When we started cnArcher development, there were very limited tools that allowed cross-platform apps for both Android and iOS, and even fewer which allowed access to camera, GPS and compass that cnArcher uses. So we decided to create native apps for Android and iOS. This meant that we had to develop same feature twice. And because we prioritized Android development, iOS feature set always lagged behind the Android version.
With cross-platform tools like Flutter and React Native becoming popular, we revisited our approach when we started looking at adding support for cnWave 60 GHz. Rather than add cnWave 60 GHz to the existing Android and iOS app, we created a new cross platform version of cnArcher that supports cnWave 60 GHz. This is called “cnArcher 60 GHz” and is available as a beta for both Android and iOS.
So you will see two versions of cnArcher in the Android and iOS app stores.
- “cnArcher” - The original app which supports PMP, ePMP, cnRanger and cnPilot
- “cnArcher 60 GHz” - The new cross platform version with support from cnWave 60 GHz
Both versions will coexist for some time. We will continue working on the cross platform version to add support for PMP, ePMP, cnRanger and cnPilot. The cross platform app will be renamed from “cnArcher 60 GHz” to “cnArcher 2.0” and the original app will be renamed from “cnArcher” to “cnArcher Legacy”.
Approximate timelines for this is:
- PMP support in cnArcher 2.0 - Q2 2023
- ePMP support in cnArcher 2.0 - Q3 2023
- cnRanger and cnPilot support in cnArcher 2.0 - Q4 2023
- Porting other miscellaneous features to cnArcher 2.0 - Q4 2023
With cnArcher 2.0, both Android and iOS users will see a brand-new GUI which you can preview now by downloading “cnArcher 60 GHz”. iOS users will also see functionality that is missing from the native iOS version, like the ability to send installation summary to cnMaestro X.