iNaturalist 4+

GUI Improvements

Tool tips and labeling icons is IMPORTANT!

The number one issue with the new app is the GUI, whoever made it is a technology native and put no effort into making sure that those less tech savvy can easily navigate. Those more used to a windows based OS find the new GUI infuriatingly convoluted.

The ease of access to previously heavily used features is lacking. The new app GUI is confusing, poorly laid out and does not default to settings most users are familiar with. While more powerful, you can clearly see the launch has been disastrous. The “next” app should have been labeled “pro” since it gives easier access to high level tools and is genuinely more difficult to navigate. I think building from the interface of the first app should have been/currently be a major focus. Instead of what feels like starting from scratch in designing navigation.

Overall Great! Two Suggestions

I’m very happy to see some of Seek’s best features integrated into iNaturalist. I’ll use iNaturalist much more now, especially since the AI camera is soooo much faster compared to Seek. Overall, I think this is a great next step for the app and have enjoyed using it so far. I hope the developers will consider two additions. First, it would be helpful to be able to copy the coordinates from one observation to another in the app. It is super annoying to have to zoom in on a map while looking at a rural area without a lot of landmarks to find the right spot when I could just copy and paste from another nearby observation. The search function also didn’t bring up some towns in Colorado as an option so the location/map feature seems a bit incomplete/unwieldy. (I’m also not sure why some of my observations didn’t have a location when the observations a few minutes later did.) Second, it would be helpful to be able to crop photos in the app itself. Otherwise, thank you for these great updates!

great app, just one bug that bothers me

I have used the original iNat app for a few years now and I really like iNat Next too! While it took me a little bit to learn the new interface, I find myself using iNat Next more often than the old app. The one thing that bothers me is that often times, I am out in the field and unable to upload my observations immediately, so I keep them as drafts. What happens is that my photos for draft observations disappear, so I have to go back to my camera roll and reupload them to their right observations. When I’m logging many observations at a time, it gets frustrating. Other than that, I am an iNat Next enjoyer 🌱🌈💅

Developer Response ,

Thank you for the feedback. That does sound like a bug, can you please send details and screenshots to help@inaturalist.org or https://help.inaturalist.org/support/tickets/new so we can take a look?