Android App v4(.03) feedback and suggestions
Answered
Overall Bluos Android app v4 is a huge disappointment on my S22 Ultra.
Functionality issues in previous v3 app are not improved or remediated and the new v4 layout and UI is disappointingly still clunky, overly complex, badly laid out and unintuitive, despite Bluesound delaying v4 release for 6 months to ‘make improvements’ – God only knows what it was like when it was considered suitable for release early 2023.
Ongoing issues from v3:
1) Once Bluos open on phone, it remains default app for phone volume hardware buttons indefinitely.
This has been flagged by multiple users on the forum as annoying and unnecessary. I would really like someone from Bluesound to justify the reasoning behind this behaviour; be it from a technical or a functionality point of view. The official response from Buesound Technical Support (Kyle F) is:
"it's been like this for quite some time and will very likely remain as such due to what the functionality is intended for (Please, as above, tell us what the functionality ‘is intended for’, this is a mystery currently).
If this is inconveniencing you, force close the app when you are leaving the area where the Bluesound installation is for best results and to avoid the behaviour all together.
You can also force close the app when you are at home to avoid the behaviour and only open the app when you want to use it(as the BluOS app is intended as a remote and designed to be opened for short periods of time).
I use Android and am subject to the same behaviour, force closing works perfectly fine for me and I hope it will for you too."
Making 'force close the app' a normal part of operating the system is, quite frankly, appaling; a Tech Support Engineer saying he is happy to force close the app whenever he leaves the house does not make it appropriate behaviour for an app attempting to become the default for audio streaming hardware.
I have never had to force close another app for any reason ever.
2) Phone hardware volume buttons still operating when phone is locked
This is unbelievable and (if a use case can even be defined) should have an option to disable in app settings.
Sitting down with my phone locked in my pocket and my speakers ramping to full volume is absolutely ridiculous. Phones lock to disable user input, this design choice is dangerous to equipment.
This issue, combined with issue 1) means that I can start speakers streaming, drive away from the house, be in another County hours later and sit down with my locked phone in my pocket and ramp all my speakers to full volume with absolutely no knowledge.
Unbelievable, ridiculous design.
V4 UI issues:
These are all cosmetic and obviously subjective, however others have also mentioned that the app overall is 'messy' which it absolutely is.
The new tabs at the bottom are an definite improvement over the slide in trays.
The Home tab is not working for me (and at least one other user) at the moment so I can't even comment on that but I don't understand what the point of it is. Is there anything on it that couldn't/shouldn't be on another tab?
As I mentioned in another thread; player presets should be built into the player bar across the bottom above the tabs. Presets should be a fast 'shortcut' but they aren't a shortcut when you have to go to the Home tab to access them and them being on the Home tab is counter intuitive, they should be on the music tab if anywhere.
For me the Home tab should be just settings. At present because the Home tab isn't working I can't even access settings..
Tabs should be: Players / Music / Favourites / Search / Settings; this is the logical way a user would operate the app (select player, select source or favourites etc). The order makes no sense at present and appears to be random.
One thing that always irked me about v3 was the player settings being part of the general settings and dependant on player selected. This always seemed completely unnecessary, counter intuitive and clunky; why are player settings and player audio settings separated??
If I am in a player settings and I want to change settings for another player I have to come out of general settings, select the other player and go back into general settings. Easier and slightly quicker with tabs instead of trays but still crap user experience.
Player settings should incorporate audio and all other player settings and all be accessible via the three dots menu on the player card, this would actually be intuitive.
General app settings should be separate on a tab at the bottom of the app as above.
The group all and pause all buttons are disproportionately large.
In Android system dark mode the visual definition (border and shading) of the selected player is ok but if the player is grouped the same visual definition should be applied to the grouped players (or a slightly different background, lighter shade etc). The grouped players are on the same 'card' but with little/no border definition to show these are selected.
Another annoyance is that Pulse Soundbars revert to TV audio settings when they are in a group and streaming is stopped. Every morning when I start streaming from TuneIn on a group including a soundbar I have to manually change form TV to music.
Furthermore, every morning when I start that group streaming (TuneIn) after 15 seconds or so I get:
Player notification
Grouped player connection failed
I tap ok, start the stream again the same way and it streams instantly. Been doing this every morning for months now.
Group includes: 1x Pulse 2, 1x Pulse Soundbar, 2x Pulse Mini and 1x Node 2.
Chris.
3x Pulse Soundbar
2x Pulse Sub
2x Pulse 2
4x Pulse Mini
1x Pulse Mini 2i
2x B100S
2x Duo sat and sub sets
1x Powernode 2 (currently the third to be uneconomical to repair)
1x Hub
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Official comment
Thank you for the feedback. I've escalated your feedback to a support ticket. We will reach out to you shortly.
Thanks for #LivingHiFi -
The third Powernode 2 to fail catastrophically out of warranty is now confirmed as uneconomical to repair.
As previously I'm offered a replacement open box G3 unit for £500. I buy an £800 piece of kit and have to pay £500 to replace it within three years. I really hope the latest gen kit is more reliable..
Interesting to note that the above negative comments (with constructive feedback and suggestions) were very quickly responded to and 'escalated' and that the positive upvotes were removed by Bluesound. This forum is a great resource and appreciated but Companies should face their issues and not try to hide or minimise them. If Bluesound have issues with any of my criticism of the app or the hardware let's have an open conversation about it, I've been asking for that with regard the main two issues I describe for months now.
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Interesting to note that the above negative comments (with constructive feedback and suggestions) were very quickly responded to and 'escalated' and that the positive upvotes were removed by Bluesound.
Bluesound did not remove the positive upvotes. I did. I first gave you an upvote, but after you edited the post, I gave you a downvote. Simple as that.
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Ok, interesting to know what part of the edit changed your view of my post from positive to negative..?
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