feat: app sounds

[lauridskern]

Details

This PR implements sounds playing when message gets received (only when app is in foreground, i. e. not sounds for push notifications).

To play a sound I used react-native-sound ( and react-native-web-sound for web, underhood it uses howler.js). Initially I wanted to use expo-sound but was getting ridiculous errors and couldn't resolve them (on iOS and web).

Fixed Issues

$ https://github.com/Expensify/App/issues/29835 PROPOSAL: N/A

Tests

1. Open app on two devices
2. Send message from one device to another
   • Done sound -> when user sends a message/emoji/attachment/assigning task/sends money/request money (i. e. if user sends any content to another user we play done sound);
   • Success sound -> when someone completes task/someone completes money request/someone sends money to you (regardless of who marks the task as done, i. e. sender or receiver);
   • Attention sound -> someone mentioned you/someone request money from you/someone assigns a task to you (@here also should produce the sound);
   • Received sound -> when message (excluding success/attention cases from above) received
3. go to setting and mute all sounds
4. verify step 2 but be sure there is no audio actually played
5. unmute sounds in app setting
6. go to a particular channel -> open settings of this channel -> open "Notify me about new messages" -> set it to "Mute"
7. verify step 2 but be sure there is no audio actually played (excluding "done" case - "done" sound should be played in any case).
8. set "Daily" mode and repeat step 2 - be sure that all sounds are playable
9. set "Immediately" mode and repeat step 2 - be sure that all sounds are playable
10. mute sound in app settings and for channel - be sure that step 2 will not play any sound at all

• [x] Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

QA Steps

1. Open app on two devices
2. Send message from one device to another
   • Done sound -> when user sends a message/emoji/attachment/assigning task/sends money/request money (i. e. if user sends any content to another user we play done sound);
   • Success sound -> when someone completes task/someone completes money request/someone sends money to you (regardless of who marks the task as done, i. e. sender or receiver);
   • Attention sound -> someone mentioned you/someone request money from you/someone assigns a task to you (@here also should produce the sound);
   • Received sound -> when message (excluding success/attention cases from above) received
3. go to setting and mute all sounds
4. verify step 2 but be sure there is no audio actually played

• [x] Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

PR Author Checklist

• [x] I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• [x] I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
  • [x] I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
  • [x] I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
  • [x] I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
  • [x] I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
  • [x] I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
  • [x] I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
• [x] I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• [x] I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
  • [x] Android: Native
  • [x] Android: mWeb Chrome
  • [x] iOS: Native
  • [x] iOS: mWeb Safari
  • [x] MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • [x] MacOS: Desktop
• [x] I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
• [x] I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
  • [x] I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick)
  • [x] I verified that the left part of a conditional rendering a React component is a boolean and NOT a string, e.g. myBool && <MyComponent />.
  • [x] I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
  • [x] I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
  • [x] I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
    • [x] If any non-english text was added/modified, I verified the translation was requested/reviewed in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
  • [x] I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
  • [x] I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is approved by marketing by adding the Waiting for Copy label for a copy review on the original GH to get the correct copy.
  • [x] I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
  • [x] I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
• [x] If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
• [x] I followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• [x] I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
• [x] I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
• [x] I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.js or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
• [x] I verified that if a function's arguments changed that all usages have also been updated correctly
• [x] If any new file was added I verified that:
  • [x] The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
• [x] If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
  • [x] A similar style doesn't already exist
  • [x] The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG))
• [x] If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
• [x] If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
• [x] If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
• [x] If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
• [x] If the PR modifies the form input styles:
  • [x] I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
  • [x] I added Design label so the design team can review the changes.
• [x] If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
• [x] If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/22820318/ee35fde4-056c-458b-8d75-32b30580dd44

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/22820318/e328f648-697c-4c29-a552-eb462d9d988f

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/22820318/a8ebbe88-deab-4134-a107-573b269faf3c

MacOS: Desktop

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/22820318/3c3072d0-98dc-4afd-8401-40fb7fd86c97

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	❌ FAILED ❌
	The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS build failed
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/31055/NewExpensify.dmg	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[shawnborton]

But wow yeah, web loads so fast that you can't even notice anything but a quick flash of green.

[aimane-chnaif]

still issue

https://github.com/Expensify/App/assets/96077027/65bad25b-db39-4976-9a95-47369aabacfb

[Julesssss]

If I already had an app running in the background and I switch to it, I don't expect to see any kind of boot/loading animation.

I still think a big % of users are unaware of the difference other than apps sometimes taking longer to load.

Without the audio, I think that most people would notice the difference. It's very noticeable. But let's save that discussion for later. My wider issue is with the audio and delay

[hannojg]

1. Re audio: Given that the audio will be interrupted (as the app usually loads faster than the duration of the video), i'd also vote for having none audio versions (but maybe we need to bring that discussion up on slack again?)
2. Re delay: Right now there is a delay of 300ms, I could remove that all together, then users with powerful devices are probably only going to see it rarely. or we all vote that we want the "netflix" or "prime" experience where we force show the animation. I'd personally opt against that, because you will open the expensify app many times a day, often just to quickly react to a message and waiting for the splash to finish (or run for a bit at least) would be imo a degradation in UX

still issue

Thank you @aimane-chnaif for testing! The workaround was for the bug where there was a cutout in the splash screen where you could see the content through. That seems to be fixed now! In your case i think its that the video takes a tad longer loading (which could be optimized once we switch format). Also in your video we can see that while we already fade out the splash screen the video starts to play, which looks odd. I guess if the video hasn't started while we are already fading the splash screen out we just shouldn't show the video anymore. Will add a fix for that soon.

---

So, as a list of outstanding items i see:

• [ ] (Dev) See if we can force the audio in desktop app
• [ ] (Dev) Don't show video if it hasn't been loaded when we start fade out
• [ ] (Dev) [Future iteration] Change format to be instantly loaded and without fragments/artefacts during playback
• [ ] (Discussion) Keep audio or not
• [ ] (Discussion) keep a delay or not

[shawnborton]

Re: Keep audio or not, we do want to keep all four versions with audio, because the whole point of this test was to help us decide on the final brand mnemonic.

Let me know when you get through with the other items - I'd love to get this to a point where we can generate the QR codes and have people test this on their own devices. Again, I think they will come to the same conclusion that I have in that the start up sound is just not working and we should ditch the idea.

It would also be nice for that same crowd of testers to test the other UI sound effects we chatted about in Slack, too.

[hannojg]

@shawnborton should we add the sound effects to this PR, or should it be separate? (I'd say it should be separate? But it could be based off this pr)

[shawnborton]

I think for testing purposes, ideally we’d be able to test both the opening animation PLUS ui sounds from the same build. This way we don’t need to ask people to download multiple different test apps. Let me know if you’re okay with that though!

On Fri, Jan 12, 2024 at 8:14 AM Hanno J. Gödecke @.***> wrote:

@shawnborton https://github.com/shawnborton should we add the sound effects to this PR, or should it be separate? (I'd say it should be separate? But it could be based off this pr)

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/Expensify/App/pull/31055#issuecomment-1888547847, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AARWH5Q6LBUBZG3R5QJ5XU3YODPGFAVCNFSM6AAAAAA7CT3U4GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTQOBYGU2DOOBUG4 . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>

[shawnborton]

How is this one moving along?

[kirillzyusko]

I have read the CLA Document and I hereby sign the CLA

[kirillzyusko]

recheck

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/ios/31055/index.html
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
❌ FAILED ❌	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com
The QR code can't be generated, because the Desktop build failed

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[shawnborton]

cc @Expensify/design in case you wanna test out our sound effects! Still some more work to be done before we distribute this one for more testing, see this thread for more context

[dubielzyk-expensify]

Awesome! I tested it on Android and added feedback in that thread 👍

[dannymcclain]

I can't seem to get the ad hoc iOS app installed. I get the error message This app cannot be installed because its integrity could not be verified. But on web I am looooooving the "send" sound. Can't wait for more!

[aimane-chnaif]

I can't seem to get the ad hoc iOS app installed. I get the error message This app cannot be installed because its integrity could not be verified. But on web I am looooooving the "send" sound. Can't wait for more!

