Is the App no longer?

Let me correct the record: IFIXIT's app was taken off the App Store as Apple has sent them an eval unit of a new Mac Mini (from what I was told). As expected the IFIXIT teardown folks opened it up to take a look-see and they posted the teardown which is what I would have expected too! I guess Apple didn't like that and pulled their service agreement and app.

As it turns out the need for an app has waned and the needed man power to maintain it was heavy. So I don't see it as a loss as the energy has gone into making the main site much better!

At this point I think the app is partially abandoned on the remaining platforms. I've discussed my thoughts further here:

• Is it just me or is the iFixit app falling behind?
• Does iFixit develop the Windows Phone app?

On Android the extent of the problem is formatting options that were introduced over time were never implemented in the app. This leads to some formatting never working, while some of them work part of the way, but don't look "correct". If you're okay with that tradeoff, the Android app is usable.

On WP that isn't the case. The problems are far more serious, as outlined here:

• Login DOES NOT work (affects everyone)
• The guide intro is the search summary (this was changed years ago and the WP app isn't equipped to handle this change correctly. This leaves users with an incomplete guide.)
• Most (if not nearly all) formatting options are unsupported

On Android I can add bold formatting to help users separate lines, but outside of that I don't do much else since the rest of the formatting I like to use currently isn't supported and I don't want to flood my intros with excessive amounts of formatting. This is what I currently do for Android:

• Use bold formatting to help split lines for readers using the app (not perfect, but it works)
• Recommend using the mobile site for the best experience

To recap:

• I use limited formatting that I know works in the app to get around these problems in Android.
• Right now I try and minimize the amount of unsupported formatting I use. However, I can't completely avoid this.
• Use '''Bold text''' to help app readers identify new lines.

While I can't do much about WP, I will do this for Android as long as it remains practical. Once it gets to the point where I have to spend a fair amount of time formatting for the app I'm not going to bother anymore and will send everyone to the mobile site.

At this point, this is what I decided to do with the WP app and how to manage these problems:

• Send WP users to the mobile site
• Not support the mobile app with legacy formatting options that are known compatible
• No testing for compatibility (the intro change problem is the reason for this)

There isn't much I can do, so this is the best option I have at my disposal outside of giving readers a incomplete guide and hoping they understand I can't do much about the known problems with the WP app. It's to the point where abandoning the app is for the best for both parties.

TL;DR: The WP app is dead to me.

While I'd prefer my readers use the mobile site 100% of the time, this is wishful thinking. Since I can't control the platform someone uses to read my guides (and I don't want to leave anyone behind), I have to take steps to make sure they aren't confused and think I didn't spend any time formatting the intro. This is why I take steps to make my guides usable for Android, but do not promise anything beyond basic readability that makes sense.

The problem is once this becomes impractical and becomes worse, I need to make the decision to continue or send my readers to the mobile site to ensure the formatting works.

The move to focusing on the site for mobile is good to combat these problems; I don't need to worry about investing a lot of time into formatting and can still rely on my minimal formatting that I put in the guide for Android app users being a relatively safe backup plan for users who insist on using the app.

To get around these problems, this is what I do and it works relatively well:

• WP: Dead end app. Use the mobile site.
• Android: Some formatting doesn't work. Use with this understanding and you're golden.
• Mobile: Use this if possible.

The problem with the age of the app causing new formatting options to not work is guide authors are in a position where they need to make decisions on which platforms are worth investing time into to ensure they work well. This shouldn't be something guide authors need to worry about, but we (unfortunately) have to.

For some, they may give up and send everyone to the mobile site. Others will take steps like I do, but most authors are likely to decide that it isn't worth their time to do that. We want to focus on guides; not bug testing our content against an app that's overdue for an update. Note: I get it if one option isn't available, but when it extends as badly as it currently does on Android something needs to be done.

At least for now I am going to limit this notice to people using the WP app who try it. I don't want to set a bad expectation and the only way to avoid that is to put a notice in my guides that points out certain versions of the app are broken beyond repair :(. I don't like wasting characters for something like this, but I have no choice in the case of WP. Here's what I'm going to do, more or less: