Companion App UI cleanup: DELETE BUTTONS

Feature Requests
1

Please delete these buttons:

  • bell
  • toast
  • hammer
  • smilie face
  • handwave
  • elbow?! (which seems to appear inconsistently anyway)

…because they’re just noisemakers (which most people don’t hear anyway since we’ve muted the app and listen to Spotify), or take up valuable space.

The idea of SCROLLING to find a button breaks human interface standards. You should be able to see every button you need, or it shouldn’t be there.

Remap the “thumbs-up” button to match the function of tapping the white circle around your map avatar. (ride-ons for the nearest people to you)…because people think this actually drops ride-ons. Seriously, RIGHT NOW, people are doing pace partner rides, mashing that thumbs-up button, thinking they’re dropping ride-ons.

SHRINK the Stop and U-Turn buttons - they’re already too easy to accidentally press and there’s no need for them to be HUGE. (and make the “STOP” a universal octagonal stop sign for clarity - admittedly, this might confuse people thinking it “stops” their bike - leaving it as a square is fine, but at least shrink it)

Move the “turn” buttons (when reaching a junction) so they pop-up on the map just like they do on the main app screen to avoid the same dreaded “scroll left/right” for the buttons at the bottom. (strongly suggest “press-and-hold” to avoid accidentally turning off route - perhaps even an “are you sure?” if on a route you haven’t completed yet)

Make the camera selection button do the same thing as the one in the actual app - at least one view is missing (helicopter?) when cycling cameras via the Companion.

Collapse the HUD & graph buttons, make them a “progressive HUD toggle” - the main game shouldn’t give you a warning about toggling the HUD if you’ve tapped the Companion button, it should just do it. One tap to disable the graph, next tap disables entire HUD, next tap reenables everything. EDIT - OK, you can disable the HUD warning! (tiny checkbox to the left of the warning - and it persists through game sessions - neat!)

FINALLY - if you really, REALLY don’t agree with deleting all these buttons or expect a flurry of complaints: give us the OPTION of toggling buttons on/off in the Companion app preferences.

EDIT - added current state with some more buttons I’d forgotten, and proposed UI. Surely Zwift HQ, you can agree the proposal is just better? We love the game but can you please give us some indication the Companion App UI is on your radar?

Companion App - Current State

Zwift Companion App UI
Zwift Companion App UI2799×2524 468 KB

Companion App - Proposed

Zwift Companion App UI proposed
Zwift Companion App UI proposed1920×1900 278 KB

2

Ya got my vote!

5 Likes
3

Heck yea, I am also a fan of this. IMO if you run Apple TV the app is a must and i wish it would be more user friendly as well. Heck I have not see the new UI either that was rolled out a while back. Talk about slow implementation.

2 Likes
4

Bumping this with a reply as I’ve added mock-ups of the proposed Companion UI changes.

Tagging @Eddy_Lee hoping to bring some attention to this.

Anyone else who’d like to see this: please use the VOTE button on the original post.

4 Likes
5

1,000 times YES! Please remove the ridiculous noisemaker buttons (especially the “Ride On” button) they are the most annoying part of Zwift, and serve NO PURPOSE other than to irritate others!

11 Likes
6

Was thinking this myself a few days ago the buttons are so out dated now.

The other thing I would love to do using a single button is to give a ride on to someone who just gave me one, at the moment I have to swap to the list of riders, find them (normally they have just over taken me) and then view profile and then ‘ride on’. Now admittedly on iphones and ipads you can do this view the touch screen as a orange thumbs up appears next to them on the right, but not via ATV I can’t see…

9 Likes
7

YES to all of this. OK, yes to MOST of this :grin:.

I like the idea for the big pop-up turn buttons, but not press-and-hold. Some of these junctions don’t give you much time to make your choice and press-and-hold would make it that much harder to react in time. I do like the “Are you sure?” idea though. Do this for the U-turn button too. (Full disclosure: I have an irrational hatred of press-and-hold in general.)

You can already turn off the warning for toggling the HUD. I haven’t seen it in ages but I think there’s a checkbox to “Don’t display this warning again.” It’s easy to miss though - I think I even did a Feature Request for this and was informed that it’s already there.

I thought the thumbs up icon did a Ride On bomb for months. I listen to music while riding and don’t hear those sound effects, so I had no idea of the evil I was doing.

4 Likes
8

I appreciate the vote, and feedback. (hopefully Zwift does too?)

