F-Droid has begun rolling out version 2.0 of its open-source Android app-store client, a ground-up rebuild intended to make finding, installing and maintaining apps less cumbersome.
The project calls the release its largest app update in 10 years. Version 2.0 follows 14 test releases and will reach users over the coming weeks rather than appearing everywhere at once.
Three tabs replace the old navigation
The new interface organizes the app around Discover, Search and My Apps. Discover highlights new, recently updated and most-downloaded software, while a larger category system adds specialized groupings and higher-level categories. Search now looks beyond app names to descriptions, categories and translated content, with added support for Chinese, Japanese and Korean writing systems.
F-Droid rewrote key parts of the client in Kotlin Compose, Android's modern interface toolkit. The project says the change should make the app easier to maintain and lower the barrier for new contributors.
Installation also changes on supported Android devices. A unified installer uses Android's newer pre-approval API, letting users approve an installation before the package finishes downloading. F-Droid says that brings its flow closer to a built-in app store without removing manual control.
Update checks and installs now run automatically by default. Existing preferences are respected, and users can still configure network and update behavior or trigger a manual refresh from the My Apps menu.
The rebuild leaves some features behind
The new client drops Android 6 because a platform fix it depends on arrived in Android 7. F-Droid says older releases will continue to work on older devices.
F-Droid Privileged Extension is not supported in version 2.0. Nearby sharing's replacement is still in development, and the initial release also leaves out app wiping while the project evaluates a new implementation. Users who depend on that feature may want to postpone updating.
The project also simplified some privacy settings. Its older automatic Tor detection is gone; existing “Use Tor” settings migrate to generic proxy controls, while F-Droid recommends Tor VPN for the simplest current setup.
