Just a quick post to let you know that we have released Screens Connect 3, which is required for some new Screens 3 features:
Improved Keyboard Support
Screens Connect 3 provides information about the current keyboard layout on your Mac so that Screens knows which keyboard mapping to use, even if the current keyboard on your device differs.
Improved Shortcut Gestures
Screens 3 uses the default shortcuts for:
- Mission Control (⌃ ↑)
- Show All Application Windows (⌃ ↓)
- Spotlight
- Move Left a Space (⌃ →)
- Move Right a Space (⌃ ←)
However, we know that you may have different shortcuts for these commands and did not want to add a complex UI to the app when the solution was somewhere else. Screens Connect will now take care of synchronizing your keyboard shortcuts with Screens 3 every time you initiate a connection.
Screens 3 will work just fine without Screens Connect 3 but you will not have access to the new features.
Moreover, we may add more features through Screens Connect in the future so we highly suggest that you download and install our helper app, even if you do not intend to connect while you are away.
Updating
Macs running OS X Mountain Lion and up can download Screens Connect 3 here. If your Mac is running OS X Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion, please download version 2.2 instead. Both versions have the same features, except that version 2.2 supports Garbage Collection while 3.0 does not.
Precision: Screens Connect 3 also supports Screens 2, although it will not add any extra features.
Screens 3 Available Tomorrow
Apple will be rolling out iOS 7 on September 18 along with all the apps that require iOS 7. So expect Screens 3 to become available some time tomorrow. Make sure to check our Twitter feed to know when the app hits the App Store.
Screens 2: EOL
Screens 2 is no longer available for sale but you can still find it through the Purchases section of the App Store app. We will continue to support the app for users that decide not to upgrade to Screens 3 but we will not update the app with features or bug fixes any longer.
I’m one of the customers that is really not very pleased with this kind of notice.
I bought the app around more or less than 4 months back and don’t remember of any update to it. Now I see that Screens 2 reached EOL and I need to pay for Screens 3 if I want new features and bug fixes which I didn’t receive in previous version..
That is really a big hit for customers like me.
I understand your frustration but Apple doesn’t provide us a way to set a different price to let current users to upgrade for cheaper. I assure you that if they would, we would be happy to give our current users a discount.
We started from scratch with Screens 3, rebuilt our connection engine, got more people involved in the project, spent more time design and coding the app, etc. The app was a very big investment in time and money.
If we want to stay around, update our apps and release new versions of those apps in the future, we need some kind of revenue.
Moreover, we launched Screens 1.0 in december 2010 and offered 2.0 as a free upgrade a year later. So it’s been almost three years since the last time we had a paid upgrade.
Screens 2 is still a valid and working app nonetheless. There won’t be any active support (again, Apple doesn’t provide a way to update apps that are not on sale) but we made sure it was running fine on iOS 7. You can still use the app and decide to upgrade to Screens 3 later.
Many developers are offering major updates to their apps as paid upgrades: Omnigroup (http://www.omnigroup.com/blog/omnis-plans-for-ios7), Reeder, Instacast, Realmac, Apple, etc.
Hi there,
First of all, congratulations to the new Version. When is Screens 3.0 coming out for Mac OS? 🙂
Best regards
Peter
Thanks!
Screens 3 for Mac is scheduled to be released this fall. It will required OS X 10.9 Mavericks and will be a paid upgrade.
However, the new app is way better than the current one. Again, we’re building Screens 3 for Mac from scratch and adding many awesome features 🙂
Awesome!
But the Computers I would like to have access on will only have 10.6.8 running (good enough for screen connect) so is it possible to take all the advantage of the features? Or is it only 50 % or even less of what I am able to use?
Do I have any problems using Screen OS 3.0 and Screen 2.2 on MAC OS together?
Peter
By that I meant that you will need OS X 10.9 to be able to install Screens 3 for Mac but it will connect to pretty much anything.
Luc,
I do understand the implications and investment in time and money to get this new version out.
I’m just saying that for customers like me which purchased the app a few months back is a big hit, and frustrating since the only update we are having is if we go to version 3 and spend the same or more amount of money. If I were a customer for more than a year or back in version 1.0, I’ll not have any objections since I have used enough time the app and have received a bunch of updates which in my case I didn’t.
I’m just sharing my feeling regarding this situation. I do like the app which I believe is the best among all other similar apps I’ve tried.
PS. I also see that Screens Connect 3.0 for Windows is not available.
Regards,
Dave
Congrats on screens3 and keep up the good work. I ran into a problem while trying to DL screens 2 from my purchased section. Although it is there, I have been unable to DL it to my new iPhone. It gets stuck on waiting then shows an error saying please try again later. All my other apps downloaded fine.
Kang,
You should contact Apple for any App Store related issues as we cannot do much on our end. Sometimes a device reboot does wonders so you could also give that a try.
What was the last version of Screens 2 for iOS? I don’t use it a lot, and only learnt about Screens 3 through launching the app. I was curious if I actually missed out on an update to Screens 2 before it was EOLed.
V2.3.5, which you can redownload from the Purchased tab in the App Store app.
Odd, mine says version 3.25.20 under “get info”.
Version 3.25.20 really is 2.3.5.
Would really like to know what the differences are from 2 to 3 (especially from a user perspective). Aside from (hopefully) fixes to the odd crash here and there, I really can’t see any particular reason to update. SSH key handling would be nice, but I’d need to see more to justify a paid update.
Check out http://screensapp.com for a list of new features. We’re also working on v3.1, which adds more features as well. More about that version later!
Luc, thanks for clarifying!
Anyway, I bought Screens 2 and loved it so much I gifted a copy to a friend. I’m not sure I will get Screens 3, at least just yet. I’m a much more casual user (I just use it when I want to remotely access my Mac when at home). Will Screens 2 continue to function on Mavericks?
Yes, Screens 2 for Mac will continue to work on 10.9.
I second David. Edovia can blame Apple all they want, but in the end, it’s customers that get punished. I realized Screens 2 is still the same software that I voluntarily paid $20 for and no one is forcing me to upgrade.
I look at Screens 3 and it may very well be a major upgrade. But from very limited set of information on the website, it doesn’t look like I will get same $20 value out of it.
I hope Edovia temporarily lowers the price ($10) so that existing customers get a chance to upgrade.
> I hope Edovia temporarily lowers the price ($10) so that existing customers get a chance to upgrade.
Ken Case from the Omnigroup explained why this is a bad idea: http://forums.omnigroup.com/showpost.php?p=127265&postcount=43