I tested Panda throughout its lifecycle but due to my Mac not being able to run TestFlight, I’ve not been able to test Bear v2 and it’s sync with iOS. With the release of the beta publicly on iOS there was a natural spike in bug reports here, but that’s to be expected.
So my question is, how far from a proper App Store release do you reckon we are?
The devs are working dead hard on fixing the issues. I was pleasantly surprised on the spike of bug reports and felt the importance of large testing samples 
My personal thought is late Q2 or perhaps Q3 at the latest but I am no dev or part of the team. So maybe earlier or later than that.
It’s feeling very solid on my side? Only a couple relatively minor bugs so far. As Eleanor said, the devs are releasing new updates super frequently fixing many of the glaring bugs, they’re doing a damn fine job of it!
All that said, Shiny Frog is usually pretty conservative with their release schedules, so I’d suggest it might be a while before a store release yet.
The bug reports keep climbing and now we have people stuck with the beta on MacOS who can’t use their iOS devices as that side of the beta is full. Eek!
I’ve seen some bugs. Part of Bear’s appeal is that it’s rock solid so I really hope they make damn sure it’s very stable before they release it.
Panda stand-alone was really solid so I’m hopeful. Their email at the start of the week indicated that they are looking at releasing in a month or two. I don’t think they’ll release before they are really certain it’s good to go.
We’re coming up on two months since their blog post aiming to release in around two months. How close do we think we are now?
Overall it feels really solid and I’m confident that’s good to be used. Well, backing up is a wise thing anyway, even for old apps. Okay, recently I had a few crashes, which is probably a natural occurrence when things still get’s fixed or modified. Crashes can happen in one release and all is fine in the next. As for me, I don’t mind another one month or two of beta. Just to be sure.
The fourth info column is announced to be added after 2.0 release
My subscription came up for renewal yesterday. I’ve been using the app for years, but I really did take time to think about continuing. Apple Notes has caught up and overtaken in so many ways with scanning built in for two years now. Bear has remained in front with back links and the ease of PDF support and backups. Apple Notes allows me to view data on my work PC but Bear has still to demo a much promised web solution. Bear has an Apple Watch complication, yet Apple Notes is a first party app given no party at all on the device.
In the end, I kept my subscription. I love the UI of Bear and the little bits of polish which make it a pleasure to use. However, patience is thin and my subscription yesterday and even the year before haven’t brought any app updates which I’ve been able to use. Version 1 has been good, but it’s time passed many months ago. We are almost into Q3 of 2023 and iOS 17 looms large on the horizon. My worry is that v2 has its release held back even longer for it to be released alongside iOS 17.
Hmmm, maybe I’m getting old. I’d rather use something that works well and has all the features I need (oh, and is a pleasure to use) rather than worry about how new something is, how many recent updates it has and how many new features it has. Of which I might not even use that many. I almost wish companies would update less and certainly less often because it just causes compatibility issues, not to mention that with all the new features thrown at you the UI usually get’s messy and horrible). How about a bit of old-fashioned continuity? Could be just me, but I’d stay with Bear.
I’d rather use something that works well and has all the features I need (oh, and is a pleasure to use) rather than worry about how new something is, how many recent updates it has and how many new features it has. Of which I might not even use that many.
Please don’t get me wrong, version 1 continues to work well for me, but there are many features which will be new for Bear in v2 which other apps have had for a considerable amount of time. Indeed, the very fact that Bear v2 will include those features shows a wide need for them.
I almost wish companies would update less and certainly less often because it just causes compatibility issues, not to mention that with all the new features thrown at you the UI usually get’s messy and horrible.
There certainly is a tendency for some developers to update almost weekly with no discernible improvement or need for the update other than a snazzy icon or alleged “enhancements for smooth running”. There is however such a thing as too glacial an update schedule. Shiny Frog are close to being that but are at least quite communicative through their blog and the beta board here. They are a small group who strive for perfection in every release. I think we (developers and users) are all just very keen, after a long development and testing phase with hard work from us all, to release the new app.
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Looking at it this way all makes sense…