January 7, 2018
Traccar Client apps version 5.x have been available for Android and iOS for some time now. Another minor update has been released today. The Android version is already available for download; the iOS version is under review and should be available in a few days.
There are a few big changes and improvements in this major release:
The biggest change in terms of source code was on the iOS side. It is not noticeable for end users, but the whole app was rewritten from scratch, from Objective-C to the Swift programming language. Swift is a relatively new language from Apple. It's much easier to work with than Objective-C, and Apple is actively pushing for it to be the main language for iOS development. Developers will surely appreciate this change.
On the Android side, there were some significant code changes as well. The minimum supported version is now Jelly Bean, which covers more than 99% of active devices according to Google's official statistics. Increasing the minimum version allowed us to clean up some legacy code and improve readability. The app now also depends on the support library instead of just raw device APIs. It means that we can use Material Design style for the app on all devices, including older models.
The most noticeable improvement for the user will be in the interface and design. There are new green icons for the Traccar Client app and similar blue icons for Traccar Manager apps, so it's much easier to distinguish between the two if a user has both installed. As mentioned above, the Android app now uses Material Design on all Android versions, and it's styled with a green toolbar. The iOS app also has a green toolbar now to match the theme.
The Firebase analytics library has been included in the apps on Google Play and the App Store. This will help us to investigate crashes in the apps. Data is reported anonymously, but if you are concerned about privacy, you can always download the Traccar Client version from the Traccar website directly. That APK version doesn't have any analytics.
The latest version of Traccar Client apps has a new option to select location accuracy. The Android app doesn't include the location provider option anymore. The location provider is determined automatically based on the accuracy setting and other factors. The app might use a lower accuracy provider if GPS is not available or disabled. There are 3 options available for accuracy:
The Android app has included a shortcut menu option for a while. The option allowed users to generate a launcher shortcut, but it was not ideal because it only worked with the launcher. Now the app uses different APIs to allow shortcut creation directly from the launcher, and it also allows other apps to use it. For example, scheduling apps like Tasker and Llama can utilize this functionality.
Subscribe to the newsletter to receive news and updates about Traccar project software.
Discuss it on the forum.