Hey, I’ve been testing the new Nextcloud desktop client (version 34) on both macOS and Windows. On macOS, the redesign feels smooth and modern, but on Windows the experience is honestly pretty clunky. Accessing settings takes multiple clicks, the “Sync Now” option is buried, and the overall menu structure feels overloaded.
I appreciate that Nextcloud is trying to modernize the interface, but updating both platforms to match the macOS-style layout doesn’t seem to work well on Windows. The previous Windows menu was much more efficient and straightforward. This new one feels heavier and less intuitive.
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m curious what others think about the change.
there is a visual difference on what both OS will do with native menus, but the structure and content should 1:1 be the same. If we missed something, let us know.
As for the settings, they are now on Level 1, this is one click less because before you would need to open the tray window and the user drop down menu. Or do you mean something different?
lust let us know. That RC has the purpose to gather feedback early
The new design definitely looks cleaner, but on Windows it feels like usability took a step back. Actions I used frequently, like checking sync status or triggering a manual sync, now require more navigation than before. When you use the desktop client every day, those extra clicks become noticeable.
I don’t mind the visual refresh, but I think the Windows version should respect platform-specific UX instead of mirroring the macOS experience too closely. What feels natural on macOS doesn’t always translate well to Windows workflows.
Hopefully the team continues refining it based on user feedback. A cleaner interface is great, but quick access to common actions is just as important.
Hey @Rello First want to thank you so much! I know you’ve worked very hard on the new design so i dont want to feel like its not seen. Yea i would agree with @nathan_foster the new design feel very natural with MacOS but on the Windows side is a bit off. I think if going to leave the same feel then i would defiantly add the profile icon next to the users since you have that on the windows side. the icons in black mode are black and not white
Hi there not happy at all with the new windows desktop version it hangs and you cannot pick or choose different servers. You need to test it in actual windows please. The design i like the old design must more the new design not for me, but with that said i can live with the new design but that it hangs takes forever to start. No on and it messes with my data that my real and main concern. Please i am rolling back to previous version this version is not for me. Regards Nextcloud user for 10 years.
The option to choose which folders to sync is either missing or difficult to find? I clicked every menu item possible I think - I don’t want to sync my entire cloud on my laptop, just some of this. And with version 33 I could expand and tick/untick a folder tree (on Mac OS)
I rolled back to version 33.0.7 on Windows. Version 34 definitely has a lot of potential, but it still needs work Nextcloud probably shouldn’t have pushed such a major design overhaul yet. The new UI feels overly complicated, with too many nested menus and extra clicks. You notice it right away: opening local or Teams folders now requires an extra click, the Activity menu is buried inside another submenu, and even launching the web app is nested and harder to find. It’s easy to get lost in the UI.
On Windows, the old layout was genuinely better. It was clean, efficient, and matched how Windows users expect apps to behave. It feels like Nextcloud tried to make the Windows client look and feel like the macOS version, but that doesn’t really make sense. Even OneDrive looks different on macOS and Windows and that’s intentional, because the platforms themselves are different.
I’d personally prefer the old Windows layout, but I doubt it’s coming back. Hopefully the Nextcloud team considers adding options or flexibility, because I can see a lot of unhappy users not just individuals like us, but enterprise customers too.
And to be fair, we do want to thank the team for the work they’ve done on the macOS side. That part really did need an overhaul, and they’ve clearly put in a lot of effort. So thank you to the team for pushing improvements there.
It is still there as it used to be, if you choose classic sync folders. With file providers (see general app settings whether you have chosen that mode of operation) that concept does not make any sense because the content is loaded on demand only anyway.
Gratitude to the team for continuing development of our important platform.
I struggled with the next interface, particularly to find Settings. Now I figured it out, but that took 15 minutes.
Much worse, I regret… I spent several hours today trying to figure out why my usually rapid nextcloud was so slow and throwing tons of errors. I spent a LOT of time trying to tune server-side configuration parameters, and nothing helped.
I finally remembered that I was using a next version of the client. I rolled it back last night and now everything is fine again!
Am I alone in observing major problems with the new 34.0.0?
For me it takes for exmple 30 seconds from clicking on the icon until something appears. The app itself stalls on almost every action. I guess that is what the other user meant by minimising the design lead to maximising the waiting time.
BTW, could somebody post pictures of the MacOS design. For me the Windows lient looks like a context-menu and one wonders whether one hit the right (not left) mouse-button by accident.
I did in fact submit a comprehensive ticket with logs and a particularly detailed description of the issues.
I definitely had problems with the UI (maybe just me… lotsa clicking to find Settings in the Windows app), but UI changes were insignificant in comparison to the extremely difficult challenge posed by the performance of the code itself.
No idea if somebody already mentioned it, but if you left-click on the symbol you now have a small context menu with the linked account(s) and when you hover over the account there pops up a submenu with the activities and so on. But this menu isn’t reachable because there is a gap between the menus ( and if you hover over to the submenu and passing the gap, the submenu disappears)…
yes, that’s all I see.
Which problems do you experience in your use case?
