Newsletter - 9th September 2025

Welcome to the second in our (slightly irregular) series of newsletters, where we share updates on what we’ve been working on.

Open beta releases

We’ve had a number of open beta versions released now and lots of improvements and changes which we have listed in the release notes.

The latest release introduces a new Contact Support option in the main menu. Selecting it opens an email to our help desk, pre-filled with useful details such as your app version, Android version, and any screen readers in use. This should make sharing feedback easier, while ensuring the help desk remains the main channel for enquiries. You can also reach the help desk directly at soundscapeAndroid@scottishtecharmy.support.

Our primary focus continues to be fixing crashes and stability issues that prevent some users from running the app. At the same time, we’ve started addressing broader user feedback and tackling medium-term priorities as we move toward production.

On the language front, we’re excited to add Ukrainian, Arabic, and Persian translations, with more in progress.

What could be better?

Route replay

The route replay experience isn’t yet where we want it to be. We’ve made some immediate fixes based on feedback, but there’s still plenty of work to do to make it truly smooth and reliable.

Translation experience

Although not part of the app itself, translation is critical to making Soundscape accessible to everyone. Right now, the process is too manual. To improve this, we’re experimenting with AI-assisted translation.

Here’s how it will probably work:

• A glossary of key terms is agreed upon with a translator.
• AI generates a draft translation using that glossary and context from our documentation.
• Native speakers can then review and refine the output in Weblate.

If accuracy proves consistently high, this should speed up the addition of new languages while maintaining quality.

Offline maps support

Offline maps weren’t available in the original iOS version of Soundscape, but based on strong user feedback, they’re a priority for us. This will allow the app to work without a network connection in areas where offline maps have been downloaded. We already have a plan for implementation - now it’s about building the UI and server support to make it happen.

What else are we working on next

User feedback!

We have around 40 issues filed from users which we’re working through and fixing. To give you an idea of the rate we’re working at, we’re averaging just over an issue per day. Some issues take longer than others, and we do find other issues as we go, but we’re definitely moving in the right direction.

Complete Street Preview

Street Preview is largely a proof of concept right now and needs a lot more work for the audio user interface. There are some improvements that can be made over the iOS Soundscape e.g. making Places Nearby work so that Markers can be created whilst previewing an area.

That’s it

Hopefully this gives you a clear picture of what’s happening. We’ll be back with another update in about a month. In the meantime, thank you for your continued support - and please keep the feedback coming!