New Home Screen vs Old Home Screen

oren64 · 03-03-2017, 06:30 AM

Which do you like best?

I already used to the old home screen, the new home screen looks good but it only show four books and there a lot of unused space.

EDIT: You can disable/enable the new home screen by patching the firmware.

bongorash · 03-03-2017, 06:54 AM

I quite like the new home screen but would prefer it if I could remove/disable the "Top Picks", "Browse Kobo" and "Overdrive" tiles and replace them with my own books or even "My Collections".

boriar · 03-03-2017, 10:46 AM

At a first time I dislike the old home screen because the same faults of the new: to many useless things for me but when I discovered how to manage they... more space for tiles I use more often, so OLD HOME SCREEN.
Any way I think that the new home screen have "space" to be better.

pickyaxe · 03-03-2017, 10:52 AM

I like the idea, but unremovable ads is a non-starter for me.

MGlitch · 03-03-2017, 11:18 AM

I like the new homescreen, but I do wish you could remove the stuff on the lower half and replace it with a collection.

Ksquared · 03-03-2017, 06:07 PM

I did not mind the new screen too much at first; when it started I had 4 partially read books, that took up the top row. I got down to one, and the right side of the top got another advertisement, alternating between $5 dollar reads and top reads. Then I finished the one in-progress book and a pop-up asked me if I was looking for something to read and took me to the Kobo store without asking! That is a little too intrusive for me. (Correction - it gave an icon that asked if I was looking for something to read and that took me to the store! Not as bad as I thought...)

So the old home screen is my preference. (and still is...)

Edits are in italics.

meeera · 03-03-2017, 10:37 PM

Can I vote for the old home screen without updating my device and risking getting the new screen? I'm a hard "no" to these ads, and my flow includes pinning a number of collections to my home screen for quick access.

I use all of the space on my home screen, and don't want Kobo reducing the space available.

dordale · 03-03-2017, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

Can I vote for the old home screen without updating my device and risking getting the new screen? I'm a hard "no" to these ads, and my flow includes pinning a number of collections to my home screen for quick access.

I use all of the space on my home screen, and don't want Kobo reducing the space available.

That's what I did--based on pictures and comments I've seen and read about the new home screen I have absolutely no interest in trying it. I will probably update to the latest firmware eventually--as long as there is a patch available to force the old home screen.

crimson · 03-03-2017, 11:30 PM

Old home screen by a country mile. I don't need My Books (Why not My Collections?). Since I don't buy books on Kobo or borrow books I don't need Top 50 books, Find your next great read and Overdrive either.

Seriously, they should let us customise the home screen. I want 1/2 screen for books I'm reading, 1/4 for Collections and 1/4 for Activity/Awards. I'd also like to pin some of my favourite Collection/Books on home screen.

oren64 · 03-04-2017, 03:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

Can I vote for the old home screen without updating my device and risking getting the new screen?

Yes, here screenshot of the new home screen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksquared

...Then I finished the one in-progress book and a pop-up asked me if I was looking for something to read and took me to the Kobo store without asking! That is a little too intrusive for me.

Sound like a really annoying thing.

issybird · 03-04-2017, 07:35 AM

I'm outraged by this. I feel as if I've bought devices from Kobo where they didn't shill me, but now they've unilaterally changed the terms of our agreement. At least with Amazon, you knew what you're getting up front when it comes to ads.

I find the old home screen highly useful; it's a quick way to access the books I'm reading and my collections. I must note that Kobo after a relationship of years and tons of data about what I like to read has yet ever to market to me a book I'd remotely be interested in reading.

This means I lose OverDrive integration on my Aura One, as of the two I'd rather avoid the new screen than download library books directly to my device.

I think this is a colossal misjudgment. The new screen should be opt-in on existing devices and if they want to start selling devices with ads from now on, they need to the customer know up front.

davidfor · 03-04-2017, 07:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksquared

Then I finished the one in-progress book and a pop-up asked me if I was looking for something to read and took me to the Kobo store without asking! That is a little too intrusive for me.

I haven't seen that. If it was a purchased kepub, it should show an extra page at the end to rate the book and optionally submit a review. This does show related books. But, you can ignore all this and tap or swipe to finish the book and go to the home screen. This has been there for several years. It is not shown for sideloaded books.

Ksquared · 03-04-2017, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

This means I lose OverDrive integration on my Aura One, as of the two I'd rather avoid the new screen than download library books directly to my device.

I think this is a colossal misjudgment. The new screen should be opt-in on existing devices and if they want to start selling devices with ads from now on, they need to the customer know up front.

Fortunately, you can patch to go back to the old home screen. Or, you can roll back to an earlier firmware.

I don't have an Aura One, but would love to have the Overdrive Integration, since I read mostly library books. I don't know if I would give that up once I had it. Then if I saw an advertisement, I might say "hey, sounds interesting, I wonder if my library has it?". After all, even if my library does not have it, Overdrive (on the computer, I don't know on the Aura One) offers a way to request that the library acquire it.

I would be optimistic that Kobo did not upgrade all of the units to the new home screen. They must be testing in some way to see how we react to this change. If we communicate with them, they may change back or change to a less intrusive version.

davidfor · 03-04-2017, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ksquared

Fortunately, you can patch to go back to the old home screen. Or, you can roll back to an earlier firmware.

