A revamped Wikipedia app for iOS promises simpler navigation, updated design, and new ways to discover content. Version 5.0 launched Thursday with a new Explore feed, 3D Touch support, and improved search.
The updated app opens to the Explore feed—a central place for personalized and always-updating content. Users will find a featured article, top reads from the week, a new photo every day, random articles, and nearby places (if you've allowed location tracking).
Plus, the more you use the app—reading articles and diving further into the Wikipedia rabbit hole—the more substantial it will become, offering recommendations based on your history.
Click on a topic—the theremin, for instance—and you'll see a familiar layout: a collapsable "quick facts" box above the article summary, followed by subheadings and references. A "Read More" section includes similar or connected subjects; in this case, Léon Theremin, Robert Moog, and Clara Rockmore.
The toolbar at the bottom of the screen also makes it easy to change the language, share the article, save it for later, or scan a table of contents.
"The newly released Wikipedia app for iOS is designed to put [the] joy of exploration in your hands," Josh Minor, Wikimedia Foundation product manager, wrote in a blog post.
Users can also navigate the app using gestures, including iOS 9's 3D Touch, which works on the device's home screen to open search, read a random article, and more. Using the device's Spotlight feature, search for saved articles without even launching Wikipedia; also search within the app using emojis.