WaniKani App Dev

Hi everyone, I would like to preface this post with saying that I am already aware that currently there is no ‘official WK app’ and there are third-party ones that you can use whilst it’s in development.

No, that’s not the reason for which I am making this thread. I am actually wondering whether anyone could update me with information about the official app, specifically: why it’s been in development for ages.

I love WK, however, in the time it’s taken them to start development of the app, there has been two apps made for android and two more for IOS; I’m just curious why it’s taking so long.

Also, I must state that I am very grateful that one is in development at all and that I am very thankful that WaniKani is still continuously receiving support. I’m just curious is all.

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There was an official app in beta testing during April last year, but there was some fundamental issue in how it was interacting with the server, I think, so it had to go back to the drawing board. And then the Tofuguite who seemed to be the most heavily involved in liasing with us mob about it abruptly disappeared, which is not a great sign.

Oh boy, I’ve completely forgotten her name… Kristin?

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That seems odd. They have set up API Tokens, which work fine on third-party apps, so why would there be an issue with the official app interacting with the server?

I agree, the deafening silence on the matter would not appear to be a great sign for its future.

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for a few days i also wanted an app, but after that i didn’t long for it. now browse is more convenient for me as i can easily use on any device. app would be just a plus i guess ( just from my perspective) . yeah i hear a lot about tokens but don’t know how to use them lol… i hope i am not missing on something big… just browser seems enough for me.
Maybe i might change my thoughts again if things became unmanageable on the way up from 8

If you search for it hard enough, I’m sure you’ll find some information about it here in the forum. But the website works alright for mobile as well. They worked hard on developing the APIv2, which enabled great applications such as Flaming Durtle (Android) and Tsurukame (iOS), as well as other apllications and countless tools and userscripts which would be impossible to create for a team as small as the one working on wanikani. In my opinion, it was super smart to focus work on refining the API to enable users to create tools tailored for their needs.

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Agreed, the website works great on mobile, and if you need to do it without phone service (i.e., me on the subway), Tsurukame is the way to go, as it lets you do your lessons/reviews offline and then syncs once you reconnect to the internet.

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I see your point, though both the third-party made apps you mentioned (Flaming Durtles and Tsurukame) are created by even smaller teams; in fact, I believe they are made by a just one person for each of them respectively.

If a team of one can build a decent app for WK I don’t think it can be argued that there team is “too small”.

An API Token is something that you input into a third-party developed platform in order to access your account through them, whether that be an app, another website or some sort of stats-tracker.

With regards to the app, you can use a third-party developed app to access and complete your lessons and reviews; I’m simply asking for an update on the official app’s development.

The people who developed the apps didn’t have to maintain the website and monitor the community :sweat_smile:

At the end of the day it is a matter of priority. There are things we want and things we need. At the moment WK team choose to prioritize things we need :grin: WaniKani is still a product and the team is working on their product roadmap. Sometimes ruthless prioritization is the only thing saving our beloved company :slightly_smiling_face:

Suppose you are on your way to Crabigator heaven in a spaceship. You have limited resources, you can either fix the engine or fix the cooling system. The priority is to fix the engine. Agreed it gets a little too humid or hot from time to time, in the end the goal is to reach crabigator heaven with or without cooling :stuck_out_tongue:

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I don’t understand the yearning for a dedicated app. The mobile version on Android Chrome works as well or better for me than any stand-alone app. It’s amazing. I love using WaniKani on my phone. I haven’t configured any mobile userscripts yet, but I can do without them when necessary. I can’t believe such a small dev team has created such an awesome mobile version of the full site. (And you can add the mobile site as an icon to your home screen so you can open it like an app.)

I’ve been using “flaming durtles” for Android and it’s a great app. Probably not as good as an official app, but I’d still give it 5 stars for usefulness and for being free. :+1:

I believe the point (and this is what I would say too) is this offline and responsive apps already exist, thanks to the excellent API.

I’d rather the Tofugu team put work into the site itself, rather than replicating work already done by 3rd parties to make apps. I’m sure they could make a great app, they’ve certainly the tech and design skills, but do they need to? If I was them, I’d probably have a kanban/trello board with stuff ordered by how much the average wanikani users experience would be improved and a mobile app would be way down on that list.

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Last summer thanks to Apple updates, the only available ios apps were in threat of shutting down which would force all iphone users to broswers only. Alli Crab actually died but fortunately Tsurukame was fixed. I think the idea of having an official app with a team to oversee it is that you have follow through for these type of changes (not to mention active maintenance for content updates). Otherwise, as generous as the 3rd party developers are to share their work with a well functioning app, there is no obligation either.

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