Esteem mobile v2: Review of app updates. v2.0.6 & v2.0.7.

The new eSteem mobile is the rave of the moment right now, in terms of steem android clients. Prior to the public, I was quite anxious to see what the new app will offer. I had high hopes about the app, and after I grabbed my own copy of the public release, my expectations were met.

The app is still undergoing development and updates are being rolled out. I'm really keen about this project and that's why I've been keeping tabs with all the developments that are going on on the app. I also love sharing my opinions about each update, and that's why I'm creating this article.

This post is a sequel to my previous post about Esteemapp v2. In the previous post, I wrote about my first impressions of the new software. I also went further to review the available features that were on the app. In the first release, the app lacked some features that will ideally boost user experience. However, the project owner in his announcement post said that the app would receive frequent updates, that will see more features added and bugs fixed. True to his word, an update rolled in a few days ago and it's packing new features and bug fixes.

Here are the features I reviewed in the previous publication.

• User Interface (UI)
• User security
• Older posts and comments edit

These features were the highlights of the app in my first review. I was particularly impressed with the user interface of the software. The clean UI made the app exciting to use. I wasn't so impressed with the security(app security). I was expecting more advanced security measures, but that didn't come. The security on the old esteem mobile is pretty much solid than the one in this new version. I hope this is something the project owner looks into.

Furthermore, in the previous publication, I outlined some features that were missing in the new app but were available in the old one. The missing features are;

• Drafts page.
• Bookmarks,
• Favorites,
• Scheduler,
• Exchange,
• Profile editor, etc.

Some of these features are now available in the recent update.

After the first public release, the Esteemapp has had two updates.

In this article, I will discuss the two updates that have been released. Furthermore, I will review some of the features that came with these updates.

I hope you have a wonderful read.

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Esteemapp update releases v2.0.6, v2.0.7: Review of new features.

The first update saw the app's version number change to v2.0.6. The version number wasn't the only change that occurred though. The update saw the inclusion of new features as well as optimization of old ones.

These are the features that were introduced or fixed in the first update(v 2.06);

• Added Leaderboard
• Added Russian translation
• Added Drafts
• Landscape mode disabled for now
• Small enhanced on comments height
• Fixed search bar issues
• Voters routing keys fixed
• Editor fixes
• Tags improvement
• Post editing improvements
• Login with private keys fixed
• MIT license added
• Sidemenu style fixes

As you can see from the list, quite a lot was done in that update. However, the most significant feature for me in that update was the drafts. The leaderboard, which is a totally new feature on esteemapp was somewhat significant too.

The inclusion of Russian translation was a plus. Although I don't understand, or, speak Russian, I know the value the inclusion of the language will bring to Russian speaking natives.
The project owner is keen on making this app usable by anyone by eliminating language barrier.
In one of his publications, he called out individuals to help translate the app to other languages. He even went further to boost prospective volunteers. He stated that translators will be rewarded via upvotes from esteemapp and utopian. I'm sure that more language translations will be available in the next update.

Aside from the leaderboard, Russian translation, and drafts, the other updates were fixes. These fixes are very important too because they have an impact on user experience.

Yesterday, the project owner announced the release of a new update. This update changes the version number to v2.0.7.

This update brings the addition of new features, as well as a lot of bug fixes. The project owner didn't give concise details about all the fixes that occurred.

In his words,

There were so many bug fixes and improvements under the hood, so if we will post it here, you may just sink in that. If you are interested, just check out our official Github repo for more details.

With consistent use of the software, I'd be able to figure out those fixes myself.

In his publication, the project owner announced what's new in the update release.
The update saw the addition of three (3) new features, three (3) improved features, and notable fixes. However, there were lots of fixes not mentioned in his announcement.

Here's the list of what was done in the recent update;

• New - Favorite authors
• New - Share post
• New - Post payout details
• Improved - Comment nesting
• Improved - Markdown parsing
• Improved - Editor screen
• Fixed - number of issues on editors, tags, keyboard, login, mark all read notifications and more.

Going by the list above, it would seem like nothing much was added in this update. But the inclusion of three new features in this update is worth talking about.
The significant feature update for me in this update was, the favorite authors. The other features are quite important too, but, they are not as impactful as favorite authors feature.
No new language translation was included in this update. But I'm certain there will language translations in the next update.

Review of new features.

The two updates after the first public release saw the addition of new features.

The first update(v 2.0.6) saw the inclusion of these new features;

• leaderboard
• russian language
• drafts

While the recent update (v 2.0.7) which is the latest version saw the addition of these new features;

• Favorite authors
• Share post
• Post payout details

From the two (2) updates, a total of six (6) new features have been added to the app.

In this section, I will be reviewing these new features. Furthermore, I will discuss what I like or hate about them.
I will exclude talking about the Russian translation. This is due to the fact that it is not a feature per se.

