1y ago

What is so good about sync (and the other interfaces)?

Everyone is talking about how great sync is, but i tried it (and lift off, connect, summit) and all of them are literally the same. the only one i find to be unique is thunder because thunder feels like an app not a compact webpage interface. for example the leading in the sync posts is super jarring and feels like its from a 2008 forum and thats the same for most of the other apps.

except i did notice sync added ads which is a feature no one else has yet. and ad free is 20 bucks?? so from my perspective its the same (kinda worse than liftoff) as the other apps but it costs money

what is everyone liking about sync compared to the other apps? folks could just be used to sync which makes sense

also saying its more ergonomic or it just feels better isnt an answer however if that is ur answer thats cool id like to know why its more ergonomic or whatever tho

40 comments

Because although other apps have some of the features of Sync - none have all.
It's really as simple as that, in conjunction with the familiarity aspect. Why fix what ain't broke?
They may not be your feature set, you may not care if a developer is active with your community, but many do.
- tbh i just browse lemmy and sometimes interact by typing an unfunny remark and deleting it before i hit send
  i just dont know what ALL these features of sync are.
  but a dev being active doesnt make me feel more parasocially inclined to follow his app unless its like really shitty and i want them to tell me when its not gonna be shitty but even then its just a guy making something he likes so its whatever. i dont like feeling like they're playing the PR game and we're like dogs getting a treat when a dev says something.
  but i also could be weird i just dont like the reddit app or the current reddit business model so im using lemmy.

all of them are literally the same.
That's obviously not true. So if you could explain what you actually mean, that could be helpful.
- all of the apps that arent thunder feel like a bunch of text crammed into a small spot that you scroll thru and it feels like a 2008 forum webpage. thunder is the only one that has the semblance of a minimal design
  since making this post i have been playing around with sync and its decent but its still not feeling as good as thunder by a longshot
  it could he the dark mode gray being mid but the extra dark mode color thing is wayy too blue. idk its just a mid app its not bad but its def not better than most apps (tbf a lot of the lemmy apps suck)
  adding some type heirarchy with a bold product sans for header and a roman product sans for the copy made it a bit more readable
  also im being more critical of this app because its the only thing thats being posted everywhere currently and its wildly overrated
  
  all of the apps that arent thunder feel like a bunch of text crammed into a small spot that you scroll thru and it feels like a 2008 forum webpage
  Hehe you talk as if that's a bad thing, but for us ex old.reddit.com users, that's the optimal browsing experience.
  
  There's nothing anyone can really say about your feeling. That's entirely subjective and in your own head.
  You'd have to be far more specific and objective about your observations to have any kind of meaningful dialogue.
  
  Have you looked through the Sync settings menu? You can customize A LOT about the UI look and feel, including card type, card information, text size, text font, etc.

To be frank, Sync has a lot of polish. When I used reddit I would try another app every few months just to make sure I wasn't just settling on a familiar experience.
For me Sync has provided design that's consistent, the most accessible and legible settings, and it performs oh so well, even on low end devices.
Sure no one needs Monet support, nor an app that matches the platform its built for, nor do most need an expansive feature set (tablets and foldables support). But, it's great that lj provides these, I've never had anything really break in the app either. In 10 years of use.
- you said a lot of things that really dont mean anything to me
  for example thunder has tablet support and a that
  as for the polish no offense to ur desires but sync looks like trash. its got no heirarchy and the words are wayyy too close together. it feels clunky and slow.
  it takes two clicks to do literally anything useful how is the refresh button stuck behind a secondary menu. somehow thunder has the same information to display yet it doesnt look macgyvered together
  bottom line is those features youre saying sync is packed with is on every app is just worse done worse and for a subscription payment. i could be wrong but its just not polished or finished looking at all
  edit: i just saw the themes system and font size editor which raises it to a bit below lift off. thunder>liftoff>sync>summit>connect
  
  the words are wayyy too close together
  Have you had a chance to dig into the settings? There's a TON of customization options for text, and it's pretty granular.
  I'm not here to force you to like it, but tinkering around with it some more could possibly change your mind.

