PSA: The Roblox App Beta for MacOS is out!

Hey ya’ll!

The new Roblox app has been available for users for the past few weeks!

As a reminder: This beta alters the flow of how someone joins an experience and where they can purchase Premium and Robux.

Updated! A few important things:

  • 10% of Mac users will be eligible enter the beta
  • Eligible users will see the opt in banner on their home page.
  • All users of that device will experience the beta once opted-in
  • To opt-out, you can opt-out in account settings in the beta, or uninstall Roblox. Note, every time you click on the banner, you will be opted back in.

In case you missed it, we opened the beta to 10% of Windows users a few days ago as well.

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This topic was automatically opened after 5 minutes.

Seems a bit weird to have only 10% of users on Mac devices to be able to opt-in. Given that there’s significantly less users on Mac. Maybe it’s increased over time idk.

Secondly, this doesn’t really tell me what I’d be opting into and doesn’t make me excited. It just sounds like, “Open beta 10% users, tough luck if you aren’t in the 10%”.

Explain to the people what benefits it brings, improvements, QOL, etc. Mac performance has always been ok. What does the beta aim to accomplish other than being a beta?

That being said, thank you.

Source: I am a mac user going into 6 years of usage. I can’t opt into something if I don’t really know what I am opting into.

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Hi Sanjay2003!

The Mac UA looks similar to the Windows UA!

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Hi, thanks for the response. Any noticeable changes that differ from the two?

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Definitely nice to see something rolling out on MacOS as well. It’s kinda weird to only get 10% of the users access and choose them “randomly”. Anyway, I hope that the app will be rolled out for everyone soon :smiley:

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I’m getting annoyed with companies using this 10% Beta or A/B testing for new features and services, especially when there’s Beta sign up lists or PTBs that users can opt into. It’s annoying when you hear of people who do get access to a feature randomly just don’t care about it or revert back.

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Wow! Being a Mac user, I’m excited to get to my computer later and try it out (if I hopefully get the banner)

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Will there be an Apple Silicon / Universal version coming soon?

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I mean, it is fantastic that Mac has also been considered when looking at betas, but it is truly unfortunate that only 10% of the users are granted permission to use it. I am curious on how said users are selected, are inactive ones also taken into account? I use Mac quite intensively as it gives performance benefits in some areas specifically in development, but unfortunately I haven’t received the beta access. Of course I do not mind this as it only offers limited features, but it would be nice to have the ability to apply for the beta, instead of random selection, as it gives those who actually want it, the ability to gain it and those who don’t, don’t.

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Oh, about that beta, I hate when I try dying fast, but it glitches and I stay stuck with shift lock until I close Roblox.
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I also hate when it says every time this when I try closing Roblox.
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Let’s hope someone fix that…

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Its the same thing but for the MacOS.

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you guys really need to make it harder to get the roblox beta forceablly, you can just make a shortcut of the roblox beta (or launcher and just replace launcher with beta) and add a single - to -app (–app)

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I believe the intent of these threads is to make developers aware that Roblox is doing this. These changes could potentially confuse the people who play our games.

The point isn’t to say “Hey, here’s a beta, most of you won’t have it. There’s no way to get it.”

The point is to say “Hey, here’s a beta. We respect our developers and want you to know this could potentially confuse your players. Here’s what we’re doing so that way you’re aware.”

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Is there any way to get this without being one of the 10% of people kind of like Windows?

I found this. If you really want it, just open up your favorite web browser and put this in the URL Bar:

roblox-player://roblox-player:+launchmode:app+robloxLocale:en_us+gameLocale:en_us+LaunchExp:InApp

However, if that doesn’t work for you, then try this:

roblox-player:+launchmode:app+robloxLocale:en_us+gameLocale:en_us+LaunchExp:InApp

Also, use a browser like Chrome to do this. THIS WILL NOT WORK WITH SAFARI
Credit to @PandaLikesCaps for finding out how to do the macOS Big Sur / Monterey method.

