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Lagrange in the Apple App Store

Lagrange is now available in the App Store. This is the same build that has been in TestFlight for a while, with a couple of finishing touches like a Help page tailored for iOS.

The TestFlight will continue with beta builds. I expect this public version to be updated pretty infrequently.

Modern personal computers

Mobile phones are undoubtedly the primary computing devices for most people today. Making Gemini available and accessible on phones is therefore an important goal.

I don't consider this important because Gemini needs to grow or become more popular, but to make it a more natural part of life for the people who actually enjoy this text-focused, no-frills protocol — we may like sitting down at the computer and fully focusing on reading and writing for an hour, but realistically it is difficult to find time for such a commitment compared to pulling out a phone and checking a post or two. (In my experience, at least.) There is great value in both approaches, though: the former results in higher quality and impact; the latter excels in engagement and promptness.

There are a couple of mobile apps for Gemini, of course, and beta versions of Lagrange have been available for years.

Beta builds are useful in many ways, but they are hindered by barriers: you need to sign up, deal with feedback, etc. TestFlight builds also expire in 90 days — a surprisingly short span of time whose end may sometimes sneak up on you. An app one can install with a single tap is much nicer for everyone.

I imagine that the Apple and Google app stores are nowadays the main distribution channel for software that people use in their daily lives (web stuff notwithstanding), so being available in either or both is quite significant.

Technical status

While the core of the app remains the same on all platforms, over the years the mobile port has gained special features and additional platform-specific integrations. The most important ones have been native text fields and popup menus, and access to the system file picker. I also enjoy the subtle haptic feedback in the iOS builds (e.g., reloading the page). These contribute to making the app feel more like it belongs on iOS even though the UI is otherwise non-native and based on custom UI controls.

I wouldn't say the app is perfect by any means, but by now it's certainly time-tested. I use it daily for browsing Gemini and managing bbs.geminispace.org on both the iPhone and iPad, and it has been quite a smooth experience for months (years?) now.

I can think of several ways the app could utilize iOS more thoroughly, particularly for accessibility, but realistically that would require first writing a new iOS-native UI for it. Who knows, maybe that will happen at some point down the road.

Google owns the "Gemini" brand

There was a bit of back and forth with App Review about the word "Gemini". You may note that the app's store page does not feature that word anywhere. So, if you were wondering how things are going with Google usurping Gemini as their brand name, I conclude it's best to avoid using that word entirely lest casual app shoppers confuse this app with Google's AI offerings.

With so much of the tech world focusing on AI, brand names like Google's Gemini have a lot of exposure. It makes sense that something of that magnitude might lead to incorrect assumptions when people aren't familiar with the Gemini Protocol. (This would be the vast majority of people.). The folks of Geminispace have zero leverage here, unfortunately.

When Google Gemini first became a thing, personally I expected the brand to be sunsetted rather quickly in favor of the next hot AI product, but Google appears to be sticking with it. We are fortunately in no hurry here, so as long as Google doesn't start actively protecting their brand name, the Gemini Protocol can sit and wait until the winds begin blowing in a different direction.

All this means that the title of the app in the store is "Lagrange Smallnet Browser". Admittedly, that is more accurate than "Gemini Browser" since several other protocols are also supported.

Play Store...?

There is one piece of the mobile puzzle missing: the Android port still needs a public version, too. This is a slightly bigger challenge. I don't regularly use Android phones, so I have a poorer grasp of platform conventions and what the current betas are like when used as a daily driver. I get the sense that there are more bugs and more sharp edges that need tweaking, to make the app feel more "Android-y".

📅 2026-02-11

🏷 Lagrange, Apple

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