Disabling the App

App is a lot quicker for looking up beers and checking inbox, bring it back!

 

I used the app a lot and would love to see an improved version in the future. I feel like the reason the app traffic was low was that the app wasn't quite a fully realized product and people most likely abandoned it or deleted it. I would be curious to know downloads vs active users.

The trend is definitely toward mobile apps and not away. Here is an interesting read on the topic. http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/16-percent-of-mobile-userstry-out-a-buggy-app-more-than-twice/

 

I'm gonna miss the app for two reasons: the auto suggestions when looking up a beer and the format when rating /reviewing a beer. If these features are ported over to the new site, that'd be great.

 

If I carried a tablet when beer shopping then the website would be pretty OK. But for a phone, an app can be tailored for the limed screen real estate.

 

Maybe people have addressed this already but I have to sign in and then re-sign in almost every time I want to use this website on my phone, even though I leave the webpage open. The app was better for quick messaging responses and that was my main function for it.

 

I spent a little time thinking about what I would want to see if the app came back and came up with a few things.

1. A bar code scanner that takes me right to the beer's page or prompts me to enter a beer that isn't in the database.
2. If I haven't tried a specific beer the app could use my ratings and the ratings of others with similar data as me to predict the likelihood that I would like beer. I mean we all enter massive amounts of data on beers that the app should be able to offer suggestions on styles and specific beers to try.

I would actually pay for an app that did those things.

 

Glad to see the "nearby" will be included on the site update. That was extremely useful for me in my travels (I travel 60% of the year). Other than that, I do like the newer looking site. Thanks for the hard work!

 

Any thoughts on when BA 4.0 is anticipated?

 

This is a good point - the rest of the industry - actually all industries - are changing their emphasis towards mobile apps because millennials and us older folk are transitioning away from laptop and desktop devices. We'll have both for the foreseeable future, but as phones become more and more powerful, get better data transfer rates, get bigger screens, etc - the shift towards mobile continues. This shift has been towards dedicated apps that generally do not mimic the corresponding website - rather they provide functionality specifically useful and tailored to mobile use. The web has many issues when mobile, particularly on smaller screens. Lastly, apps can be made much more responsive. I surely do understand their frustration with supporting two interfaces if they think of it as duplication - but really they could make an app that only supports things like nearby, news, and beer searching. As far as I am concerned, skip the forums as those are less functional in an app.

 

I used the app mostly as a convenient way to log beers that I want to buy or taste. There isn't a huge difference between the app and website but it does feel as if the app was more intuitive for my needs than getting to the same point through the site. A few more clicks to get there, but maybe its just something that I'll remember better with time. Never used it to reply to forum posts or read articles so having that on the phone is not really important to me.

Sad to not have it but hopefully with time I'll get used to using the web on my phone. Still a strange decision as I think there are benefits to having an app as opposed to web site only.

 

While it is clearly the case that there is increasing use of mobile devices and apps, that doesn't entail that there should be a different mode of interaction flow and users experience for each platform. Not only is there increased use of mobile devices there is increased use of multiple platforms and a growing recognition among developers that it is important to provide for multiplatform use by the same individual. The greatest level of efficiency for all lies providing common user experiences across platforms. Thus the real challenge lies in having a single interaction design that accomodates a relatively standard interface/interaction across multiple platforms.

 

I understand that argument for sure but with the sensors, gps, cameras, etc that the phones have these days a dedicated app could be so much better than a desktop site. I feel that users these days expect different interfaces that take advantage of all phones can offer. My personal experience is that I would rather use a mobile app on my phone than be forced to experience a website that was made into an app.

Designers focusing on the user experience in a mobile app and taking advantage of phone specific features is why these apps are becoming the norm. I find myself wanting a streamlined and focused experience when I am out and about and searching for the next best beer. I also check exif data often on picture posts in the forums and I believe a majority of the pictures posted are taken with phones. There should definitely be an easy path from snapping a pic on my phone to having it appear on that beer's info page or in a post for all to see.

I just feel that users don't want the same experience on an app as they get on a web site. It seems to be a disservice to the power of the modern phone to limit it by what a desktop site can do.

The great thing is that we can have a civil discussion (which rarely takes place on the internet) where we can see that everyone has a different opinion and different desires. We leave it to the owners of this site to gather feedback and use it to enhance the experience of their diverse users.

Cheers.

 

I am sure that is a huge issue. I wish there were a solution since many of the most active threads revolve around sharing pictures and experiences involving the liquid for which we advocate.

 

Not a big fan of this decision. I've been a member for more than 7 years, and I frequently review beers. Back before the app was available, if I wasn't reviewing a beer at home in front of my computer, I would write the review in my phone's memo/notepad app, and properly review the beer on the website eventually when I remembered to type it up from my phone notes. The app made it easy to review, as well as checking forums. This is taking a step backward if you ask me.
Not sure if this is a decision based on people moving to Untappd for their reviewing needs, but for people like me, despite adding Untappd, my reviewing frequency hasn't slowed down because of it.
I of course will continue to use the website when at work like I always do to check forums, but now that the convenience is stripped from me, I feel like it's just encouraging BA users to switch to Untappd.

PS. I respect the fact that BA encouraged a character minimum for reviews, while untappd had a 140 character limit, which adds to my disappointment.

 

Nice!! Well done.