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Why was 1P8 released in a seemingly unfinished state?
This is a rant, and I don't truly expect a reply from support as I know they can't really give any kind of satisfying answers to these questions/issue - but I felt compelled to express my frustrations regardless.
There are so many issues with 1P8 on iOS, both in missing features, feature regressions, and bugs (I'd say even more than on the Mac, and there are a still a TON of issues with the Mac version) that I really question the logic of not just releasing it in this current state, but also delisting 1P7.
Was there some kind of hard timeline set for the release regardless of the state it was in? If that was the case, then 1P7 should have been kept up on the App Store to make it easier for users to downgrade back to it (and yes I know you can go into your purchases section in the App Store to re-download it, but a lot of iOS users don't realize you can do that). If the hard timeline wasn't the case, then when in the world thought that this app was ready for prime time?
One of the most egregious issues is the lack of an Apple Watch app, and worse off that there was zero mention that such an app is no longer apart of 1P8. The vast majority of people (myself included) only found out about this after installing 1P8 and noticing the Watch app was gone. I've read some replies that the Watch is coming back, but it just wasn't ready for the initial release, which begs the question, again, why was 1P8 released if it wasn't ready?
I am really, really, really concerned about the future of AgileBits and 1Password. Nearly every decision since the announcement of 1P8 has been user hostile and has been only good for the bottomline of AgileBits (i.e. subscription only, no more local vaults, a switch to Electron, etc.). And as such I'm finding it more and more difficult to justify staying with 1Password. The fact that support can't give answers to certain fundamental questions (like when will 1P8 be released on the Mac App Store, and if it won't be, why?) because it is basically against company policy to talk about future plans, makes it extremely difficult to judge whether the plethora of documented issues will actually get fixed.
I know 1P8 was just released for iOS, and there will of course be growing pains as a result, but if you look at 1P8 for Desktop (on all platforms), which has been out for many months at this point, there are still a ton of issues that have not been resolved, some going all the way back to the first betas (such as the abysmal search capabilities). As such, I have very little faith that the iOS version will actually get better when the Desktop versions really haven't.
As it stands, I feel like I'm paying a monthly fee to beta test software. Furthermore, when users express their frustrations in this regard, and ask how to downgrade back to 1P7, support will almost always answer that they "don't recommend people use 1P7 as it is no longer actively supported" before explaining how to downgrade. If you don't want users to downgrade, then release a piece of software that actually works and doesn't make us feel like we're beta testing it.
Finally, I have made a decision that if 1P8 doesn't get better in a meaningful way in the next couple of months, I will be canceling my subscription and moving elsewhere (currently looking at both Enpass and Minimalist Password Manager), and I am advocating for friends and family to do so as well.
And thus concludes my rant. Do with it what you will.
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18 Replies
Yep. I agree with noraar. I’ve returned to iOS v7 since v8 is just abysmal. When they accepted the VC funds, I was concerned that they would lose their identity and positive user experience, and it seems that they are going down that path. If they can’t get their act together, I’ll have to move on. Sadly, when companies get large enough, they lose the personal touch, which was one of their best qualities.
Good points all, and well-taken. Thanks for the interchange. Here's hoping TPTB are reading along...
williakz I remember reading that blog post, it was a great post! Alas, that post is from nearly a year ago and 1P8 is still a mess of feature regressions, feature omissions and bugs. I don't think people (myself included) would be so upset if AgileBits had just held off on releasing 1P8 until it was truly ready for prime time (which it is absolutely not ready for). Furthermore, I don't think people would be as upset if only the developers would actively acknowledge the plethora of issues and promise they will get fixed vs. the current non-answers of not wanting to talk about future plans (or giving really vague and frustrating answers such as when asked about 1P8 being released on the Mac App Store getting the answer "the future is a long time!")
1P8 for the desktop has been out for months now, and issues going back to the early beta still haven't been fixed. Only now is substring search available in a nightly build of the desktop (and not for mobile - which begs the question of how unified the underlying code base really is...), and that only solves one part of the larger search issue.
As it stands, AgileBits is basically using its paid users base for mass beta testing, and that is simply not okay. I would love to believe that everything outlined in the blog post will come to pass, but actions speak louder than words, and AB's actions over the past year have burned a lot of bridges and destroyed a lot of trust. I am no longer willing to give the developers a pass. Promise to fix the plethora of well documented issues, or there will be a mass exodus of users.
noraar, If you read some of the response posts by 1Password Team Members regarding user-reported problems, I believe you'll see that code changes to correct bugs, add features (from base functionality IP8), and tweak display elements are appearing regularly in the beta or "nightly" interim releases. Presumably, these fixes will eventually make it into the production software via the "official" update process. I'm not making excuses for the disruption in user workflows caused by the (softly) forced migration to the new version across the various platforms, but I understand the process underway and believe that, sooner or later, AgileBits will achieve the objectives it set out clearly in the blog post @Scott2 referenced in a previous post in this thread.
williakz The major issue isn't just that the new iOS and Android releases are buggy and missing a number of features, it's that there is no sign that these issues will actually get fixed. The desktop version of 1P8 has been out for months now, and the vast majority of issues have still not been fixed (such as the abysmal search "feature," the inability to reorder fields, and the inability to turn-off autosubmit, just to name a few). The only hint we've gotten from support that the developers are actually working on things are simple posts from support saying they're adding our votes to feature x and feature y. Even more frustrating is the constant refrain that AB doesn't like talk about future plans, and that they would rather under promise and over deliver than. Unfortunately, as it stands, AB has somehow managed to promise nothing and yet still under deliver.
Agreed. I used to be on the forums more often and would see that the developers were quite active on here. As well as being helpful and explaining/fixing issues. This has stopped significantly in comparison with the recent posts & issues. What has happened?
Nice analysis @Scott2 and solidly based on public info rather than speculation. Given any reasonable timeframe for the project as described, the new versions on the different platforms were always going to be somewhat truncated feature-wise compared to their prior "bells and whistles" iterations, at least for the short-term after release. Seems like a solid business plan to me, and I'm sure the userbase will abide, with minor abrasions from time to time.
