Swellnet App - BETA testing feedback (June 2022)
PS.. hot tip #1 - choose a surfcam, rotate your phone horizontally, and then pinch the screen to zoom in and move around.
PPS.. hop tip #2 - make sure you add a couple of surfcam/forecast favourites - via the 'star' top right - and then click the Swellnet logo to take you to the homepage, where you can see them in Multicam view.
PPPS.. known bug (for Android users) - if you select "Use My Current Location" in the search function, you'll need to choose "precise location", as we are currently getting errors when "approximate location" is selected.
PPPPS.. whilst the App can be loaded on tablets, it's optimised for phones. So please use that option first.
Didn't really want to be first cab off the rank but, Android link in email doesn't work. Play Store just hangs and a cut & paste into a browser gives a;
We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.
Can you check whether the email account is the same? The test App is locked down to Beta testers, as per specific email addresses we uploaded.
So if you have a diff email address, it won't work (in which case, email me the correct address and we'll add it in).
(I have checked the address, and it works via phone and desktop: screeny below).
OK, sorted. I was logged into the Play Store with another email account.
Ben I unwittingly loaded SW App on my iPad (IOS 15.5) rather than my iPhone. Navigation and being able to zoom in on full screen works fine. So far so good. I like SW general content and forums and think they would add value to the app along with WOTD, plus it removes the need to access SW via website. If you want me to beta test on iPhone please email me another code to redeem. I’m happy to use and beta test both. Morgs
Morg, the code should work for both. Just follow the TestFlight link on your iPhone and go through the same process.
braudulio wrote:Didn't really want to be first cab off the rank but, Android link in email doesn't work. Play Store just hangs and a cut & paste into a browser gives a;
We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.
The link worked for me. I opened the link on my phone directly of course. I have Samsung S21+ on latest Android OS. The app is running nice and fast, I remember the old android app was slow so I always had various pages from your website open in a few web browser tabs instead. The search function is great and like you mentioned more than one result might come up for a surfcam and a report for the same area. So far, so good. Once you guys have the forecast notes in there and the webcam replay I won't need to use the traditional web browser again, nice work! I use the webcam replay quite a bit, instead of having to watch for 5-10mins at a live cam to see the size of the sets, the replay option allows you to quickly slide along the timeline, saving time.
Thanks Nick, stoked it's working well for you.
Hey guys thought I'd just throw my initial thoughts in. It seemed a bit clunky to get going but once you save your favourites through the star it's really great to use, very quick and easy. No lag or refreshing like the current app. One small quirk I noticed as I was listening to music around the fire whilst testing and it attenuates the sound of spotify whilst using the swellnet app. I will keep playing and see what comes up.
Cheers guys, keep doing your thing it's great.
tidak_bagus what was the clunky part? The install? Or when you first search for forecasts/cams?
When I first searched for cams/reports. It wasn't very intuitive but once you save a few its all sitting there and easy to use. Just took a couple of minutes of head scratching to figure out how the whole setup worked.
The install was Lso a bit awkward just because I jave a different email for my google play account and my swellnet account, but got that sorted from the comment above from braudulio
Thanks Ben. Now working on iPad and iPhone
tidak_bagus wrote:When I first searched for cams/reports. It wasn't very intuitive but once you save a few its all sitting there and easy to use. Just took a couple of minutes of head scratching to figure out how the whole setup worked.
What system would you be more used to? A drop down menu or similar?
I dont think it needs changing but when you hit the home button it takes you to your saved list, maybe just a note to say saved cams and reports live here. I kept going around in circles for a couple of minutes thinking if I hit home it would take me to the search area or wave of the day type setup (which I know you said isn't in there yet)
You can’t make the surf cam stream full screen if you go:
home -> surf report-> surf cam (image below report).
I’ve posted an image in beta feedback that shows the missing icon on bottom right hand side of screen that enables full screen.
We don't have icons for 'full screen' Morg, all you gotta do is rotate your screen. I replicated your steps and it works fine. Can you please try again?
For clarity - this build is optimised for phones (not tablets). If it's not working on a tablet, then we'll note it as a bug to be fixed.
I have been having a good flick around jumping between multiple reports and forecasts this morning. Everything looked pretty good, didnt notice any glitches or weirdness. It was smooth and seamless changing between cams, full screen works by rotating. I think you guys might be onto a winner, will be keen to see if the wams integrate well as thats one of my favourite things about swellnet. Using Android.
*Didnt
Unreal, that's great news TB. Thanks for the feedback.
Got a couple of surfcams on your home screen? What do you think of homescreen Multicam?
Also, we've got a week's worth of tides and the last 24 hours of wind data (on the forecast page), just gotta click the data. Swell Train Analysis tables are also there too.
