Electron

I'm going to hold my hands up and admit that I have not tried the v8 beta app. My password database is too important to risk with betas, but after reading this thread I wanted to add my voice as another long-time and discontented user.

And apologies - this turned out to be longer thank I originally intended. It is because I care. A lot.

1Password was the very first application that I bought for macOS when I bought my first MacBook about 10 years ago. It is the first thing I install when I upgrade, and the first application I recommend to new macOS and iOS users. Acknowledging that what we are talking about here is a first beta release and that things will changer, I suspect that is about to change.

Based on the information shared so far, Electron is just one component. There is the new Rust backend which, although I appreciate and understand the technical implications, means nothing to me when I put my Average End User hat on.

What does affect me is the Electron frontend. I cannot count how many times a day I call on 1Password. If all of those times are going to give me repeated paper cuts because of the Electron Experience then I am not interested, at all.

The issues shared by others in this thread echo my experiences with other Electron apps on Mac. They are what they are - web UIs bounded by the window that contains them, and you end up with components that you cannot see until you make the window large enough (which might not be possible with long lists and, say, a 13" MacBook display), and right-click menus that look native on top of a UI that is very much not.

It doesn't matter if the backend is native. That is not my interface. The UI is. And, frankly, Electron sucks. It is a terrible user experience everywhere, not just on Mac.

Electron turns an app from being a Mac-Assed App into Just Another Electron App. I have many examples of MAAs that I could share, including the current 1Password. I can not think of any Electron app that makes me go "Wow - that Just Works, and Just Works exactly as I expect it to". (Obsidian might just squeeze in, but I would give my back teeth for a fully native version.) I can, however, point at many that fail to render parts of the UI, or have scrolling issues, or occasionally fail to load anything but a blank screen because who-knows-why?

And it seems that this is happening with 1Password. In the name of Developer convenience and efficiency the UI is moving to Electron. It is going to make it easier to deliver updates across all the supported platforms in good time with less effort.

That's great for AgileBits. Not so great for me.

One of the reasons given for this change is support for older versions of MacOS. I seem to recall that we have been here before, possibly with the transition from v5 to v6. At that time the older version was kept around for a while to support older versions of MacOS. Yes there are overheads with maintaining those older versions. So set a deadline for updates, give people time to upgrade, and then move on. You just landed another $100,000,000 with the Series B so there is money in the bank to support that.

And in the meantime, get a Mac-native SwiftUI v8 app working. We will wait. We know that it will be worth it.

Otherwise this will be done at the expense of a long-term, very passionate user-base who have supported AgileBits since day one, and helped the business get to a point where it can deliver a fantastic application on multiple platforms.

Another thing that concerns me is that it seems that the browser integration is headed down the 1PasswordX route. I have tried the 1PasswordX extension many times, and it is a horrid experience when compared with the Classic/Mini extension. TouchID fails to trigger. Or it triggers and doesn't work. Or it triggers once and never again and I have to re-type my 1Password password every time I want to Autofill a password. And then it fails to find the right password. Or to give me the option to choose from the alternatives I may have (personal vs work accounts on the same websites, for example).

Forcing me down that path on its own would be enough to have me consider cancelling my subscription. In combination with moving to the Electron UI, a cancellation almost certain.

I am not going to jump into a cancellation yet. My Family sub is valid until early 2022 so I have time to see how this works out.

But while you're working on this, listen to your users. We love 1Password and we want that to continue.

Unfortunately I am expecting some future heartbreak and a move to Keychain in iOS15 and Monterey, even if I lose a whole pile of useful features from 1Password (and there are many that I would miss) because I am not going to deal with the hundreds of daily UI paper cuts that seem to be heading my way.

(Why Keychain? I've taken a look at all the popular alternatives to 1Password over the last few days. They all have similar issues to those being discussed in this thread re non-native UIs and behaviour. When 1Password goes Electron there will not be a Mac-native app that Just Works for me, so Keychain it may be.)

Thanks for reading this far. I hope it was useful.