Update on Anytype Beta Release: June Arrival and Exciting Features Await!

[Angelo]

Beloved Community,

On behalf of the Anyteam, I’ll begin by expressing our heartfelt apologies for the release delay of the highly anticipated Anytype Beta. We understand the excitement surrounding its arrival and we share this enthusiasm. Unfortunately, we have to deliver the news that the release won’t happen as planned this month

However, we assure you that we are making swift progress, and Beta will be available very soon

The reasons for this delay are the same as communicated in previous updates. Developing Anytype Beta has been an enormous endeavor and our most significant release to date. Throughout our rigorous testing process with our Nightly Types, we encountered numerous bugs in the migration process and overall software functionality

As a result, we have decided to conduct further testing and polishing to ensure the best possible experience for everyone. We’re truly sorry for any inconvenience or frustration this delay may have caused. Please understand that our entire team is fully dedicated to delivering exceptional software, and we’re working tirelessly towards achieving that goal

The postponement is essential to assure that our software undergoes meticulous refinement before its official launch. Our current target for Community release on all platforms is middle of June

The Beta version will introduce exciting features, such as our new Anysync infrastructure, Side-bar navigation, widgets, a UI rework, and much more. Additionally, we are eliminating the invitation process and wait-list, making it easier for everyone to directly download Anytype from our website without the need for an invite code

We are absolutely confident that these improvements will significantly enhance your experience. As soon as the new version is ready, we will share the news here and you’ll be the first to know

During this waiting period, you may notice some new Beta Types gradually joining the Community. These are individuals who had signed up for onboarding sessions before we became aware of the release delay, and we wanted to honor our commitment to them. They will be testing a preliminary version of the (Pre)Beta, which is not the polished release that will be available next month.

For those too eager to wait, our Nightly Ops program remains open for everyone to participate in migration testing. Please keep in mind that joining Nightly Ops requires a commitment to reporting bugs and working closely with our development team. Alternatively, the Beta version is just around the corner

We are grateful for your patience and understanding during this period, and promise the wait will be worthwhile

[Angelo]

TL;DR: The release of Anytype Beta has been delayed, and we apologize for the inconvenience. However, we are making progress and expect to release it soon in June. The delay is due to bugs encountered during testing, and we want to ensure a great user experience. The Beta version will bring exciting features and eliminate the need for invitations. Some users will test a preliminary version while others can join the Nightly Ops program. We appreciate your patience and promise that the wait will be worth it.

[Angelo]

Its been underway for a while. If you didnt receive a Slack invite, its because your email was rejected. In that case you should message me a different one.

[ccrawford]

I’m confused about the difference between the beta and pre-beta versions. In the post with the poll asking if people plan to migrate or start fresh, it seems like the pre-beta will come first and be available to all current alpha users.

However, this post makes it seem like the pre-beta is only for people who came after the alpha but before the beta and that the alpha users will go straight to the beta version without going to pre-beta.

Is this June arrival the full beta version? If so, will alpha users get a pre-beta first? If not, why does the polling post reference a pre-beta version coming next?

Sorry if I’m missing something, I just want to make sure I understand what is going on.

[23jjl]

Hey @ccrawford,

The pre-beta app is being tested by nightly testers and users that got onboarded as of recently. Regular Alpha users are still using the legacy app, but can opt to join the nightly group if they want to test the pre-beta builds. Currently, the beta app is getting polished up. It will be available to everyone when it gets out of the pre-beta stage and then it will be the beta release. This release is currently planned for the middle of June and will be the full beta version. If alpha types decide to join the nightly ops group, they will get the pre-beta app. If they do not join the nightly group, they will not get the pre-beta and go straight to getting the beta app at the same time it will be released to everyone else. @Angelo’s post mentions the pre-beta version to clarify why you will see people with beta type badges in the community. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions!

[Kerstie]

I share ccrawford’s confusion. Why are regular alphas (non-nightlies) getting the beta version at about the same time as the official beta release for beta types? Is there a reason why the pre-beta types had to be ahead of us?

I meant no offense to the pre-beta types, and I know us alphas don’t have as much time commitment as the nightlies, but I would assume it is only logical to release it to us first — along with the pre-betas — for feedback gathering before official beta release.

[Angelo]

Understandable sentiment.

Simple answer is: bandwidth.

We can’t support 20k users on a rough branch of the pre-beta version but we need some segment to help test it. There’s only a few hundred Beta Types comparatively.

We planned to release it to everyone but we still have breaking changes in our middle-ware so we had to post-pone.

Also more than half of Alpha want to migrate but migration isn’t ready for the masses. Betas are starting fresh and won’t receive the same updates as Nightlies. Betas will also have to wait til the next release to receive an official update.

On the plus side, Alpha Types will get 10x the extend storage in exchange for their long-time effort and dedication to Anytype

Beta Types won’t get this perk.

Another important detail: the Beta release described in my post is not our Public Launch. It’s just the official Beta release for Community, which will occur in tandem with the removal of the invitation codes/onboarding process.

We will test the Beta for a while with Community before doing any publicity.

[Kerstie]

Thank you for this thorough explanation! Those are things that I don’t realize as a non-tech person. I kind of thought it’s a lack of commitment from regular alphas.

That’s some generous extra storage, thanks. But it also sounds like the (pre) betas deserve some perks for being your advance testers.

