Persistent search bar and swiping improvements added to Vimeo’s iOS app

Vimeo 4.0.1 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 001)Vimeo 4.0.1 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 002)

Back in February, the video sharing service Vimeo added support for the handy swiping gesture to its free iOS app.

You can swipe right to reveal options to share a video, like it or add it to your Watch Later list. Swiping left marks a video for download so it can be accessible on your device without an Internet connection.

Today’s update, now available in the App Store, removes the Watch Later option when you swipe from left to right, leaving only sharing and liking options in the menu. But don’t worry, Watch Later is now available when you swipe from right to left. As a bonus, the app now adds a clip to your Watch Later list and marks it for download at the same time.

Vimeo version 4.0.10 also includes a new persistent search bar at the top, but more on this after the break…

If you’d rather have it the old way, simply tell Vimeo in settings to avoid adding Watch Later videos to the device. You can also optionally decide whether videos for offline viewing should be downloaded in standard resolution or in high-definition.

If you’re going to watch the videos on your iPhone only, going HD makes little sense due to the device’s sub-720p screen. Also, you’ll save some precious iPhone storage by disabling this option.

The iPad’s Retina display is of course different as it contains a million more pixels than the full HD resolution of 1,920-by-1,080 pixels. In other words, enable ‘Add to device in HD’ if you’re on a Retina iPad because playing those crisp full-resolution 1080p Vimeo clips will make full use of the available pixels.

Vimeo 4.0.1 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 003)Vimeo 4.0.1 for iOS (iPhone screenshot 004)

As for search, previously you had to pull down to reveal the search field.

Now the search bar is persistent (I wish there was an option to choose between the old and new implementation) so it’s always a tap away. As depicted top of post, past search terms automatically appear in the drop-down list.

The star sign next to each entry lets you save the search term as your favorite or un-star to remove it from the list of past searches. The search feature was removed when Vimeo issued its iOS 7-focused updates last September. It was brought back to the iPhone a month later and to the iPad in January.

Download Vimeo free in the App Store.

iOS 7.0 or later is required.