PLEX UWP is Abonadoned (and I can Prove it)

[Goldn3agle]

I am a long time user of the PLEX UWP app, and I have been following the development of the application since it's release.

I'm not the most active poster on the forums but I make a point to stay involved with the state of the UWP app as it's the app I use the most, and I have even tested private builds of the app when a few of us identified a persistant issue with the player on Windows Phone.

The PLEX UWP app has been abandoned, and I can say that with some certainty.

The UWP app currently stands at version 3.2.20 and was released in May 2017.
This can be evidenced from PLEX's official release notes: Plex for Windows and Windows Phone.

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And for those who argue that the newest updates just haven't been added to the official thread, the app itself displays its build date.

Latest WP UWP App Version


Latest Desktop UWP App Version​

As you can clearly see that the build dates are 10/05/2017 (10th May 2017) with a build number of 3.2.20, and these cannot be mistaken for an American date format as the build number directly correlates with the forum data of May 2017.

To find the last update to the application that was not a hotfix (3.2.xx) you have to dig back even further to the update from 3.1.42 to 3.2.5 which was pushed in January 2017.

​

So not only has the PLEX UWP app not had an update since May 2017, it's not had a feature update since January 2017

But this is where the story starts to get even more interesting.

The app developer 'pombeirp' has gone dark, they've not posted in any threads since May 2017 with the exception with a single post in October 2017.
Their account is active with a last active date, at the time of writing, of 9th January, but they've not posted in any threads since that single October post.

Several threads have been created on the PLEX forums requesting details about the development status of the UWP app, most notable the following:

• Can we get a definitive answer on what is happening with Plex on Windows Phone / Desktop / Surface
• PLEX, SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS SOME RESPECT

Both were created in July 2017, and the latter is still currently active.

The threads have had no response from the PLEX developers or the PLEX management even though some of the higher up employees have been directly mentioned in the thread, such as 'elan' who is the PLEX CTO & Co-Founder.

The thread also has a PLEX support member 'ChuckPA', who isn't even involved with Windows as he's a Linux & QNAP support member, helping to get some attention to the situation.

His team aggreed to push the issue to their 'Spotlight', an area that all the management team see, and still no contact was made.
That was in November 2017, the issue is still in the spotlight, and zero contact has been made to the thread or 'ChuckPA'.

Users have even started to maintain a thread of the current bugs in the current build of the UWP app, and have garnered no response or confirmation from any member of the development or management team.

Windows Store app Forum is filled with issues and bugs (mainly relating to Sync) with no developer response.
Support is provided solely by the users and PLEX Ninjas​

The PLEX UWP app has had no updates for months, its developer has gone dark, and PLEX refuse to talk about the app at all.
The users on the forum don't care if the app is dead at this point, they just want confirmation from PLEX so they can finally move to a different app or entirely new media platform (for those invested in Windows).

The reason why this has made waves with the Windows community is because the UWP app is the only PLEX application for Windows that supports syncronising content, as PLEX Web and PMP don't support sync.
I for one use sync regularly to reduce network traffic, or so I can enjoy my content when there are network issues.

If I'm wrong with what I say here, and that is of course possible, PLEX are still behaving questionably with respect to their Windows 10 users.
If they're developing a new UWP app to replace the current one they're only doing themselves a disservice by antagonising their users because ignoring all their queries on the matter is only pushing them further away from the service.

The PLEX app for XBOX One is staffed by a separate team of developers and is enjoying frequent updates, so users of the console app can rest assured.

I apologise for the length of this post, but I'm going out of my way to write this thread because every time I have mentioned the state of the PLEX app on Windows Central I've been met with ill-informed comments about it being updated "in the last quarter" or that they're developing a new app for UWP & XBOX which has zero verifiable evidence. (Believe me, I've looked).

 

[DOGC_Kyle]

The exact same thing happened to the Xbox app. It went months without any updates (or announcements) at all, then suddenly it got a total redesign.

Also there is indeed a closed beta for a universal app that runs on both Xbox and PC. I have it installed on my Xbox but I'm not in the beta so I can't open it (tells me to go to the forums, I think). I did ask for an invite on the forums, got confirmation that the universal app does indeed exist, but they're not accepting anyone into it. No idea how often it is actually updated, but it seems to be more than the other apps.

This is just how Plex works... if you look though their forums or other sites, this is an extremely common complaint about Plex (not just Windows, all platforms). Their team is not transparent at all. They'll say nothing at all until they're fully ready to release.

 

[Goldn3agle]

Thanks for the reply.
I'd love some additional details about the closed beta that I can feed back to the community.
How did you install it on your XBOX? Is it openly downloadable, or did you have to do some steps to get around an invite system?
Can you send a link to the confirmation you got on the forums?
Can you access any version details for the installled beta app you can't open?

 

[DOGC_Kyle]

I installed a Plex Beta app on PC, and it showed up on Xbox as Ready to Install, just like any other universal app. It's not in the public Store on Xbox (although you can open the store page from app details, and it has screenshots showing the desktop app), and I don't think it's public anymore on the desktop store. It used to be a public beta for the desktop app, but after that app was released (which is the current Plex app on the store) it was added to Xbox too.

Here is the message I found on the forum: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/273684/xbox-one-beta-app (there was another one I remember, but can't find it, I think it was addressing the UWP stuff needed for bitstream and PiP)

Because there isn't an Xbox One open beta going on so no one except the developers and a very small subset of individuals can access that specific application while the app is being worked on.

Now that message was a few months ago, but it does confirm they were working on something there. If I remember correctly (I MAY be mistaken), I've seen updates for the beta app (on the Recently Updated tab on Xbox), but no changelog and I can't launch the app. I will see what happens if I open the detailed info screen.
Since then we've gotten a UWP-packaged app for Xbox One, but it's totally separate from this one (I have both installed on my Xbox), as well as the current desktop/mobile app.

It looks like they might be planning to consolidate the two apps into one, but that's just my speculation. But it would explain the delay in updates on the desktop app. I wouldn't be surprised if they're doing all their pre-release updates onto this beta app, and then once it's complete, they'll pull down the existing apps and this will become the main universal app.

 

[jasqid]

Um...in case you missed it...Microsoft is dying. It's a slow demise. Started with mobile...then band, groove music. Windows and its store is dead too but nobody sees it yet.

 

[TechFreak1]

Um...in case you missed it...Microsoft is dying. It's a slow demise. Started with mobile...then band, groove music. Windows and its store is dead too but nobody sees it yet.

Dying?

No, they aren't but fading into obscurity at the current trend?

Possibly.

But this is not the topic of this thread.

It's about Plex and as such it will remain a thread about Plex as this has the makings of a very helpful thread for the community as a whole.

Therefore if you wish to discuss about the current state Microsoft there are many other threads and even a dedicated section: forums.windowscentral.com/armchair-ceo/

 

[Goldn3agle]

Sorry I didn't reply to the thread sooner, I didn't see the notifications.

But someone on the PLEX forums found a link to the Windows Store version of the PLEX Beta app and the build numbers are very old, as in just before the current UWP app build went full UWP.

Also someone else on the forums discovered that the UWP developer doesn't even work for PLEX anymore, so I'd say my observation was pretty accurate about the app being dead.