approach checklists from their own perspective and would like to offer a solution for both. We have always sought to make Checklist a great tool for people wanting to repeatedly "run" checklists. And this is the focus of v5. We are going to start small and grow it as we receive your feedback. We can't wait to share it with you!