Preview of ADK46erNow Updates
I’m always hesitant to update any of my apps, especially if changes aren’t needed. A major pet peeve of mine is finding that an app I use has moved its features or shuffled its interface without any obvious reason why. It means I have to relearn the app before I can be productive again.
Sometimes there’s a good reason to revise the user interface. Even so it’s something I do sparingly. It’s been a long time since I’ve updated the ADK46erNow app and there are some good reasons to do so. Here’s a preview of the updates that are coming this year.
First, the app is being redeveloped from the ground up! That sounds scary, but only because it is! The development environment I used to create the app, Solar2d, has one (at least) major issue that has prevented the iOS and Android versions from having an identical feature set. This has always bugged me and I’s past time to make the “360 View” feature that identifies the surrounding high peaks work on Android as it does on iOS. However, to do this I’ve needed to switch to using Unity and C#.
Second there are features that require more taps and navigation than necessary. I realize I just mentioned that changing navigation and the UI are pet peeves of mine, but these updates will be minimal and really do streamline how the app is used.
The app’s design is receiving an overhaul. This is mainly cosmetic and won’t impact or detract from using the app. The consistency of button operations and user feedback will be improved and it’s been a long time since the app’s look has received any attention.
Finally, stay tuned for more updates which I’ll post about as they’re developed. My goal is to have this update ready for the 2025 summer hiking season. It’s a big ask, but a lot of progress has already been made. In the meantime the current version of the app can be found here:
