Kana Challenge
Kana Challenge updates
What changed in each version of the hiragana and katakana app, newest first. A version is listed once it is live on Google Play and the App Store.
How the dates work. The iPhone date is the release date in the App Store version history. The Android date is the first day Google Play's install reports show the build reaching learners. Android builds sometimes arrive first, and on iPhone several Android builds can arrive together in one version. The browser version of the course at my-senpai.com/app/kanachallenge/ is updated separately.
Version 1.2.17: stroke order panel fix
iPhone: 29 October 2026 · Android: live on Google Play by 1 November 2026
- Fixed an error that could break the stroke order panel when moving between characters.
- Performance improvements and bug fixes.
Version 1.2.16: writing comes to iPhone
iPhone: 25 October 2026 · Android: 24 October 2026
- On iPhone, hiragana and katakana writing (beta at the time): watch the animated stroke order, trace each stroke, then write the kana from memory with every stroke checked.
- On iPhone, the Tower of Terror: a hiragana tower and a katakana tower, 40 levels each. Hear a sound and write the kana before the timer runs out.
- Already know some kana? Test into a later lesson with a 50-correct quiz.
- Kana charts fit iPad screens better, and full-screen ads are spaced further apart.
- Offline, Trace and Write need ad-free; Watch stays free offline. The 30-day program is also available in Indonesian.
On iPhone, 1.2.16 brought the iOS app level with Android, including the changes from 1.2.12 to 1.2.15 below.
Versions 1.2.13 to 1.2.15: test-out quiz and more languages
Android: 22 October 2026 (1.2.15) · iPhone: in 1.2.16
- The test-out quiz: pass 50 correct answers to start at a later day.
- More of the app translated into the interface languages.
Version 1.2.12: stroke-order writing and the Tower of Terror
Android: 18 October 2026 · iPhone: in 1.2.16
- Stroke order on the kana charts: Watch, Trace and Write for every hiragana and katakana, with every stroke checked.
- The Tower of Terror, a timed writing game with a hiragana and a katakana tower.
- A redesigned home screen that puts the lesson for today first.
- A bell opens an Updates sheet with what is new, and features still being tested carry a Beta tag.
Earlier versions
- 1.2.11 (iPhone 11 October 2026, Android 11 October 2026): maintenance release.
- 1.2.10 (iPhone 29 September 2026): a small maintenance update; lessons, streak and progress carry over unchanged.
- 1.2.9 (iPhone 28 September 2026): if you bought ad-free, the app confirms it before any ad can appear at launch; the launch ad no longer interrupts a quiz you have started and never shows on top of another ad; after you pass a Day, the app may ask for a rating, at most once every 60 days.
- 1.2.8 (iPhone 24 September 2026): smoother purchases, including after losing connection; a confirmation before you leave a quiz in progress; clearer guidance on where to start; reminders offered after your first day instead of at launch.
- 1.2.7 (iPhone 8 September 2026): performance improvements and App Store descriptions in 10 more languages.
- 1.2.6 (iPhone 30 August 2026): fixed the quiz sounds.
- 1.2.2 and 1.2.5 (iPhone 27 and 29 August 2026): the first App Store releases.
Found a bug? Email fluencytool@my-senpai.com with your device and the version number.
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