Updates from the Canopy

Final stages of iOS beta, App Store release soon!

The iOS beta has been going well, all mobile specific issues are addressed and focus is now on bugfixes and small compliance details for Apple's review process. June release is still on track, and then the focus will be on Android app which should go even faster than iOS since Google is less picky (and I've learned a lot of lessons from iOS)

Good news is that the mobile specific feature set is mostly ironed out and will translate well to Android app, just different harnesses for things like push notifications and background calls

— BroManDudeGuyPhD

Migration to hosted server complete!

The bramble domain is now hosted on the West coast in Hillsboro, Oregon! bramble-prod-app-1 is LIVE

Incidentally, for the early alpha users who I know IRL, this will hurt performance just ever so slightly due to ping being a tad higher, but, as soon as a west coast server becomes available I intent to snag one!

I’ve tested horizontal app scaling and it went beautifully, so scaling can happen when it needs to without any snags, across multiple machines

— BroManDudeGuyPhD

Apple Open Beta has arrived!

If you're interested in joining apple open beta, you can sign up at this link. Should pre-fill an invite code on signup page.

Apple grants 10,000 spots so that should be plenty for a Beta, we plan on a full release in June or July and will follow up with an Android app after iOS app is launched

— BroManDudeGuyPhD

Apple Open Beta Soon!

While Bramble will always be web-first, iOS beta is a huge milestone! Currently have an iOS app awaiting review for public beta testing, and will have 10,000 open slots for registration through Apple. We'll post a TestFlight link when the beta is ready

Android will be coming soon too, already in the works

— BroManDudeGuyPhD

Update Notes

Recent updates have been largely backend engineering and some landing page redesign

But a HUGE win is every major desktop platform has an app! I’ve also applied for an Apple Developer license. I’ve got a shippable iOS app, but the Apple review process is notoriously lengthy so that may take some time. I also intend to pursue an Android app next

This is all dividends from the framework I’m using which allows wrapping a web app up into all platforms relatively easily! Not as nice as a fully native app, but FAR more maintainable. Native apps would be awesome as a future goal, but don’t make sense for a web-first platform

Feature set is pretty full, focus at this point is design and polish before open beta!

— BroManDudeGuyPhD

Closed Beta Soon!

Feature progress and testing have been moving along very fast! Just this week added

• DM voice + video
• DM group messaging with group voice calls
• Server search
• Expanded permissions control

The core feature set is mature and thoroughly tested, which means it’s time to actively invite people to break it in ways I have not thought about 🙃

Planning to designate the app in “Closed Beta” this week, which means I will be actively seeking out testers and maybe implement a bug bounty system with small cosmetic rewards / bespoke profile badge for assisting.

— BroManDudeGuyPhD

So about the rename…

Grove is now Bramble! I think it’s a better name as well as the reality of SEO competition was truly impossible with Grove. But Bramble still keeps the cozy forest vibe I’ve been building and in a lot of was feel better. It’s a stickier name (lol)

I need to thank my friend Oshjay for the name idea, it’s a great name!

I was also able to secure a .gg TLD which is huge, and .social is also captured. For now old Grove links will redirect but be sure to bookmark the new page

— BroManDudeGuyPhD