Familiarity. It's identical to the Reddit version. I was even able to import my Reddit sync backup so all of my settings are identical to how they are on Reddit
- Thank you for sharing that bit of info. I was lost as to how I had my old Sync setup and wasn't sure I'd be able to replicate it again.
- oh wait that's actually a thing? o.O Be right back :D

Most of the apps I've used don't have smooth scrolling or start to lag and eventually crash on me after a while. Not sync. Performance is exactly like the old app.
- Sync is sooooo smooth compared to liftoff and jerboa, the apps I was using before.

Sync has polish. Loads of polish and customization.
Sync Ultra has cloud backups, auto-translation, can extract text from images and a bunch of other features no other app will have.
- sync ultra costs 100 bucks im refering to free features
  whatre u cloud backing up on lemmy? or which text r u extracting? auto translation would prolly be more relevant not to me so i have no comment.
  but genuine question what r u cloud backing up on a lemmy app?
  
  more relevant not to me
  Hey, I never claimed I was a prophet.

I'm a Liftoff user, but I was waiting for Sync for Lemmy because I liked the design of Sync for Reddit (based on screenshots). Basically yes, Liftoff and Sync for Lemmy are pretty similar, but Sync also has a ton of adjustments and cool features Liftoff is missing. And Sync has clean appealing design. After using it Liftoff looks worse.

My only complaint at this point is time - is that the "Sync" feature that is the app's namesake is missing.
Offline reading is a huge deal to me when I travel.

For me it's a familiarity thing. I'd been using Sync for Reddit for close to a decade. It's my defacto standard for feature set in these types of apps. I've tried and continue to use the apps that came out first, but every single one of them has quirks that don't align with how I prefer to use the platform. Sync does.
Saying all the apps are literally the same makes me wonder what it is you're looking to get out of them/how you use them. Do you like to share images from posts with people outside of Lemmy? That's easier on some than others.
For example, on Summit I have to open the image in the internal browser then the external browser then copy the link/share from there. On Connect they have a 3 dot menu that has a share url option. On Sync it's a 3 dot then share option/copy URL to clipboard.
It's little nuances like that that make or break an app for me. At a certain level these are all just interfaces to interact with the Lemmy platform so they are going to be similar in many ways. But some apps can offer a better user experience than others. It really depends on what you want/how you use the platform.
- i will say summit and connect suck more than sync. tbh I only like Thunder. liftoff is second (but its not close) if theres any problems but i havent had problems in a while.
  for me the minimalism and sleekness of thunders ui is more readable and less overwhelming
  i have nothing positive to say about lift off aside from i can scroll thru it and not complain too much which would probably be the same for sync if i tried hard enough
  summit and connect are pretty ass tho lol
  and theyre also not all the same like i said i was more going for a exaggerated change my mind kinda stance
  
  I get that. A lot of the differences are only going to be evident as you continue to use the app. If you're already set with Thunder then that's great and I'd encourage you to donate to the dev.
  If the ads in Sync aren't an immediate turn off/deal breaker I'd also highly encourage you to give it a real shot over a week or so. There's a bunch of customization options to tweak it just how you like and the app runs smooth as butter, for me anyway. The app was super popular on Reddit for a reason.

Familiar interface. Sync was a very popular Reddit app.

Every app has different users, some liked (in reddit days) Boost some Infinity and some (me included) Sync, it was quite cheap because there were so many users I just bought Pro version for 40 liras and enjoyed it. But now when Lemmy user base is so small dev wants get simmilar ammount of money with lower count of users, thats why he wants me to pay not 40 but 449 liras for ad free, I use also Infinity at the same time but it is really bugged right now so I will stick now with Sync but 450 liras is too much for me.
- im not sure what ur talking about tbh but if one quantity of money is too much why not use the 8 better free options
  
  Sync for me is really simple and really well made client, I just don't like old feeling of all other Lemmy clients, maybe all beyond Voyager but this client is only on iOS.

It runs extremely smooth, and has tons of options and features. Also, many of us were long time Sync for reddit users.

I use my tablet primarily. None of the lemmy apps have a dual pane UI. That alone makes the difference to me.
- Thunder does but i dont have a tablet to test it on. Its under the general settings in thunder.
  
  I have tried it.. it's not really the same tbh. The UI/UX is halfway there.

I got Sync yesterday. I like it, but now it's a fail.
Every time I open it now, it closes immediately.
- Clear cache, reinstall, etc.
  
  I just got an update message. Updating now.

40 comments