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Forum Discussion
1Password 8 - Non-native feel
Like many Mac users, I was greatly disappointed to read that 1Password is moving to Electron. I firmly believe that Electron is a bad framework for app development, and the 1Password 8 beta does not change this opinion. I’ve compiled a list of issues, as I see them. Some are endemic to Electron, while others are simply stylistic choices by the dev team. I will try to omit complaints that are purely personal preference, such as specific color usage.
- The lack of rubberband/elastic scrolling is jarring and unpleasant.
- There isn’t enough visual feedback that the window is out of focus. In particular, the “New Item” toolbar button should fade to a lighter blue when unfocused.
- Many interactions in the app do not have the animations they should, including list expansions, menu displays, checkbox toggling, and modal dialogue appear/disappear.
- Unnecessary reliance on modal dialogues is antithetical to native Mac app development. In particular, the “Preferences” and “About” windows should be … well, windows, not modal dialogues.
- It is unusual for a Mac app to have the “About” page be part of the preferences dialogue.
- When unfocused, 1PW 8 lacks hover states. In order to copy a field when the app is unfocused, you have to click into the window, then click the field again. 1PW 7 only requires a single click and properly displays hover state when unfocused.
- 1PW 8 no longer shows the number of items in a tag/category.
- There is seemingly no longer an easy way to mark or unmark an item as a favorite.
- The account name at the top of the sidebar has a disclosure triangle in the down position, indicating that clicking it will collapse the sidebar entries for that account. Instead, clicking it brings up a popover menu with various actions. (I don’t know whether this behavior is different when you have more than one account. My point is that this behavior is unusual for this type of UI element.)
- The app uses almost 2x the memory footprint of 1PW 7 and 10x(!) the idle CPU usage.
- The app is noticeably slower. Scrolling a long list introduces a delay in displaying icons that is not present in 1PW 7. Additionally, there is flicker and occasional slow loading when changing filters, vaults, and tags. (1PW 7 also has flicker at times, notably when changing login items. It’s far more prominent in 8, however.)
- There’s too much list padding. With windows of identical dimensions, 1PW 7 shows me 10.5 items; 1PW 8 shows me only 7.5.
Are these things ultimately minor? Yeah. Complaining about a preferences window becoming a modal dialogue is about as first-world a problem as you can get. At the same time, I’m paying money for this, and now it feels like I’m going to spend money on a downgrade.
1Password 8 is probably the most native-feeling and best Electron app I’ve used, but that’s like saying the McDonald’s by Disneyland is the best McDonald’s I’ve eaten at. I’ve been a 1Password user for years (I started with 1Password 3) and always held the app up as the only app I unreservedly considered worth a subscription. Now it’s pretty likely I’ll move to something else.
1Password Version: 80200056
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS 11.5.1
While you haven't released 1Password 8 for Mac, this is supposed to be coming out next month according to the development blog. How are features that are standard in 1Password 7 missing in software that's supposed to come out so soon? You said you've been working on this for so long, and using it for so long, yet features that you would think wouldn't be removed are missing in 1PW8.
roustem1Password Team
While you haven't released 1Password 8 for Mac, this is supposed to be coming out next month according to the development blog.
@george_perez that was an internal, self-imposed deadline. It is important to have one, otherwise the software will never be shipped. I am happy that we have the public beta finally available. It helps us judge the readiness of the app for official release.
At this point, there is no doubt that September will not work. It seems more like next year. We are going to publish both daily/nightly updates and weekly beta releases.
If electron is so great, why not inflict it on windows and linux users too?
No one has been able to point to a well-executed electron UX that looks and feels like a native application. It's bloated and heavy compared to native apps, and provides a substandard UX. Full Stop.
Is mac really now a small enough portion of your business that you're willing to abandon/inflict a substandard product on your original customers?
If that's the business case, then please just say so. I don't like it, but get it. If so, we will stop spending energy trying to change a fait accompli and instead spend it looking for an alternative.
1P_BenIf electron is so great, why not inflict it on windows and linux users too?
I'm not sure I follow. 1Password 8 for Linux and the 1Password 8 for Windows Early Access are using Electron to deliver the front-end.
No one has been able to point to a well-executed electron UX that looks and feels like a native application. It's bloated and heavy compared to native apps, and provides a substandard UX. Full Stop.
A number of people have pointed to VS Code as an example of a good app that uses Electron.
Is mac really now a small enough portion of your business that you're willing to abandon/inflict a substandard product on your original customers?
I don't believe that is what is happening here. We're committed to making 1Password 8 a great app on all of the platforms we support, Mac included. The majority of us are Mac users.
Ben
Choosing to use Electron is the best choice for Agile Bits from a business perspective.
As a Mac user I honor and pay happily for apps that make the Mac great to use.
1Password used to be such an app but now it isn’t anymore. You chose to provide a web view as an app on all platforms. This is what your app basically is now.
I want to use apps that are great Mac citizens and integrate with macOS in every possible way. 1P8 cannot be such an app. Add to that the excessive resource usage, the bad web interface that has nothing to do with how good Mac apps work, and you can understand why Mac users are disappointed.
You just killed 1Password on the Mac and it would be better if you just drop support for the platform all together.
Text rendering, scrolling behavior and UI controls will always feel bad on an Electron app.
You have changed direction and focus as a company and I understand it. Just don’t try to pretend that your choice is great for Mac users. It ain’t and you deserve to get all the heat and bad publicity for that.
The right way to develop a cross platform app is by developing separate apps for each platform that fully takes advantage each platform. Not by using a framework that results in apps that just are native nowhere.
Since roustem mentioned ATP I would suggest that he listens carefully to what John Siracusa said. Electron is just lazy and provides a mediocre experience on all platforms. I guess congratulations are in order.
I am one step away of uninstalling 1P7 from all my systems. My subscription was cancelled and the only way for me to change my mind is if Agile Bits reverts its plans and drops Electron on the Mac.
1P_RobHey, @petvas. 👋 I'm sorry you feel we're abandoning you or the Mac or both.
You just killed 1Password on the Mac and it would be better if you just drop support for the platform all together.
There are an awful lot of people who don't feel that way.
The right way to develop a cross platform app is by developing separate apps for each platform
We tried that for years. Windows users will tell you it didn't work. Now we're aiming to bring a great experience to all of our platforms, and we've got a much better chance of success. Maybe at some point there will be a tool that accomplishes that goal better than Electron. We'd love that too.
