scykei said:
I think it is worth investing time in it. Pleco is great because it is very versatile and allows you to easily jump between definitions within definitions, whereas the built-in iOS dictionary is very limited. However, it is something that we have pre-installed, so it feels like it's only right that we get to use it wherever there is selectable text.
Well the basic problem is that we're not using Apple's text selection system, and in fact we're not even attempting to mimic it as closely in the new release - there's (probably) no longer going to be an Apple-style command bubble when you tap-hold-highlight text at all, we're instead basically just offering our current tap-selection UI plus draggable handles. (all that the tap-hold UI was offering before was a "Copy" command, which we also had with the popup bubble, so it was kind of pointless / confusing to have two different approaches to the same thing and not simply add draggable handles to the popup)
So we now have this weird UI that doesn't quite feel like a normal Pleco screen and doesn't support the same features (why is this only Chinese-Chinese? why doesn't it work with flashcards / audio / fantizi / Night Mode? why am I being prompted to download again? why can't I access this dictionary in other places?), but that's integrated into our interface in a way that makes it feel like it is something Pleco-supplied (less of a risk with the "Define" popup) - two buttons to do more-or-less the same thing, one in Apple's dictionary and one in ours, which is exactly the sort of UI problem we're working very hard to get rid of.
Also, another wrinkle after checking the documentation: Apple's rules say that their dictionary display popup "should not be used to display wordlists, create a standalone dictionary app, or republish the content in any form" - that seems vague enough that invoking it with anything
other than a popup "Define" button might get us into trouble with App Review, and is something they could potentially be quite militant about since they've presumably got licenses with publishers that limit the terms of use in this way. (as those publishers don't want people releasing separate apps based on their dictionaries without paying them royalties)
So basically it's a massive business and technical headache that's tough to justify investing the time into when we have so many other things to work on.