Because your iPhone udid isn't registered. If you wanna test on iPhone, please ask in slack to get your iPhone registered for adhoc build.

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	❌ FAILED ❌
	The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS build failed
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
❌ FAILED ❌	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com
The QR code can't be generated, because the Desktop build failed

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[shawnborton]

Hmm iOS and Desktop failed, any ideas why? I'll try to trigger a new build though and see if that fixes anything.

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	❌ FAILED ❌
	The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS build failed
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
❌ FAILED ❌	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com
The QR code can't be generated, because the Desktop build failed

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[kirillzyusko]

Hmm iOS and Desktop failed, any ideas why? I'll try to trigger a new build though and see if that fixes anything.

@shawnborton very strange, I didn't modify any XCode-related things since last successful build (but iOS build fails because of ObjC code compilation issues). I'll have a look tomorrow why it's failing 👀

In a meantime - would it be possible to test Android and web? (because most likely bugs will be identical across all platforms).

[shawnborton]

Maybe we just need a fresh pull of main?

On Mon, Jan 22, 2024 at 11:06 PM Kirill Zyusko @.***> wrote:

Hmm iOS and Desktop failed, any ideas why? I'll try to trigger a new build though and see if that fixes anything.

@shawnborton https://github.com/shawnborton very strange, I didn't modify any XCode-related things since last successful build (but iOS build fails because of ObjC code compilation issues). I'll have a look tomorrow why it's failing 👀

In a meantime - would it be possible to test Android and web? (because most likely bugs will be identical across all platforms).

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/Expensify/App/pull/31055#issuecomment-1904907937, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AARWH5WQKYIQDRVSFUX3NBLYP3PHTAVCNFSM6AAAAAA7CT3U4GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSMBUHEYDOOJTG4 . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: @.***>

[shawnborton]

@kirillzyusko @hannojg on web, I am still getting two simultaneous sounds when I receive a message:

• the default MacOS notification sound, which plays when the native notification shows in the top right of my screen
• our custom receive sound

Is it possible to not have both of these sounds play at the same time? Not sure what our options are there, but it definitely does not feel right.

[hannojg]

The desktop build seemed to fail because of a timeout - should work next time we create a build I assume.

The iOS build seemed to fail due to the new library we introduced. Are we able to reproduce this build error when building for release mode @kirillzyusko ?

For the push notification, it should be possible to send a silent notification. We tried to make that happen from the code, but this might need to happen server side. Will figure it out with expensify crew on slack!

[shawnborton]

Sounds good, thanks for digging in!

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/ios/31055/index.html
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/31055/NewExpensify.dmg	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[shawnborton]

One thing I noticed is that when the task creator marks a task as done, the Success sound didn't play.

On that note, can you actually out in simple plain english all of the cases where sounds do play? This way we can evaluate if we want to make any adjustments or changes to the various scenarios.

[kirillzyusko]

Sure @shawnborton

I added sounds in next cases:

• Done -> when user sends a message/emoji/attachment/assigning task/sends money/request money (i. e. if user sends any content to another user we play *done8 sound);
• Success -> when someone completes task/someone completes money request/someone sends money to you;
• Attention -> someone mentioned you/someone request money from you/someone assigns a task to you;
• received -> when message (excluding success/attention cases from above) received

when the task creator marks a task as done, the Success sound didn't play

This is because we receive a different data shape and I thought it's not the case "when someone completes task", because I thought that "someone" in this context means "not you". I hope it makes sense what I'm saying 😅

[shawnborton]

I hope it makes sense what I'm saying 😅

Makes sense but I kind of think we'd just play Success regardless of who marks the task as done.

[shawnborton]

Another small one - using @here should do the same sound as a mention

[shawnborton]

Hmm it looks like if I am viewing a task (basically a thread) and someone sends me a message, I don't get the message received sound. Can you make sure the message received sound is playing for all room types? DMs, #rooms, workspace chats, reports, expenses, threads, tasks, etc - this should all work the same I would think.

