Increase relevance of App Lounge's central welcome screen
- /e/ version: v1.14
- App Lounge: v2.5.9
- Device model(s): any
Summary
App Lounge is the central too to users to access apps.
On its central screen apps are featured subdivided in various sections (such as "top free apps", "top grossing apps", "top free games".
The relevance of apps that I get displayed on this central screen I consider as rather disappointing. In particular, I consider App Lounge as very little helpful to users' in order to to discover apps with a smaller data footprint and potential alternative to major mainstream applications. There is no doubt, there are many bigger and smaller alternatives, but they can only be found in App Lounge if the user already knows what to search for.
Especially in the upper part of App Lounge's main screen, I would appreciate to find more useful but data friendly and open source applications being proposed.
Description
What is the current behavior?
App Lounge proposes on its main app screen apps to be installed according to specific sections such as
- "top free apps",
- "top free games",
- "top grossing apps"
- "top grossing games"
- "open source top upgraded apps"
- (...)
What is the improved behavior?
Instead of a complete revamp of the App Lounge welcome screen, I propose some few precise modifications that do not require a high investment in working time. Their aim is to raise the users awareness for the availability of potentially useful data friendly and/or open source apps that could serve as alternatives to mainstream, data hungry apps.
- to introduce a new section accessible via the "categories" button at the bottom of App Lounge ("suggestions from /e/" #714
- ). Probably I could make sense if this becomes a (partially) manually moderated category.
-
to have a section at the top of the principal screen of App Lounge featuring app from "suggestions from /e/" - following the same layout of the sections as they currently exist in App Lounge. Here recently updated apps could be displayed first in order to have some variation of the apps being shown.
-
or as alternative: have a section on the top that dedicates some more space and information provided to featured apps. A bit similar to what F-Droid does and a bit similar to a section that existed in App Lounge in its early stages. Mockup:
- Furthermore: To have less sections being displayed on App Lounge's principal screen - currently there are 14 (!!!).
What does it bring?
- Increase the usefulness of App Lounges' principal screen.
- Enable users to identify less data hungry and open source apps that potentially serve their needs.
Mock-ups
Examples
Here below you find three screenshots from the apps that are currently being displayed to me (Example from 2-sept-2023, 9:30). The content being displayed I consider very little interesting, very little useful, very little relevant.