Where is Rigelian 4.0 for iOS?
That’s the question I’ve been getting quite a lot lately.
The short answer: it’s coming, but it’s taking longer than expected.
The longer answer is a bit more interesting.
The “last 10%” problem
Rigelian 4.0 is not a small update. Under the hood, a lot has changed. Most parts of the app have been rebuilt, others heavily refined, and many features that looked “done” at first glance still needed a surprising amount of fine tuning to make them feel at home on iPhones and iPads.
And as is often the case with software development, the final stretch turns out to be the most time consuming part.
The app already works well in many situations, but “works well most of the time” is not the same thing as feeling polished every single day. Small interaction details, edge cases, syncing behavior, animations, player handling, and performance all need attention before a release feels worthy of a major version number.
macOS first, then iOS
One thing that may surprise some people is that the macOS version is currently leading the way.
Even though the Mac version has a much smaller user base than iPhone and iPad, it’s acting as the proving ground for many of the architectural changes in 4.0. The desktop environment makes it easier to stress-test workflows, uncover stability issues, and refine behavior before rolling those changes out to the platform most people actually use: iOS.
And that’s important.
Once 4.0 lands on iPhone and iPad, it immediately becomes the experience for the majority of Rigelian users. That release needs to feel solid from day one.
So for now, macOS gets to absorb the sharp edges first.
Watch support still needs work
Another major piece still in progress is watchOS support.
Rigelian on Apple Watch depends on quite a few systems that changed significantly as part of the 4.0 work. Porting everything cleanly is taking more effort than originally expected, especially while trying to keep the experience responsive and reliable on the watch itself.
The goal isn’t just to “make it compile.” The goal is to make it feel like a proper part of the new version.
Limited development time
There’s also a less technical reality: development time is currently very limited.
Rigelian is a passion project, and progress depends heavily on evenings, weekends, and the occasional productive late-night coding session. Some weeks move very quickly. Other weeks barely move at all.
That can make timelines frustratingly unpredictable, especially for a release this large.
Still 8 features left
At the moment, there are still roughly eight features or functions left to complete specifically for iOS and iPadOS before the release is ready.
Some are relatively small. Some are deceptively large. And some keep evolving while other parts of the app improve around them.
But the list is shrinking.
So… when?
I’m avoiding giving a hard release date for now, simply because I’d rather release 4.0 when it’s ready than rush it out and spend the next several months fixing avoidable problems.
The good news is that progress is still happening steadily, even if it’s slower than originally planned.
So if you’ve been waiting for Rigelian 4.0 on iPhone and iPad: thank you for your patience a little while longer. The update is very real, a lot of work has already gone into it, and the goal is to make sure the wait is actually worth it.