User feedback: swipe navigation from player screen (2.3 beta)

Feature request
1

System info

App version: 2.3.0-beta2

App source: Google Play

Feature description

Problem you may be having, or feature you want:
We have received feedback via email from a user about the update to the player screen, particularly the buttons to access the chapters and description.

I am currently using version 2.3.0-beta2. The last change of the navigation to the Shownotes and Chapter Marks I do not find successful. The previous arrangement with swiping to the left and right was much better.

I then asked why they found it better, and replied the following:

The new navigation is less pleasant for me to use. It is easier to swipe left and right than to hit the small buttons for navigation, especially at night when half asleep :wink: I don’t know, it feels illogical to me.

Original emails in German > Ich nutze zur Zeit die Version 2.3.0-beta2 Die letzte Änderung der Navigation zu den Shownotes und Kapitelmarken finde ich nicht gelungen. Die vorherige Anordnung mit Wischen nach links und rechts war wesentlich besser.
...
> Die neue Navigation ist für mich weniger angenehm in der Bedienung. Es ist leichter nach links und rechts zu Wischen als die kleinen Buttons für die Navigation zu treffen, vor allem nachts im Halbschlaf ;-) Ich weiß nicht, es fühlt sich unlogisch an für mich.

So there’s two things that I conclude from their feedback:

  • this user apparently didn’t discover the down swipe option
  • I think we can assume that users are used to left & right swipe because of previous behaviour

Suggested solution:
This made me think: Why don’t we allow for 3 swipe directions, where the shownotes gets to keep the same swipe direction as current:

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Swiping down of course closes the player fragment.

This would also address my personal feedback on the new player screen navigation:

  • You have to swipe down to reach the description. In daily use, I find this a bit annoying: I want to quickly check something (eg. a link) in the shownotes and then go back to the screen with the image
    • going back feels like a long thing to do, because natural instinct is to scroll up again, until the player screen, because scrolling down is how you got to the shownotes (even though you probably can also just hit the back button)
    • you can’t maintain the the vertical position when doing the above
  • if we have another feature that should be accessible from the player screen (like #4935), we have limited options: there’s no space really for another main button, and so I think it’d have to be an icon in the top bar.

Screenshots / Drawings / Technical details:
Of course this means extra work. But the current work to make downward swiping would not be lost as it’ll be used for the first next feature that needs a screen accessible from the player.

What do you think?
CC @ByteHamster @ueen @tonytamsf @Matth78

1 Like
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I think we thought about multi directional swiping and concluded that it would be to complicated/unintuitive, no?
The main goal was to simplify, of course it’s a change if you were used to horizontal and now it’s vertical.*
I personally used it for the last month and found it very pleasant. And for quickly clicking a link it’s very easy, I did not found myself switching between cover and shownotes that often or reading shownotes while asleep (?)…

If transcript is added there could be a tablayout in the swipe down (shownotes/transcript) or another solution that makes the transcript screenless, like the chapters are now, I think ByteHamster had smth in mind.

I think overall now it’s a huge improvement both visually and functionally :blush:

*(Like I get that some users need to relearn but I found it very strange that the shownotes where positioned horizontally in the player in the first place, like any other music player or spotify has a swipe up function and horizontal is reserved for skipping to the next track, so I’d say it was just wrong or at least very unusual before :see_no_evil:)

1 Like
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I agree with ueen.

Still to elaborate on your mockup Keunes : if shownotes where on the left then it would also be different from before. It would feel especially strange when there is no chapters to have moved it to left side.
Chapters list would be more logical on left since it’s more like a lateral navigation bar and shownotes on left to be something like swiping a book page. (Then it would mean that button should be inverted)

All in all I don’t mind what we have now. The main drawback IMHO is that now I feel like swiping down to dismiss an episode description from episodes list (not from player) is missing. :wink: I was tempted to open a feature request about that.

4

More feedback of the sort: New buttons are difficult to use · Issue #5331 · AntennaPod/AntennaPod · GitHub

5

Related feedback: Make chapter list accessible by swiping · Issue #5442 · AntennaPod/AntennaPod · GitHub

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That is a surprising statement considering Overcast uses that exact UI very sucessfully. Allowing different views while maintaining the player controls in view is such an obvious win I am astonished, that AntennaPod sticks to showing chapters as a separate overlay making it impossible to easily navigate chapters while maintaining accessibility over player controls. Talking about complicated UI I find the current implementation both complicated and unintuitive.

1 Like
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Hi @bippenlal
I think what we discussed at the meeting, and what @ueen was referring to, is that it’s too complicated to implement. At the time, the chapters button had just been introduced and changing it again wasn’t very attractive outlook.