Hi Ben, I did have the same very minor similar issue at TB at first re Searching the favorite cam/report, hitting the star icon to make as a favourite, and then understanding that these become your own personalised home page.
Using my Android phone I also couldn't get my screen to go full screen at first. I then went to my phone Settings -> Display and Brightness -> Portrait Orientation Lock (which I had to turn off) and then it worked like you say, including the zoom function.
I thought the format is looking great and all the essential info/data (plus some) on the one page. Did I mention I love the colour scheme too ;)
Maybe some simple instructions on the home page initially for the first time user along the lines of:
1. Search your favourite cam/report using the search icon.
2. Select then hit the Star icon at top right to make it a favourite.
3, These become your new personalised Home Page.
4. You can remove any report/cam at any time by 'x-ing' the selected from your Home screen.
Thanks WOTL, appreciate the feedback.
When the App is opened but no favourites have been saved, it should display the image below - we figured that should be enough information to get everyone rolling (otherwise, the search bar is self explanatory - surfers are obviously looking for a surf forecast or surfcam, so type in a location and see if it matches).
For some more context on the App, it's been built to be primarily used as a daily tool, rather than as a casual search function.
We know that from day to day, surfers usually need only the basic information about their local - current wind data, a quick trend outlook and then a couple of surfcams - and this is all accessible from the home screen. More detailed info is one click away: 1-week tide forecast, 24 hour winds, full screen surfcams, 16 day forecast, swell train analysis. More than one forecast location can be added to the home screen too, to allow quick access to other favourites.
More in depth information i.e. articles, forums, synoptic charts etc are better viewed via desktop, so we'll optimise those products for that environment. But we may add them to the App as well - it's just a little harder to make it work nicely on a small screen.
Good info too re: Portrait Orientation Lock - we will have to mention that somehow. Full screen / pinch zoom surfcams are really useful and it'd be a shame if people didn't know it was there!
Cheers Ben. You're right regarding the initial Home screen instructions, it's all there nice and simple to understand. I was just having a bit of a err umm moment, you know, making stuff more complicated than necessary. The full screen zoom view is a cool part of the tool indeed!
OK so had a good play with it this morning. Overall looks good and I really like it. Massive improvement over the previous version. Particularly speed of loading, more on that.
Am enjoying having all the info there in the report, i.e. wind, tides even sunrise/sunset.
Couple of quick specific comments:
- The colours of wind in the forecast/live feed? I prefer the stop light system of other sites.
- As tidak_bagus noted music being played from the phone gets muted. This is from the camera feeds, used to mute music completely in the old days. Not sure why the camera feeds have audio? One for the techies.
- Further on the camera feeds, not sure really need them playing continuously on the 'home' screen. Could suck bandwidth over time particularly with multiple favourite sites. Maybe better a static image to tap on?
With regard to speed of loading and usability in general I agree with @thermalben above. Please please please don't clog the app up with extras like wams/synoptics/forums etc. Some of this is what in my opinion made the last version pretty much unusable, i.e. waiting for stuff to load in the background that is never accessed. Better to just have links to the website.
As for WOTD, yeah nice but not essential for the early (in bed) surf check :)
Full screen issue only happens on the iPad, and is only dependant on how you navigate.
On my iPhone it works how it is supposed to.
When looking at Swell Train Analysis it possible to have it so when you rotate the phone sideways (rather than vertical) you will get to see all of the columns rather than just surf, wind, and primary swell columns?
Thanks Brad. To answer your points:
1. Wind colours should be the same as the palette on the website (colour is proportional to speed). What do you mean by "stop light system"?
2. Re: music - thanks, we'll look into that.
3. Camera feeds - will wait for more feedback across the board, but I really, really like this feature. The idea is that you can add (say) six cameras to your home screen, and they'll start streaming as they come into view (and will turn off as they scroll out of view) - so you'll see around three live locations at once. The bandwidth usage isn't a concern because phones tend to be used intermittently, for short durations (I'd be more worried about flattening my battery). Either way though, you're less likely to keep the cams running on your phone than on a desktop. In my opinion, anyway.
Thanks Morg, we'll look into the iPad formatting.
Re: swell trains - I will see if we can add the rotate functionality (similar to surfcams going full screen).
Hi Ben and crew,
The new layout looks great. I predominately use the app for a quick check of tides, current wind etc and the forecast graph for the next week at a glance. I've added a few spots both north and south to my homepage so I can see the progress of wind changes and new swells so I find this new layout perfect for what I use the app for.
Just in my opinion, there is no need for forum or general content but I do like to see the WOTD.
Cheers boys...good luck with it :-)
Great work with the app guys. It's looking good already and is going to be great!
Understand it's not a priority, but a widget that shows the daily forecast / wind / tide would be amazing for a quick glance
Thanks for all your hard work
Hi Ben, no matter what I do I can't download the app. Been trying for a couple of days, the email address is not the issue as it's the only one I use.
Not sure what I can do about it, any suggestions?
brownie48 are you on iOS or Android?
Jono wrote:brownie48 are you on iOS or Android?
Android
brownie48 what do you see when you click the link in the email? Your phone should recognise that you're logged into your Google account and then allow you to access the app in Google Play Store.
thermalben wrote:Unreal, that's great news TB. Thanks for the feedback.
Got a couple of surfcams on your home screen? What do you think of homescreen Multicam?
Also, we've got a week's worth of tides and the last 24 hours of wind data (on the forecast page), just gotta click the data. Swell Train Analysis tables are also there too.
I have been giving it a run all week and so far havent picked up any gremlins. im currently running 3 surfcams and 3 reports on my home page. I think its pretty cool how all surfcams are live on the home page and if you want a closer look you can click on it to zoom in. interchanging between them all is quick and no glitches, so cant really ask for much more there. I have also been looking at the tide and wind history data and it all works and is logical and easy to use.
Truly I'm pretty stoked with how it works and the functionality to this point. Cant wait to see the WAMS integrated but the challenge with that is fitting so much data / so many maps on such a small screen.
Jono wrote:brownie48 what do you see when you click the link in the email? Your phone should recognise that you're logged into your Google account and then allow you to access the app in Google Play Store.
Yeah Jono when I click on link and it says its not available
brownie are you sure that the email address you gave us (for testing) is the same as the email address you use for your Google account on your phone?
My assessment is same as the one last posted by TB. The app is very good. I’m using iPhone 13 with latest IOS. The App is quick, navigation is easy, and it works when listening to Spotify, podcasts, and making phone calls on speaker. It appears to be working correctly and I like the colours :)
Jono wrote:brownie are you sure that the email address you gave us (for testing) is the same as the email address you use for your Google account on your phone?
Yep. I will send you an email from it.
Its good. I'm using it. That says it all really, (but I'm assuming you want more info?)
I like the front page heaps with two cams up on it, tilt and zoom right in easy as. Seems it's got pretty much everything for the virtual daily surf check and the beefed up live wind is a great improvement.
(Is it customisable? Cape Otway or similar might be better suited to the surfcoast? The timing of the seabreeze or a frontal southerly is something I do search for off Swellnet, not successfully, i imagine predicting wind changes is something of a holy grail on most coastlines and am always frustrated trying to find it live, if there's a way would be an advantage).
The swell train analysis etc is just a few clicks away for the surf planning type of search.
Tides- was missing the progression chart, it's a feature I like but the info is clear/concise & easy like the app itself.
It's taken me a while to get to know it. When I found the swellnet.com link and realised it's all only a click away, WOTD, WAMS, weather too but found it right there, that's fine to keep the page uncrowded is good I think but also like easy access to the many features we are happy to pay $6.66 for such as the always entertaining comments section.
Subscriber Input - we are you. Maybe can turn the banner over to the comment community? Send in your entry- captains pick for the month. eg Swellnet - It's on!
Kinda like Tracks mag did. Just a suggestion to get us involved. Comment of the week ? Or not.
Overall it's two non techie thumbs up, seems well thought out as we've come to expect from Swellnet. You do hold a nice tight line in understated and I think the locals like that you try to avoid hype but could maybe give yourself a gold star or some bling on the front page, new logo, not sure what I'm suggesting really but you guys are good, really good at giving us what we want, without the BS, hats off.
I ce not used the previous apps as found no value in them for me. But this one is good. Like it a lot.
Only a minor suggestion and one question.
I sometime like to compare graph from sunny coast down to Yamba, side to side sort of say, the large amount of space taken by the titles (2 lines) may benefit to be smaller from that perspective.
Thx again for all the fantastic work you guys are doing
As question: can we access history for the forecast graphs? At least a week or so, to compare today ‘s direction/period/tide with a recent good session,
Cheers
Standingleft wrote:The beefed up live wind is a great improvement. (Is it customisable? Cape Otway or similar might be better suited to the surfcoast? The timing of the seabreeze or a frontal southerly is something I do search for off Swellnet, not successfully, i imagine predicting wind changes is something of a holy grail on most coastlines and am always frustrated trying to find it live, if there's a way would be an advantage).
Good pickup. The three live wind stations are geo-targeted (i.e. geographically closest to the forecast location), but sometimes it doesn't make sense. We can manually override some locations - and will certainly do in the case of TQ - and will see if we can allow users to create their own lists.
Patate wrote:I sometime like to compare graph from sunny coast down to Yamba, side to side sort of say, the large amount of space taken by the titles (2 lines) may benefit to be smaller from that perspective.
UX design is a constant push-pull, trying to find the best solution for everyone. I understand what you're trying to do - and it's a great idea - but IMO it'd likely be only adopted by a small number of users, so we'll keep the design as-is for now. But will certainly review once we get more people on board and can assess how the majority are using the App. Consider it a perpetual work in progress.
Patate wrote:can we access history for the forecast graphs? At least a week or so, to compare today ‘s direction/period/tide with a recent good session
Not at this time, but this idea is already on the short term road map.
Standingleft wrote:Cape Otway or similar might be better suited to the surfcoast?
This has been updated in the app API so that the Surf Coast and Barwon Heads forecast screens now include the Cape Otway live wind data.
thermalben wrote:Good pickup. The three live wind stations are geo-targeted - and will certainly do in the case of TQ - and will see if we can allow users to create their own lists.
So stoked I could make a contribution to your ongoing awesomeness, thx but not sure I've helped that much, this morning is a good example, Aireys was 6hrs behind Cape Otway for the SW change! I've only been here 20 years, some local legend might have found another weather station that's more in sync with what's about to happen wind wise on the SC. The geo pick Cerberus? Or King Island maybe? the Otways clearly have a large wind shadow.
Other thing I've noticed is my screen 'times out' watching surfcams in the app where it didn't in the browser? Maybe it's on my end? 4yo Oppo phone
Best regards
Not all weather systems track linearly across the coast. It's an unusual region for wind change timings, unless it's a structurally deep front.
thermalben wrote:Thanks Brad. To answer your points:
1. Wind colours should be the same as the palette on the website (colour is proportional to speed). What do you mean by "stop light system"?
2. Re: music - thanks, we'll look into that.
3. Camera feeds - will wait for more feedback across the board, but I really, really like this feature. The idea is that you can add (say) six cameras to your home screen, and they'll start streaming as they come into view (and will turn off as they scroll out of view) - so you'll see around three live locations at once. The bandwidth usage isn't a concern because phones tend to be used intermittently, for short durations (I'd be more worried about flattening my battery). Either way though, you're less likely to keep the cams running on your phone than on a desktop. In my opinion, anyway.
Sorry long time to reply, been busy but using the app daily. Liking it more and more. So as to above,
1. by traffic light I mean green = good (light winds), orange = marginal, red = strong (probs go back to sleep depending on direction). Just a dumbed down version of what you've done anyway.
2. still happens but am used to it now, a minor annoyance really.
3. this has grown on me, now have four cams on the 'homepage', and now agree it's great. Hadn't noticed that the streaming stops when you scroll out of view so was off it to start with.
Overall a great product and huge improvement over the old one, well done.
Thanks Brad. Stoked you're happy.. the feedback means a lot.
Looking more into the music issue, and it's tricky. For me (Android), it doesn't occur when listening at home via Sonos, but does happen when in my car, listening via Android Auto.
Can anyone else replicate this behaviour? Curious if it only occurs in cars, or just in random circumstances.
Also re: winds.. the good/bad categorisations are difficult to automate, as quality of surf (relative to wind) is also proportional to swell size and (on the East Coast) direction. Consider fresh S'ly winds on the Gold Coast - perfect for the southern points under a decent east swell, but terrible for the open beaches on a small south swell.
This forum topic is for BETA testers for the new Swellnet App to leave feedback, ask questions etc.
Just to answer a few things straight up:
The following content is not currently in the App, but will be added in the future:
1) Forecaster Notes
2) Surfcam Replays
3) Social Media logins
4) WAMS
The following content is not currently in the App, and we're not sure if it's suitable (but will consider including it, if feedback is positive):
4) General content (articles, galleries etc)
5) Forums
WOTD also isn't in the App (yet), which is a little odd - but we're really trying to conserve homepage real estate for the items that are frequently checked through the day. Maybe we'll find a spot for WOTD once testing is done.
Also, we have around 20,000 international surf spots in the database, however they're not all active (with forecast data) right now. Only those same regions that have been live on Swellnet for the last ten years (Aust, NZ, Indo, SPac etc) have data. However, all new locations will be activated with forecast data soon.
And on that point - each 'surf spot' is mapped to its regional 'forecast location'. So, if you type in "Greenmount" into the search bar, you'll get a two results - a Surfcam link and a Surf Forecast link - of which the latter will redirect to the regional "Gold Coast" surf forecast.
Love to hear your thoughts!