PocketSmith is a web application first and foremost, and we believe that managing your money is deserving of a full screen experience. This isn’t always convenient, so you might turn to your phone to access the PocketSmith web app. However, using the web application on mobile has been a generally limited experience - until now.
Our previous blog posts discuss the future of PocketSmith on mobile at length. The vision is that the full web experience will become possible on mobile - a truly pleasant experience, while still getting the full power of what we deliver on the web.
We’ve recently released a raft of changes, bringing us significantly closer towards this goal. From navigation to presentation, a lot has changed. Read on!
Until now the navigation on mobile has been limited, when viewing PocketSmith web a mobile phone’s browser. By default, you were limited access to a specific number of pages, which would appear well on a phone. However, the changes in this release means we’re now happy to present access to all areas of the application, from the mobile menu that you’ll find on the top right of the screen.
All app features are now accessible, as well as the help menu, profile pages, and all management features.
The new complete PocketSmith menu on mobile.
PocketSmith has a lot of forms and pop-ups, to edit your data and display relevant information about your finances. Previously these may have been awkwardly presented on your phone - positioned partially obscured, or off to one side of your phone’s screen.
Though many basic forms had received improvements in recent months, we’ve now taken things further. Everyday forms like the budget creation and edit forms, transaction pop-ups, budget and information pop-ups, and other forms throughout the app have been updated to use a tray type format. They now slide up from the bottom of the page, instead of a pop-up appearing in the middle screen, or off to one side.
This means most forms are far more usable, and you have the same access to information and data management on mobile as you do when using a desktop computer. Now that this is firmly in place, we’ll continue to update other forms or pop-ups that haven’t receiving this treatment - so if you spot any quirks, please let us know!
Examples of forms and popups being shown in the new tray.
Sometimes you just need to see the full view of your PocketSmith account, even if it means using pinch gestures to zoom on your phone, and panning around the page. Some core features - such as the Calendar and Budgets page - have not yet received a full mobile layout update, which means the small-view mobile mode isn’t optimal here.
So we’ve added a new “Desktop mode”, which is available at bottom of the the mobile menu. When you enter this mode, the page will zoom out, and you’ll be able to use pinch gestures to zoom in and out of the page, and pan the view around the screen.
This mode gets reset back to the regular mobile view when you load the next page in the app, or refresh the current page.
Switching on desktop mode from the mobile menu.
The Dashboard is now easier to use on your mobile phone. When viewing a dashboard column, you can quickly and easily swipe between the columns with your thumb. Remember you can still use Desktop mode as well if you want to see the full view of your dashboard.
Improvments in using the Dashboard on mobile.
For pages that don’t yet have their own dedicated mobile layout, like the Calendar and Budget pages, you’ll now find it easier to get around the page in the mobile view. The menu and toolbars will stay at the top of the page, and you’re able to pan around the main page content area more easily, without losing your place on the page.
Examples of more refined scrolling on phones.
Better functionality has been introduced for adding PocketSmith web to your Android or iOS home screen, as a standalone app. When viewed as a standalone app, unnecessary elements (known as the “browser chrome” to web nerds) are no longer shown, meaning you get to use the full real estate afforded to you by your phone’s screen.
This makes it quicker to get to PocketSmith web on your phone, so you can quickly access financial information and the full PocketSmith experience when you need it.
Adding PocketSmith web to your home screen on iOS.
The improvements for using PocketSmith web on mobile will keep coming. Small quirks that crop up will be figured out, so please let us know of any nooks and crannies that are still not working great on your phone. User interface upgrades for key features are on the cards as well, and a key focus during this will be to optimise the mobile views for features that are still lagging behind.
We hope that using the PocketSmith web application on your phone is more enjoyable than it was previously. Thank you for your support!
James is the CTO and co-founder at PocketSmith. He loves tech from software to hardware to music, and is passionate about technology being a net-positive in people’s lives. He lives off-grid with three humans, one axolotl, one dog, and too many possums.