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I’ve been using this for about 2 weeks now, and so far it seems ok. Also, this beta alters the flow of core ui while in game, including settings and escape menus (a bit minor, but not listed above). Premium is also noticibly harder to purchase. Some bits of feedback:

Somewhat Lengthy List (Read if you work for Roblox and/or have time)
  • I’d like to see more features and exploration of categories with ease similar to the website. Groups, Settings, Create, and more are all locked behind the extras tab in the sidebar. While this is clearly a mobile app port (and is why these are locked behind an extras menu), computers naturally have more screen size available. Robux purchases are also slightly harder to reach than before.

  • Adding on to above, perhaps integrated browsing when searching for groups, people, reading chat messages, etc. It’s currently a sort of web browser popup-window. The app is obviously still in beta, but these inconveniences currently make me prefer to use the website.

  • Performance Difference: While this is my personal opinion, and note that I have not run any tests, launching games from the app seems to be slower. I am aware that this should not be the case as listed in the Windows thread’s FAQ section, but I still have noticed lower fps which has forced me to use lower graphics quality settings in most of the games I play. (I now use a setting of 5 on average instead of 7)

  • Very Annoying UI Issues: The resolution of game icons, text, friend icons, and pretty much everything in the main window seems to be very low. I can visibly see jagged edges on the circular friend icons, as well as the rounded game corners. It is not like this on the website. Additionally, the scrolling speed is practically unusuable. I scroll past entire rows in the blink of an eye, and this is especially infuriating when I use trackpad.

  • Difficulty in Locating Opt-Out Button: While the method for opting out is handily listed above, the average user does not know where this is. To someone who has barely used the mobile interface in the last 4 years, it did take a minute to find the settings menu. It’d be nice to have a banner on the home screen that directs users who are unaware of this post to the opt-out feature if they so wish.

  • In-Game Setttings Topbar: This is a PAIN. Whenever (in fullscreen) I bring my mouse to the top of the screen, the close game and minimize window size button appears (no, I cannot describe these properly, please ignore). This is perfectly fine. However, the default Mac window buttons also appear, overlaying the buttons. Full screen / smaller size buttons have conflicted for me on Mac for a while, appearing when I do not want them to. This is worse in the app. Sometimes it can be frustrating when the mouse behavior gets mixed up when I activate/deactivate full screen using Mac’s default buttons. It’d be nice if these did not conflict. If you can’t follow this, don’t worry! It’s hard to explain properly…

EDIT: I’d also like hotkeys for leave game and respawn back. I miss being able to press escape → L → enter. I can currently press escape → L, but I cannot press enter to leave.

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It isn’t specifically the thread that I am getting at, it’s the type of Beta testing itself that’s annoying. The fact that people are finding ways of forcing the Beta on proves that it’s frustrating for people who actually want to test but weren’t lucky enough to get it automatically, I’ve done this myself in the past on Roblox by enabling FFlags for A/B tested features and on other platforms outside of Roblox where I’ve needed to create specific conditions to trick it into giving me a Beta feature.

Will there be Apple M1 support? It’s a little annoying having to run roblox on Rosetta 2

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A/B testing is the industry standard for numerous reasons. It’s currently the best way to get feedback and metrics. Until (or if) the industry finds a better method, this likely won’t change. There’s no real point in bringing up “get rid of A/B testing” on the thread unless you suggest a reputable alternative.

People who want to test will be biased. They’ll go in with an expectation. They won’t be the average user. Randomly giving it to a large group of people erases any worry of bias at scale. Anything that pops up as a result is the average thoughts on it.

Enabling this as a beta just for developers would be a massive mistake. Allowing developers to manually enter the A/B test would be a mistake. We are not a good representation of the average user. If developers are randomly selected with an A/B test, that’s fine and that makes sense. Large groups of outliers should not be manually able to enter the test. It would undermine the whole point.

The only case I could see is a way for developers to test it without entering the test - but then you’d have to deal with the fact that our feedback would not be nearly as helpful as the overall A/B test. You would also have to keep in mind that we would be massively biased if we were also then randomly selected. They wouldn’t be able to prioritize our feedback. It would take massive effort from Roblox with minimal benefit - and it would make developers angry. It’s probably not worth it.

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Sounds nice! I hope I can get access soon :yum:.

I also hope (from what I hear) that they adjust the mobile-style UI to be more functional on computers.