Lastly, maybe I’m not just paying attention, but all this time, I thought you guys are referring to the public launch when you say Official Beta Release, since beta = no more invite codes / open to public sign ups. That got me so confused why the alphas had to wait. Perhaps some clarification would help in future announcements.

[23jjl]

@Kerstie

Those are things that I don’t realize as a non-tech person.

No worries! Even us who consider ourselves as “tech people” realize that we weren’t that way at one point (me laughing at my 6th grade self who thought it cost my school money to update Google Chrome on my school laptop ). The good thing is that you were inquisitive - which is ultimately how we all learn on a day to day basis (we might think of how younger children tend to ask “Why?” but it’s simply curiosity for why certain things are the way they are). @Angelo even clarified some things that I didn’t fully understand (such as what was meant by the Beta release) - but it makes sense that they would have everyone in the community get to the Beta version before they publicly launch the app.

@Kerstie

But it also sounds like the (pre) betas deserve some perks for being your advance testers.

That is an interesting idea given that you mentioned it. I’m not going to push for one way or the other here (mainly because I don’t have a say in it). It ultimately depends on what the team decides, which maybe they will decide to reward the current beta types (but this might be difficult to keep track of after public launch). However, it is good to recognize that you have been committed from the very early days during the Anytype Alpha testing. From my understanding, the storage reward for Alpha testers is the team’s way of saying “thank you” for giving Anytype a try, despite its instabilities, and for helping improve and make the app better. But in that regard, as Alpha testers ourselves, we can definitely return the “thank you” to the Anyteam for not only making an awesome app, but also for rewarding us Alpha testers with extra storage !

[Kerstie]

@23jjl

The good thing is that you were inquisitive

Thanks, @23jjl ! I thought it was worth mentioning so they can improve their posts.

@23jjl

I’m not going to push for one way or the other here (mainly because I don’t have a say in it).

Yes, it’s not our place to judge the Types’ level of commitment/usefulness. It’s just my opinion that if they’ve onboarded before Beta and they’ve been part of a select group of pre-beta testers, they might as well be Alphas or at least have a label/Type of their own (like the Nightlies) so they can be tracked/differentiated for some extra perks after launch. (Assuming they still have the resources/storage, of course. It’s not mine to give away. )

That aside, I’m grateful I’ll still have time to play around with the Beta version before actual public release.

[Angelo]

Betas will receive some extended storage as well! Just not as much, on account of less time participating in the program.

Many of our Alpha Types have been with us for years now, and really played a significant role shaping Anytype into it’s current state.

Thanks for your questions! We had to re-strategize our approach, so there’s a lot of course correction currently underway. Remember our initial target for removal of the wait-list, and then Beta release was March/April.

[petaqui]

Can’t wait for those updates! But we understand that bugs arise and should be fixed
One doubt, what are the plans for the storage? How much data will we be able to have in Anytype? I use it to keep my study materials and don’t know if I will be able to use it that way with an pdf, ppt and videos. Thank you for the effort!!!

[gcsapo]

Thanks for the heads up I’m looking forward to June, but take all the time you need.

[Angelo]

@petaqui

How much data will we be able to have in Anytype?

10GB by default for Alpha Types. For more than that, we’ll offer different tiers, but we need some time to measure the demand and get a sense of how much space people require on average.

[Jed]

10GB is generous. Are you saying 10GB for all users and only those who wants to exceed the limit will have to pay. Or for Alpha testers only.

[Angelo]

10GB is only for Alpha Types. Beta Types will receive 1GB for free, which is also plenty.

On average, most of our community is using just 50MB of file storage. Only media files (audio/video) consume a lot of storage.

Important Clarifications:

• Storage limits apply only to remote sync & backup node. How much remote storage you have consumed / how much remains, will be displayed in your settings.

• Only files (ie. .pdfs, audio, video) utilize remote storage, Objects can be created on an unlimited basis and will have no impact on storage limits.

• You can store locally (your HD) in Anytype as much as data as you want, and as long you are on the same local network, everything will sync between your devices.

[Jed]

I get it, It’s huge actually. Just like Evernote sync model. 60mb/month for free users. Kudos to the team. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test the beta because my Laptop is 32bit windows that was why I’ve never tested Anytype on my windows, and unluckily for me I need that to test the beta. I now have to endure 200hrs per day till the public release

[petaqui]

Great! I can’t wait to see your plans. I’ve just found that it is really useful for me, using Anytype as my go-to tool for the courses that I’m doing. I organize everything there: pdf, videos, words, ppt…etc; and also taking notes inside. So everything is sorted out. But, ofc, this takes A LOT of storage (mainly because of the videos), and I would love doing it that way, with sync.

[mordan]

Hey! Is this still relevant to you or has it gone? What version of the app do you use?

[jesugq]

@Angelo

During this waiting period, you may notice some new Beta Types gradually joining the Community. These are individuals who had signed up for onboarding sessions before we became aware of the release delay, and we wanted to honor our commitment to them. They will be testing a preliminary version of the (Pre)Beta, which is not the polished release that will be available next month.

Hello, if my understanding is correct, 0.31.54 is a (Pre)Beta version of Anytype, correct? I joined during one of these groups of onboarding session invites and am using the link provided in the e-mail