[kirillzyusko]

Okay @shawnborton I'll fix it tomorrow. Just to sum it up:

• whenever task gets completed we should play a sound (regardless of who marks the task as done)
• using @here should also play sound (maybe you has also pre-defined words, such as @channel etc.? I'm not very familiar with the app yet so decided to ask first)
• we should always play a sound when message arrives (doesn't matter on which screen is currently located)

Thank you for your testing. I'll try to fix all these issues tomorrow 👀

[shawnborton]

whenever task gets completed we should play a sound (regardless of who marks the task as done)

Correct, whenever task is completed, let's do Success sound

using @here should also play sound (maybe you has also pre-defined words, such as @channel etc.? I'm not very familiar with the app yet so decided to ask first)

Fairly certainly we only have @here (not @channel) so let's only worry about that one

we should always play a sound when message arrives (doesn't matter on which screen is currently located)

Correct!

[kirillzyusko]

@shawnborton I fixed all these issues! Would you mind to test again and see if there is everything works as expected? (I hope it works as expected 😅 🤞)

[shawnborton]

Amazing! Going to trigger a new build now.

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/ios/31055/index.html
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/31055/NewExpensify.dmg	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[shawnborton]

Nice, this is feeling pretty good! I think I'll distribute these for testing now.

[shawnborton]

One strange thing I noticed... if I change windows on my Mac away from the Expensify chrome window, then go back to that window, the first message I send does not have a sound. But the second and subsequent messages do have a sound. Any ideas there?

[kirillzyusko]

One strange thing I noticed... if I change windows on my Mac away from the Expensify chrome window, then go back to that window, the first message I send does not have a sound. But the second and subsequent messages do have a sound. Any ideas there?

@shawnborton I don't have any ideas 🤔 I'd suggest to keep it in mind and distribute the build to testers anyways. When we gather all bugs in one place I'll fix them all at once! How does it sound to you?

[shawnborton]

Works for me, will keep ya posted.

[shawnborton]

Okay so after some testing, we decided that we want to get rid of the start up sound/animation and just go back to our standard "E" icon. We can follow up later with the animated coin spinner or something different, but until then, let's just get rid of that part.

So if you don't mind, could you update this PR by reverting the start up animation/sound? Then we can have a test build that just has the UI sounds on it (please pull main when you get a chance, too). Thanks!

[kirillzyusko]

@shawnborton sure! Tomorrow I will:

• merge main,
• remove splash screen
• fix the bug with missing sound on window re-focus (that you reported) 😎

[shawnborton]

Wonderful, thanks!

[shawnborton]

Let me know when this is ready for a new build!

[kirillzyusko]

@shawnborton sure! I merged upstream and reverted animated splash screen implementation - going to check the issue with missing sound now 👀

I'll let you know when I finish!

[kirillzyusko]

if I change windows on my Mac away from the Expensify chrome window, then go back to that window, the first message I send does not have a sound.

@shawnborton I can not reproduce the issue you've described 😔 I've tried to switch between tabs in Chrome as well as switching between windows (i. e. minimizing Chrome -> Finder -> Spotify -> Chrome) and I tried to combine these approaches, but I always hear first sound 🤔

Am I doing something wrong? Maybe you can send me a video and show your reproduction steps? Also which Chrome browser version are you using?

[shawnborton]

Hmm let's spin up a new test build and I'll try to capture it, but maybe it's nothing we need to worry about for now. Any more changes coming or should I trigger the build?

[kirillzyusko]

Any more changes coming or should I trigger the build?

No more upcoming changes - you can trigger a build 🙂

[github-actions[bot]]

:test_tube::test_tube: Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! :test_tube::test_tube:	Android :robot:	iOS :apple:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/31055/index.html	❌ FAILED ❌
	The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS build failed
Desktop :computer:	Web :spider_web:
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/31055/NewExpensify.dmg	https://31055.pr-testing.expensify.com

---

:eyes: View the workflow run that generated this build :eyes:

[shawnborton]

Hmm, iOS failed again. I'll retrigger the build but you might need to merge main in (again)?

[kirillzyusko]

@shawnborton I merged everything few hours ago. I think we just should retry a job, because it failed due to connection problems: