ownCloud 2.9 for Android released

Hello everybody,
here we are with a new version of the ownCloud Android app with many many improvements, this time regarding usability, library network switching and available offline.

Which usability features does 2.9.0 include?

One of the features our users are going to like the most is the search for files in the current folder, specially when using large folders.

Shashvat Kedia has reached the throne of our contributors developing such interesting features like select all files in the current folder, or inverse the selection to choose all the files except some of them.

Apart from that, we enjoy a lot making the app more beautiful and stylish for our users and we have redesigned the login view with new colours and background.

There are more tiny user interface improvements, such as a new edit share icon and a new gradient in top of the list of files.

New Network library

Our main challenge for this version has been the network library replacement. We came from an old and deprecated HttpClient for Android library by Apache and decided to switch to the more modern and active library OkHttp.

To make our network library keeps working with WebDAV, we replaced also JackRabbit WebDAV by Apache with dav4android by bitfire, the developers of the popular DavDroid app to sync calendar and contacts with ownCloud.

With these two new libraries we have a better app in terms of reliability and architecture, enabling our users to have less connection errors and security features like http tunneling.

Available Offline Check

When you set a file as available offline, it will be automatically synchronized with the server, this is if the remote file changes, the file on your phone is updated and the opposite.

The checks are now done by Android jobs every 15 minutes, even if the app is closed, saving much more battery than in previous versions.

And more

Bugs are annoying for our users, specially the crashes that make the app stops working so we have fixed a couple of them in this version:

  • When rebooting the device
  • When copying, moving files or choosing a folder within camera uploads feature
  • When creating private/public link

Additionally, there were some failing downloads that got fixed and a bug with pattern lock being asked very often after disabling the fingerprint lock, developed by Shashvat Kedia

Have a look at the new What’s new wizard with the highlights for this version.

How can I download the new ownCloud Android app?

2.9.0 is already available on Google Play Store, so download and enjoy it!

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.owncloud.android

The workaround app for Jelly Bean has been also updated in Google Play Store, for those that still need it:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.owncloud.android.workaround.accounts

How can I send my feedback to ownCloud developers?

We really appreciate your feedback to improve the ownCloud Android app so if you find any bug or want to make any suggestion, please participate in one of these channels:

– Open a new issue on Github: https://github.com/owncloud/android/issues/

– Open a new topic on central: https://central.owncloud.org/

– Write to apps@owncloud.com

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