KaiOS, a descendent of Mozilla’s now retired Firefox OS, will soon receive an update to its KaiStore that improves the overall user experience. The feature is now in closed beta but the firm behind the operating system has said that all users will be able to get the update soon. As KaiOS is designed for low-end phones, it is, for some people, the first smartphone OS they ever use so these enhancements are welcome.
The first improvement is to loading pages in the KaiStore, the new update adds small animations to make the wait a little more exciting. The firm has created several loading animations so they do not get boring over time. There are also new animations when you scroll down the app list and across categories making the experience a bit more “delightful”.
Another new feature is screenshots that preview KaiStore apps. This feature has been around on the Play Store and App Store for a long time and gives users the ability to preview an app before investing time to download it. These screenshots will prove to be useful for KaiOS users who may have limited data or simply don’t want to waste time navigating their devices clunky hardware buttons to get an app.
Finally, searches in the KaiStore that do not bring up results will now show related apps. Related search results will help users find new apps that they may not have been aware of. Currently, the KaiStore boasts 800 apps, up from the 700 that it had in October. Aside from boosting app discovery, it will also improve the experience for users who spent time searching for an app using the keypad.
No specific date has been given for when KaiOS users can expect to get the update only that it’s going to be arriving “soon”.