Online opening app is slow - Offline opening app is quick

[jwpwhite]

What's happened?

Opening app is slow (8 to 10 seconds) when my iPhone is online but very fast (+-1 second) when my iPhone is offline.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Record how long it takes for the feed to load when your phone is online
2. Record how long it takes for the feed to load when your phone is offline

What's expected?

I would expect the opening time to be the same when online and offline. I suspect the app is trying to load updates and delaying the feed loading when it is online. It would be a much better user experience if the feed opened immediately and any updates to the feed loaded once they were downloaded.

Browsers and Devices tested

iPhone 11, iOS 13.4.1

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Server information

phpFox Demo server

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phpFox version

phpFox Demo server version

[harrison05]

Hi @jwpwhite

I think this is a normal case because online mode will connect to network and API to get new data but the offline mode is getting data from device cache, so it loads more quickly.

Regards.

[jwpwhite]

Hi @harrison05
Any process that takes more than two or three second results in a significant drop-off of users and opening the app is a really critical step where you want to avoid any delays.
If I open any mainstream social media app, they all load immediately and show cached feeds and then the feeds update as soon as updates have loaded.
An 8 to 10 seconds load is a very long time so I really think that this is something that phpFox needs to resolve as a matter of urgency...
Cheers
John

[jwpwhite]

Hi @harrison05
Any feedback on the above?

[sryn101]

I have same issue with Android app too... We invest lot of time and money in marketing, if the app load time is more than couple of seconds, users don't just uninstall it but also leave a negative review which can never be undone damaging the reputation forever. Performance issues should be considered critical and addressed on High priority

[jwpwhite]

Hi @sryn101
When I suggested offline mode to phpFox over a year ago, I suggested that phpFox they try using Realm Database for the offline solution. It is really amazing technology that creates a seamless online/offline experience and more importantly, you would not get these loading delays they are having now.

From what I understand phpFox has used Realm for Chatplus but they chose to use a serialized dictionary for iOS and a SQLite database for Android for offline mode. Lets just hope and pray that phpFox see the benefits of Realm with Chatplus and move to that technology for offline mode. From what I can see, it will provide a much better user experience and eliminate these long load times that we see with their current approach...

Cheers
John

[sryn101]

Realm would be great John.. @harrison05 please do consider suggestion from John and let us know if this can be implemented in next release along with React JS upgrade?

[tonyphpfox]

We will review and make some improvements to speed up app start up time in version 1.8.0
Regarding RealmDB, we implemented it in the first version of ChatPlus but we've removed it recently due to various compatibility issues.