That won't work if you are download books from Kobo. The first step of a sync is to check for an update.

Quote:

I would be optimistic that Kobo did not upgrade all of the units to the new home screen. They must be testing in some way to see how we react to this change. If we communicate with them, they may change back or change to a less intrusive version.

They are doing A/B testing. I have no idea how they are collecting the results, but, yes, anyone you doesn't like it, should tell Kobo.

Ksquared · 03-04-2017, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfor

I haven't seen that. If it was a purchased kepub, it should show an extra page at the end to rate the book and optionally submit a review. This does show related books. But, you can ignore all this and tap or swipe to finish the book and go to the home screen. This has been there for several years. It is not shown for sideloaded books.

This was a sideloaded book. It was unusual that I only had one open book and I think it happened only when there was nothings else to show in the top row, i.e. nothing else that was an open book.

I just recreated this situation, and it looks like I misspoke - When there is no open book on the ereader, the top left shows "Need Something to Read?" with a blank cover spot. The top right shows an advertisement that changes.

When I first did this, I must have tapped the top left, and that is what took me to the store in the recommendations section. I apologize for my error.

View Poll Results: New Home Screen vs Old Home Screen
New Home Screen	47	29.38%
Old Home Screen	113	70.63%
Voters: 160. You may not vote on this poll

03-03-2017, 06:30 AM	#1
oren64 I need a chapter break Posts: 4,042 Karma: 56058267 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Israel Device: Kobo Glo	New Home Screen vs Old Home Screen Which do you like best? I already used to the old home screen, the new home screen looks good but it only show four books and there a lot of unused space. EDIT: You can disable/enable the new home screen by patching the firmware. Last edited by oren64; 06-17-2018 at 03:22 AM.

03-03-2017, 06:07 PM	#6
Ksquared Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 2635236 Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Cleveland, Ohio USA Device: Original Kobo Aura 6", Libra H2O	I did not mind the new screen too much at first; when it started I had 4 partially read books, that took up the top row. I got down to one, and the right side of the top got another advertisement, alternating between $5 dollar reads and top reads. Then I finished the one in-progress book and a pop-up asked me if I was looking for something to read and took me to the Kobo store without asking! That is a little too intrusive for me. (Correction - it gave an icon that asked if I was looking for something to read and that took me to the store! Not as bad as I thought...) So the old home screen is my preference. (and still is...) Edits are in italics. Last edited by Ksquared; 03-04-2017 at 08:15 AM.

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03-03-2017, 06:54 AM	#2
bongorash Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 13112 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo H2O, Kobo Aura 1, Kindle Voyage, Kobo Forma	I quite like the new home screen but would prefer it if I could remove/disable the "Top Picks", "Browse Kobo" and "Overdrive" tiles and replace them with my own books or even "My Collections".

03-03-2017, 10:46 AM	#3
boriar Evangelist Posts: 407 Karma: 314204 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: bq Avant XL, Kobo Aura H2O, Onyx Boox M96C Plus	At a first time I dislike the old home screen because the same faults of the new: to many useless things for me but when I discovered how to manage they... more space for tiles I use more often, so OLD HOME SCREEN. Any way I think that the new home screen have "space" to be better.

03-03-2017, 10:52 AM	#4
pickyaxe Addict Posts: 285 Karma: 3762916 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: none	I like the idea, but unremovable ads is a non-starter for me.

03-03-2017, 11:18 AM	#5
MGlitch Wizard Posts: 2,840 Karma: 22003124 Join Date: Aug 2014 Device: Kobo Forma, Kobo Sage, Kobo Libra 2	I like the new homescreen, but I do wish you could remove the stuff on the lower half and replace it with a collection.

03-03-2017, 10:37 PM	#7
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,658 Karma: 66417824 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Can I vote for the old home screen without updating my device and risking getting the new screen? I'm a hard "no" to these ads, and my flow includes pinning a number of collections to my home screen for quick access. I use all of the space on my home screen, and don't want Kobo reducing the space available.

03-03-2017, 11:30 PM	#9
crimson In Cyberspace Posts: 15 Karma: 2070024 Join Date: Feb 2017 Device: None	Old home screen by a country mile. I don't need My Books (Why not My Collections?). Since I don't buy books on Kobo or borrow books I don't need Top 50 books, Find your next great read and Overdrive either. Seriously, they should let us customise the home screen. I want 1/2 screen for books I'm reading, 1/4 for Collections and 1/4 for Activity/Awards. I'd also like to pin some of my favourite Collection/Books on home screen.

03-04-2017, 07:35 AM	#11
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,210 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	I'm outraged by this. I feel as if I've bought devices from Kobo where they didn't shill me, but now they've unilaterally changed the terms of our agreement. At least with Amazon, you knew what you're getting up front when it comes to ads. I find the old home screen highly useful; it's a quick way to access the books I'm reading and my collections. I must note that Kobo after a relationship of years and tons of data about what I like to read has yet ever to market to me a book I'd remotely be interested in reading. This means I lose OverDrive integration on my Aura One, as of the two I'd rather avoid the new screen than download library books directly to my device. I think this is a colossal misjudgment. The new screen should be opt-in on existing devices and if they want to start selling devices with ads from now on, they need to the customer know up front.

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