This week, our Beta rollout begins! We’re now using the Beta testing portal of TestFlight to distribute the app among friends and a few community members. This is an exciting time for us and represents the culmination of many months of hard work! Android testing will be coming in the near future.

First, we’re inviting people who have early projects all set up to try the Beta (we’re still setting up quite a few projects as well). Invites will go out by midnight tonight (Pacific time). If you receive an invite to the Beta, here’s how to test it and view your project:

If you have an iPhone, you can download TestFlight here. TestFlight will notify you as new builds are released — allowing you to quickly update to the latest Beta version of the ELIX app. We typically release lots of builds everyday so there will be lots to test! The app uses the Ropsten testnet. You can use the in-app (surprise!) Trollbox chat feature to post your public wallet address and we’ll send you some fake ELIX and ETH so you can try the app — don’t send real ELIX or ETH to this wallet, since the app is connected to a Ropsten node. After we move through all changes we’d like to make over the next few days, we’ll start sharing the app with more people. We’ll notify the community and our Beta testers when we move to the mainnet as well.

Make Sure You’re Signed Up To Try The Beta!

So far, 750 people have signed up to try the Beta! Sign up one our homepage if you haven’t already. Also, be sure to submit a project idea to Boost here if you haven’t already.

Design

The design firm has finished redesigning the wallet setup flow. Below, we show a few examples of the new designs. Here’s what wallet set up will look like:

Passphrase verification will look like so:

Passphrases are most easily verified by requiring users to state ordering:

And here’s what the user will see upon completion of the wallet setup:

Development

We have a list of improvements and changes to our Beta build, and we’re squashing any bugs as fast as possible! We’re making many small changes in the app as we move through this list. As we distribute the Beta and push new builds, our testers will be able to gauge progress and speed of development. We’d like to let the Beta and our future progress on the Beta speak for itself.

Smart Contracts

Our crowdfunding smart contracts currently require a minimum goal to be met in order for funding to be distributed. Instead of tokens or Ether being distributed once, we’ve developed smart contracts that allow for continuous support of projects in predefined, volatility-adjusted amounts using both ELIX and Ether. This means creators won’t have to wait until a minimum funding goal is reached to receive their tokens or ETH, if they opt for a model with continuous distribution.

Rewards

We’ll be adjusting our UI to allow contributors to specify an email where they’d like to receive communications from the creator. Emails are stored off chain to maintain privacy of those pledging. This allows creators to reach out to backers if they need more information like shipping details or want to give additional updates over email. Here’s what that looks like when pledging:

We’d love your feedback on our progress! Let us know what you think on our social channels! Be sure to take part in the Beta by signing up here and try out the ELIX app as it rolls out.