Leaderboard.

The leaderboard is a brand new feature across all esteemapp variants. ie; eSteem mobile and eSteem surfer.
The leaderboard is actually a list that displays a stats of users and how frequent they use the app. In my previous publication, I stated that I didn't know the significance of the leaderboard. However, I guessed that after a certain period of time, the leaders on the board will be rewarded.
If the leaders are rewarded, it would serve as a means to boost users to make use of the app often. People will tend to use the esteemapp to publish their blogs, just so they can be on the leaderboard.

The project owner hasn't made any announcement concerning this theory, for now, they are just my assumptions.

Drafts.

This is one of the features I've been waiting to see on eSteemapp. I wouldn't need to say anything about drafts. This is because we should already know how it works. But I won't be talking about how it works, instead, I will talk about the notable changes that occurred.

The drafts feature was in the old esteemapp. It is now also in the new one(esteemapp). The notable difference of this feature is the user interface of the drafts page.
This new drafts page has a sleek interface. It looks really great, especially when compared with the old esteemapp.
In the old esteem app, the contents in the drafts page where displayed like a list. In the new esteemapp, the content is previewed. It almost looks like you were on the feeds page.
I noticed something cool. Apparently, it has been like that but, I didn't know. I realized that drafts are synchronized through all esteemapp. That means, if I saved a draft on esteem mobile, I will see the same draft when I'm on esteem surfer. At first, I thought it was a bug, but I was told it wasn't when I asked about it.

The synchronization isn't just for drafts alone. Other features such as bookmarks, favorite authors etc are synchronized.

Favorite authors.

There are authors on the blockchain who publish articles we love to read about.
They might be few, or a lot. It could pose an issue when they a lot. This is because it might be hard to remember or keep up with all of them. Esteemapp solves that problem with this feature. It is not a new feature. It is available on the old esteem and no significant changes where made.
The only difference I noticed was the method by which these authors are added to the favorites list.
In the old esteemapp, these authors can be marked as favorite when we stumble on their posts. But in this the new esteemapp, you will have to access the author's profile first. Although it doesn't really make any difference, I kind of liked the old method. This new method is good too. The project owner can decide to use both.

This feature could be better with some improvements though. It would be great if users get notified of new articles published by their favorite authors. I added my favorite author while creating this article. She hasn't published any new article yet, so I can't say if the notification thing works. But I don't think it works that way.

Share posts.

Again, this isn't an actual new feature on esteemapp. It was available in the old version and now in the new.

For those who might not know, this feature works exactly like your share button on other social media apps. It lets you share your link with whoever or wherever you intend it to.

Post payout details

This feature was available on the old esteemapp. It is now available on the new version. No significant changes were noticed.
I was expecting that in the details, author and curators reward will be split. So a user would know what he's expecting as an author.

I feel this might not be feasible seeing that post-payout are not fixed. Especially in this bear market. Sometimes post payouts are steem and steem power. Other times it is SBD and Steem power. Currently, every post pays out as SBD and Steem power.
But if it is doable, the feature would be better appreciated that way.

Summary.

In this article, I've been able to briefly discuss the recent updates of eSteemapp that were just released.

So far, from what I've noticed, the new features that are being added to this new version are common features in the old app.
The only really new feature so far is the leaderboard. I was hoping to see new innovations on the app. My hopes are not let down yet though. The app is still in the works. So I'm sure there will be actual new features added.

In one of my publications in this series, I stated that the developer might add all the features on the old esteemapp to this new one. So far, about two (2) of those features have been added. They are;

• Drafts,
• Favorite author.

The features that are yet to be added are;

• Bookmarks,
• Scheduler,
• Exchange,
• Profile editor.

There are hints on the app that bookmarks and a scheduler would soon be available on the app. For now, they just have their own page but without content.
The profile editor is a feature I'm hugely anticipating.
I don't think exchange, will be added to this new esteemapp. But, I'm not the project owner so I can't conclude on that. We would know in subsequent updates.

Conclusively, I'm pleased with the work that has been done on the app so far. The project owner promised consistent updates and he's been true to his word.

Thanks for reading.

Links

Project repository: https://github.com/esteemapp

App download link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.esteem.mobile

Resources:

• eSteem Mobile 2.0.7 new features & performance improvements

The images used in this article are screenshots from my mobile phone or PC. Other images used, are properly sourced.

Series backlinks:

• Is esteemapp the best steem android client? or there are others better than it.
• Is esteemapp the best steem android client? or there are others better than it? (Part 2)
• Is esteemapp the best steem android client? or there are others better than it? (Part 3)
• Unveiling the newest steem android client, Esteem mobile v2 (First impressions and review.)
• Esteem surfer V2 First impressions and review.

Github profile:

https://github.com/HarryHeights