What’s new in 1.0.2

What's new MaciPhoneiPadFire TVAndroid Last updated: 9 October 2026

Version 1.0.2 came about in several stages of work (internally “sessions”). For each stage, this page says what you notice of it – in plain words, without measurements. The reports on it are in the Docs/release-1.0.2/ folder of the source code.

The new rulebook: one tank, one decision-maker

The basis for everything that follows. Neverlag plays from a stock (the reserve) and now intervenes only when there is hard evidence – no longer on suspicion.

No more reconnecting “on suspicion” as long as data is flowing and reserve is there. That was the most frequent cause of self-inflicted dropouts.
The ladder (stepping down to HD) now kicks in only when the reserve is empty and only after two unsuccessful reconnections.
No more automatic stepping up; the “Back to 4K” button brings the best level back.
Loading ring with text in four languages: “Provider isn’t sending right now – picture will be back shortly”, “Wi‑Fi interrupted – reconnecting”.
A network change (Wi‑Fi ↔ mobile data) is detected immediately instead of waiting for a timeout.

More under How Neverlag stays stable.

Frame pacing: even frames

The gap between two displayed frames is measured; the Quality window shows “Frame cadence: even” or “uneven (x %)”.
Display is coupled to the rate of the screen. On a fixed 50 Hz display, 50 frames per second now run without stutter.
Channels with interlaced fields (1080i) run as 50 frames per second after deinterlacing.
The hardware decoder heals itself mid-session instead of staying in software until the next channel change.
Sharing the journal no longer slows playback.

Rework: “Player and picture” tour, explanation under every setting, jump bar

Under every setting there is an explanatory sentence, and for pickers one per option. These sentences are the basis of this wiki.
A second tour just about player and picture explained the readouts (converted into hints in context in the next session).
The A–Z jump bar jumps without delay in large lists (over 5000 channels); every letter is reachable.
Text fields are readable in every state (contrast), on all platforms, light and dark.

Start tour, hints in context, A–Z bar like Contacts

The start tour has six steps at the real buttons instead of 27 pages: language, channel list and categories, search, favourites, TV Guide, settings.
New: hints in context. When you open an area for the first time, short hints appear right at the buttons; “?” shows them again at any time. Switches Show hints and Reset all hints.
Hints and tour never cover controls.
iPhone/iPad: the A–Z bar works like in the Contacts app – drag, large letter, haptics.
Start-up no longer blocks if the recording folder is on an unreachable network share; the app connects the share in the background itself.

Package 2a – picture: refresh rate on Mac, selectable reserve, new Quality window

Mac: Match refresh rate to programme – in full screen the display switches to 50 Hz (or 48 Hz for film) and back.
All devices: Reserve against dropouts selectable: Near live, 45 s (default), 60 s, 90 s. If the device has too little memory, the app shows the achievable target.
All devices: The Quality window is new: a status sentence with colour, tiles with bars and bitrate history, sources as a list, technical details collapsed, sized to fit every device.
Frame pacing “Standard” on the Mac: chooses Smoothing for 25/50-frame channels in a window, Automatic for 60.

Picture II – iPhone: 120 Hz, motion smoothing, regularity

New setting 120 Hz for video on ProMotion devices (default: on; off caps at 60 Hz).
New setting Motion smoothing on ProMotion devices (default: off): blends transitions so that 50 frames do not stutter at 120 Hz.
A new metric counts pattern breaks in the frame cadence; it is in the journal.
A bug in the journal export from 7 Oct is fixed.

Operation – iPhone: no brake, list stays put, no lost tap

The automatic catalogue refresh waits until you have done nothing for 60 seconds, and runs at most every 5 minutes. The list stays put meanwhile: group, selection and position are no longer lost.
A tap on a channel starts immediately; the newest tap wins. Pages are pre-warmed, logos cached.
In the background the app no longer steps down by mistake; after returning there is a 10-second grace period and one decoder heal.
The frame pacing is set exactly once per channel change, no longer several times.
Low Power Mode is detected and shown in the Quality window (“Display 60 Hz (Low Power Mode)”); smoothing follows the rendering reserve.
The subscription lock applies only after a definitive answer from the App Store, not on a network fault. The app remembers the reason for the last end (background memory, memory warning) for diagnostics.

What 1.0.2 does not change

No new content, no providers – Neverlag remains a player.
The subscription model stays as it was.
Android/Fire TV is catching up with the Apple changes; status under Platform differences.