Hello mobile wikimedians,

*tl;dr Today we pushed a beta for our next version, 5.0.5, to beta testers with major stability and performance updates under the hood. We’re thinking about notifications and nearby features, so take a look [7,9] and let us know what you think.*

== 5.0.5 beta 2 Released ==

As mentioned previously on list, starting with the release of iOS 9.3 and Wikipedia version 5.0.3, we saw a near doubling of our crash rate. This is evident in recent app store ratings and reviews, and OTRS reports.

To address this we have focused on updates to core components which have been sources of significant instability or risk.

In addition to a library architecture change made in 5.0.4 (which has seen our crash rate reduced) the team has been working hard to transition our core html rendering component (called a “web view” in app terminology) from the older Apple “UIWebView” to the more modern “WKWebView”[1]. (WK here stands for WebKit[2]). Since article display with html is the main function of the app, this is essentially like putting a new engine in your car. As with a new engine, this one should not only break down less often, but also be faster and more resource efficient[3].

== Upcoming Plans ==

With all our planned technical, stability and performance improvements included in this beta, we’re focusing again on improving the features and usability of the app. In particular we plan to address user requests to be able to search within pages, and provide easier access to everyone’s favorite Random articles. We will also continue to work on making the app accessible to disabled readers.

We also want to continue to experiment with new ways to engage with the encyclopedia on mobile devices, as part of the Foundation’s Reach focus in the recent strategy process[4], and the Reading team’s focus on improving the encyclopedia experience, trying new mobile-centric modes of interaction and assessing their effect on repeat app usage[5].

== Feature Wikis ==

===Content Notifications===

In a post on the Wikimedia Foundation blog today[6], I introduced our initial ideas around notifications. You can also check out our wiki for more detailed initial concepts for content notifications[7]. Completing an initial test of notifications is also our teams goal for the upcoming quarter[8].

===Nearby and Map based browsing===

Building on the existing Android map based experience, and the iOS compass-based approach, we’re exploring adding add a new tab for searching and browsing Wikipedia based on location and via a map. Check out our wiki on the potential features and designs for Nearby on iOS[9].

We welcome your feedback on these features on the relevant talk pages. And of course we welcome general feedback, suggestions and code contributions in the usual places: email, IRC (#wikimedia-ios and #wikimedia-mobile) or wiki[10].

Thanks,

Josh Minor

Reading Product Manager, Wikipedia for iOS

[1] - https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/WebKit/Reference/WKWeb...

[2] - WebKit is an open source html rendering and browsing engine ( https://webkit.org/) used by Safari and many other browsers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_web_browsers#WebKit-based

[3] - http://developer.telerik.com/featured/why-ios-8s-wkwebview-is-a-big-deal-for...

[4] - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/2016_Strategy/Draft_WMF_Strategy#Rationale (Referred to in the Strategy discussions as “Reach - Approach 6”)

[5] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Reading/Strategy/2016-2017_plan#Program_4:_Im...

[6] - https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/06/17/wikipedia-mobile/

[7] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/iOS/Notifications

[8] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Engineering/2016-17_Q1_Goals#Readin...

[9] - https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/iOS/Nearby

[10]- https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Apps/Team/iOS