Change the "Syncing" status message to the way Telegram does it (i.e. include a "Connecting" message); current functionality feels clunky #3591
Labels
A-Sync
T-Enhancement
New features, changes in functionality, performance boosts, user-facing improvements
X-Needs-Product
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
It's not always clear to me whether the room list has updated yet because the app waits a moment before displaying the "Syncing" message. Sometimes I am staring at the list wondering if it has yet to update when in fact it already has. Sometimes I tap rooms too quickly when it actually hasn't updated yet. This is exacerbated by the fact that Element X can update in the background if it was recently used, so sometimes I switch back to the app and feel stuck since I'm not sure whether it's okay to tap a room or if I should wait a moment for it to update.
Describe the solution you'd like
Immediately upon opening the app, there should be a loading icon with "Connecting." Then once it's connected, it can change to "Syncing." This is what Telegram does and there is no such confusion.
Describe alternatives you've considered
A dark gray status box at the top with an orange "CONNECTING" message (in a suitable small font) with an orange plug next to it, then a blue "SYNCING" message with a blue circle-within-a-circle icon next to it, then finally a green "CONNECTED" with no icon next to it which remains on the screen persistently. This would be an option that feels more "techy," but maybe this is desired since it is somewhat of a techy app used for cases where security is important. Instead of orange/blue/green, you could use colors proximate to those from someone's bloom/profile picture to make the colors look good on any profile.
Additional context
I realize the point of not showing it immediately is most likely to emphasize one of the selling points of the app, which is instant sync. However, to me it just feels clunky, and it's already evident how fast sync is if you're in multiple rooms with numerous messages. Basically, right now the app seems to try to "hide" the fact that it is initially establishing a connection and not yet synced, but this doesn't work at all from a user perspective. Maybe the devs test Element X on fast connections so it syncs almost immediately upon opening the app, but for people on slower connections like me, this design decision gets in the way of usability.
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