New version of 1Password for Mac is inundated with reviews

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In 2018, AgileBits released version 7 of 1Password, the company’s password management software, offering a new subscription model as the primary way to pay for the service. (However, stand-alone licenses continued to be sold for those who fetched enough.) The Mac app received several enhancements that made it more integrated with the system and gained – among other things – the ability to suggest login credentials. for applications and not just websites.

The software has been well received. In our 1Password 7 review, we gave the software 4.5 out of 5 stars and an Editors’ Choice award. But the story goes downhill from there.

AgileBits has now released an Early Access test version of 1Password 8, which has been completely redesigned. All basic functionality is rewritten in Rust, a programming language known for its security and reliability. The program is now an Electron application which should work equally well on Mac and Windows (and possibly Linux).

This is a very first test release, and AgileBits stresses that it is “for testing and validation purposes only, and not suitable for business critical environments.” Besides the presence of a number of bugs, many features have not yet been added but will appear before the software is released to the general public.

But regardless of these caveats, it’s amazing how much of the transition to Electron from a “real” Mac application – using windows, dialogs, menus, etc. macOS standard – has been received by users. The AgileBits support forum was quickly filled with hundreds of interface complaints.

In one of the longer threads, user comments include:

“Switching to Electron is a big disappointment … All that bullshit ends up eating your RAM.” “I’m deeply disappointed with the company. I won’t be installing this, and if that means my decade of AgileBits support is over, then I’ll find something.” “It’s so depressing to hear a nice Mac-focused company in the past give up and switch to Electron.” “It’s very disappointing. I’m paying for 1Password to have a native macOS experience. I’m sick of the Electron Frankenstein monsters.” “My first impressions of 1Password 8 are very disappointing. It all looks like a web application.” “The one-size-fits-all approach to the front-end is a massive compromise and looks cheap… it makes subscription fees start to look questionable.” “The app no ​​longer behaves or looks like a Mac app. It is not pleasant to use. “Simply terrible all around.” “Overall performance seems slow at best.” “Extremely disappointing.” “I enjoyed using 1P so much, it really frustrates me to see him take a step back using Electron.”

…And so on. Users also strongly criticize that 1Password 8 does not work at all with vaults stored locally for syncing through iCloud or Dropbox. Instead, only 1Password accounts apply.

To be fair, the app developers showed up in a busy Ask Me Anything thread on Reddit. But some commentators felt the responses did not address their concerns.

“The common response from the 1Password team so far has been to praise the Rust kernel and the speed of that aspect,” wrote one commenter. “While this relates to the overall performance of the app, it’s not what I dispute with, and it’s a bit of a concern that the team doesn’t seem to understand / recognize this.”

The software is still at an early stage of development, so modifications are still possible before its final launch. It remains to be seen, however, whether AgileBits will consider such a fundamental change as going back to a native application.

Read our guide to the best Mac password managers for an overview of the other options available.

This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation and additional reporting by David Price.

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