[Update: Fixed] Apollo for Reddit issues with full-screen GIFs not working & poor video quality come to light

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on October 13, 2021) follows:

Apple has a new iOS 15.0.2 update rolling out to both iPhone and iPad users across the globe. The new version tags along a zero-day bugfix alongside the usual under-the-hood optimizations.

It may take some time before the new iOS 15.0.2 settles down on your iPhone, so it’s understandable that you may be encountering a few bugs here and there.

But for those using Apollo for Reddit, it seems no amount of waiting will address the annoying playback issue with full-screen GIFs and poor video quality.

Earlier this month, we reported about an issue users of the app were facing when playing Reddit videos via the YouTube player.

At the time, it was also reported that besides crashing the player when playing videos, Apollo for Reddit users also experienced an issue where GIFs were not showing at all.

The app developer, who is always following and listening in to user complaints on Reddit, later confirmed that a solution had been found, but it is still being tested ahead of rollout.

Well, it seems the developer may have to dig further and provide a solution for yet another related issue, this time where GIFs are not working or playing in full screen on the Apollo for Reddit app.

This gif will only play in comment view, not full screen
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Affected Apollo for Reddit users say while playing GIFs works fine from the comment view, it stops working soon after the full screen view is enabled.

This issue has been reported by both iOS 14 and iOS 15 users, including those on the latest iOS 15.0.2 stable version.

We’ve also come across reports from users of various versions of the Apollo app, suggesting that the issue is more widespread than thought. And what’s worse is that the developer still can’t wrap their head around it.

While at it, we’ve also encountered reports about an issue related to poor video quality on the Apollo for Reddit app.

Apparently, playing videos uploaded on Reddit via the Apollo app starts off with poor image quality before improving towards the end of the same video.

When played via the official Reddit app or even using the browser version on Safari, the same videos show up in good quality, implying the issue could be with Apollo.

That is my connection with an iPhone 12 Pro over 5g wifi so it is not an internet issue but all videos seem to load in at an insanely low quality. Sometimes after a little bit they will get sharper and improve but other times they stay looking like they’re 240p the entire time. Is this on Reddit’s end?
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I am also seeing this. I have Gig internet and video has been very degraded in recent builds.
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Below is a sample screenshot of the internet speeds some of those affected by this issue have at their disposal, which further cements the fact that it has nothing to do with connectivity.

So, if the issue isn’t about signal strength, what’s causing the poor video quality? Well, apparently, some users of the app believe this is Reddit’s doing thanks to their servers.

It’s not Apollo, it’s Reddits garbage servers
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This is my bet. All the download speed in the world won’t help if the place you’re trying to download from is maxed out or otherwise having problems.
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At this point, it’s unclear what’s exactly behind the poor video quality on Apollo for Reddit. But regardless of the cause, affected users will be hoping for a quick fix sooner than later.

We will let you know if the next update to the Apollo app addresses these issues, so stay tuned to PiunikaWeb.

It looks like Apollo developers have released an update that finally fixes the GIF playback issues.

This update improves on a few issues you fine folks were great enough to report. First off, some issues around an occasional GIF playing weirdly should be fixed now (such as starting/restarting from a weird point, or not playing at all).

Lastly fixed an issue around GIFs sometimes starting to play after you paused them and unmuted the video, and a somewhat related issue around pressing the volume buttons on your iOS device not turning the sound on properly for a video.
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