Edit: exchanged fdroid url with github
3 minutes test.
Pro:
- Seems to work. I can hear sound and it seems to be where I left off.
- Downloading offline book seem to work which is a huge plus compared to the official app although I wish someone was considerate with space and built the option to store only X hours. I really only need to store enough for my next commute.
- Looks clean, but to be honest that’s not a very important factor since I mostly only use the app to press play.
Cons:
- Library doesnt distinguish already read books and new books.
- Can’t group books by author and series.
- I don’t like the scroll down on the playing screen that switch to a chapter screen but scrolling up doesn’t do the opposite. Seems like poor UX. 1) scrolling down is not a usual action to change screen. 2) Opposite action should have opposite result.
Edit: ah ok got it. It does work but not with the same sensitivity, you can scroll down but you need to flick up, most likely because you got screwed by the list of chapters which is most likely also scrollable (my list isn’t long enough to require scroll so I can’t test that). Anyway, I stand by my previous note: “opposite actions” and flick up is not the opposite of scroll down.
Promising beginning though.
I only launched it for long enough to tell it isn’t for me just yet. My dealbreakers are:
- Inability to quickly swap between audiobook and podcast libraries, or better yet; displaying both on one home screen.
- Audiobooks are thrown at you in one big pile. Ideally they would be organized, and not all shown at once unless you dig into it.
I’m definitely checking it out again at some point, but I’m sticking with the official app for now.
I downloaded and tested as well and noticed right away there is no sleep timer which I use every night. I actually quite like the audiobook shelf app. It’s served my wife and I quite well this past year.
This doesn’t support podcast libraries, so it’s not really usable for me, unfortunately.
The biggest complaint I have about the official app is that it doesn’t automatically continue to the next episode when playing podcasts.
Is this better in some way than the one developed by the audiobookshelf team?
The official app could be described as “functional”. This is a native android app and (imo) looks better.
It seems to be missing SSO login support and Android Auto. The official app does so I feel like that makes it more functional than Lissen. At least for me.
Yes, that’s one half of what I was getting at. The other half is that it doesn’t prioritise aesthetics.
Listen prioritises aesthetics, but is lacking in function. For me, the missing functionality isn’t important.
There’s no single right answer.
Sounds similar to the case with Jellyfin & Findroid (and likely Swiftfin)
The official Jellyfin app has full functionality, but it feels clunky. Especially for casual users.
The native third party app is smooth, intuitive, and visually nice, but is missing a few features (ex. Admin dashboard).
What I’ve seen recommended was:
- Findroid (and likely Swiftfin) for daily use
- Keep the official Jellyfin app installed for when it is needed
💯 I see it the same way.
Oh I see. When I read your first comment I understood ‘functional’ to mean more like “it works but not very well”. I did see in the github issues that they are working on SSO and Android Auto so when that comes I’ll give it a try.
You are not locked in
OT but am I the only one that noticed the fox’s headphones aren’t on their ears?
Oh, that is a fox. I couldn’t differentiate between the white and cream under current viewing conditions, and I thought it was a seahorse.
I wondered if someone would post that second one.
For the first, I think Square Enix got it right - headphones light the right image, but with the bridge between the ear cups flopped back on their head.
Alternatively, you could have headphones like the first but with the drivers in the upper cat ear portion by their actual ears.
