Release Notes: Sermon Slides (iOS)

Faster, Smoother, Engaging: Introducing the first update to Sermon Slides

At Sermon Slides, we know that when Sunday morning arrives, every second counts. Whether you’re taking notes, trying to absorb a graphic shown on the screens, or just following along on your phone, you need technology that stays out of the way so you can focus on the message.

That is why we are thrilled to announce our latest iOS update! We’ve completely overhauled how our slides are delivered, making them faster, more reliable, and more responsive than ever before.

For those attending: Less Delay, More Focus

If you are the person waiting on a slide from the screens. You don’t want to be behind everyone else waiting on an internet glitch, so we built this update for you. We know the anxiety that comes with a “laggy” connection or a slide that takes just a second too long to load.

With this update, we’ve optimized our slide delivery system to ensure that when you trigger a slide, it appears instantly on the devices in the pews. You can spend less time worrying about whether the connection is holding up and more time engaging with the service. It’s the same simple interface you love, just with a much faster engine under the hood.

For the Tech-Minded: What’s Under the Hood?

For the engineers and tech leads in our community, you’ll appreciate the shift in our architecture. To achieve this performance boost, we moved away from standard polling and implemented a more robust WebSocket-based synchronization strategy.

By optimizing the network code, we’ve drastically reduced the time between the screen showing a slide and the audience’s phone loading it. Now, fast internet can load in less than a second, and unreliable connections resume quickly.

Unlike a video stream per person, Sermon Slides keeps your network traffic light while maximizing the value of receiving slides, links, and announcements.

How to Get the Update

The update is live in the Apple App Store today!

1. Head over to the App Store on your iOS device.
2. Search for Sermon Slides (or go to your “Updates” tab).
3. Tap Update to ensure you are running the latest version.

We are incredibly proud of this update and the impact it will have on your worship services. As always, thank you for letting Sermon Slides be a part of your ministry.

Have feedback? We’d love to hear how the update is performing at your church. Reach out to our support team or leave us a note on social media.

Here’s to a better Sunday!