You’re convincing me I hate it now too. LOL More seriously, I’m mostly thinking of some kind of optional confirmation (toggled in preferences) to prevent turning off-route on a first-ride of PRL Full or Four Horsemen. Maybe call it “Route Lock” and make it a quick option when selecting a route.

:exploding_head: I was “today years old” when I found this. It’s a tiny checkbox to the left of warning. I just toggled it, tested, quit the game and went back in… no more warning. :partying_face:

EDIT - this seems device-specific. Toggling on one device won’t affect another, but it will persist on each device you set it on. (tested on iPad, AppleTV separately)

2 Likes
9

Does that also cause a sound?

I realize it might not be a common thing in all cultures, but in some it’s a social gesture with a lot of utility, like signaling “hello”, “good-bye”, or just acknowledging somebody’s vEveresting effort, even if they’re taking their time.

I do agree that an elbow flick is much too subtle for the general Zwift demography. That one should really be replaced with a flare gun. :rofl:

10

HANG ON! This is good! :wink:

…so you can elbow other players if they try to pass you up. This is they best one yet!

Don’t ask :rofl: You ofc got my vote!! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

3 Likes
11

Generally agree with the OP but I like the hand wave.
Passing avatars I know then they get a wave is far more personal than a Ride On that gets banged out to any and everyone.

And how would we high five the sloth?

Speaking of Ride Ons… so the thumb on the Companion App does what?
When I’m in a big group, I bang that thumb like a woodpecker on coffee with RedBull chasers.

I thought it gave Ride Ons to everyone around me.
Is this not the case.

3 Likes
12

Same here. I also love the “hand wave” and use it frequently.

I thought so too with the “ride on” button. Unfortunately I was wrong: All it does is releasing the totally annoying “Riiiide on!!!” in-game sound. It doesn´t give a physical ride-on. You have to press the thumb next to a user´s name to give a ride-on, or if you´re in a free ride just press your orange arrow in the companion app to give a ride-on to the 5 riders next to you. Or you click on the riders in the companion zwifters list and give them a ride-on.

2 Likes
13

I like the “emote” buttons - I use “wave” and “I’m toast” fairly often - but I usually do that using the mouse on my PC.

The thumb should behave like tapping the white circle - and it should do so consistently. By that I mean in group rides, races etc.

Of course, Zwift already have – or can add telemetry to get – the data for how often these things are actually used by Zwifters. Any changes should be data-driven, rather than based on “we think this is better”. Definitely agree that buttons that are seldom used are candidates for the chop.

3 Likes
14

The companion app is a great tool, but it could use a huge refresh.

The no-UI mode is great, but there are some major issues when you use it due to missing companion app functionality.

  • Allow the dashboard screen to be customised (show gradient for starter!) the dashboard is redundant as all of the information is also shown on the map screen

  • Allow no-ui mode to be used in workouts. The workout display on CA is actually really good, so why do I have to have the same information shown on the screen?

  • Allow for user search within my followers / following

  • Drop shop / garage access

3 Likes
15

Oh my!

A hundred, thousand apologies to everyone I have ever ridden in a group with!

I have mistakenly been hammering that thumb button with wild abandon.

I’ve put myself on the naughty step.

5 Likes
16

so it was YOU!!!

:face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

4 Likes
17

Thank you for reinforcing my point, Phill!

Dear Zwift: your move. :wink:

Signed,
Your entire loving userbase.

3 Likes
18

I used to think the elbow button was a knee or something… which makes no sense whatever so that’s why I saying it. :rofl: I mean swinging your knee out could also eliminate your foe if they try to pass you up….right?

ITS A BUDDY WITH THE ELBOW!:hushed:

1 Like
19

Big YES from me on these proposed changes! I do like the hand wave and use it pretty often, especially to wave to the penny farthing-riding squirrel on ADZ, but I’d be totally fine with sacrificing it for the greater good of improving the buttons, overall.

3 Likes
20

I’ve just worked out how to carpet bomb my surrounding avatars with Ride Ons!

I’m Level 35 and just worked this out!
(For any others as dumb as me, impossible but you never know… on the Companion App, when on the map page, your position is a little red arrow with a white circle around it. Tap it and you dish out a load of Ride Ons to people around you. The white circle takes a few seconds to refresh and then you can hit it again and give some more love to others that haven’t received it from you yet.
And yes, I went to town on it!)

Also just realised that we get Drops when given a Ride On.
How many Drops per Ride On?

2 Likes