As you may have noticed, with the launch of our amazing new MK4S printer, we’ve also introduced the brand new Prusa mobile app for Android and iOS. Acting as an extended arm of Prusa Connect, our 3D printer remote management system, it allows you to easily access many of the features Prusa Connect offers, right from your mobile device. If you haven’t had the chance to try it yet, let’s take a quick look at it.

You can easily check the status of your 3D printer, control your print jobs, and manage uploaded files. In the latest updates, we’ve also added the ability to view snapshots from an external camera, connected to Prusa Connect, within the printer’s detail. And, last but not least, you can now browse projects on Printables and send compatible G-code files to your printer directly from the app.

Why a native mobile app?

We’ve been running Prusa Connect for quite some time, and the responses from the community have been amazing. People love using it, and it’s clearly reflected in the growing number of active users. With the mobile app, you can use the many features Prusa Connect offers on your mobile device, along with additional advantages like detailed notifications and a convenient user interface, providing a much better user experience than an opened tab in your mobile web browser. The Prusa app features a clean and simple design with no hidden catches. We see the app as a user tool, not an advertising platform.

Just a small disclaimer: although we are sure the Prusa Connect and Prusa app will make working with your printer easier, we want to clarify their use is entirely optional – you will never be at a disadvantage if you choose not to use them. All our printers are designed to be fully functional not just without any app, but even with no network connection.

Many features in a convenient form

The Prusa app retains most of the user experience and interface from Prusa Connect, making it very convenient whether you already know Prusa Connect, or are a brand-new user. Either way, you’ll quickly find your way around the application interface.

The main dashboard displays a sortable list of all your printers, along with their current status, temperatures, loaded filament, and active print jobs. In the printer’s detail view, you’ll find the current status of the printer, the active print job, and the print job history. Here, you can also see the latest snapshot from an external camera, which can be connected to Prusa Connect and assigned to the printer.

If you’re unsure how to connect an external camera to your printer, Prusa Connect offers several options. You can either use your old smartphone as a web camera or connect any camera that can communicate through our API. We’ve published an article about custom-made firmware for the ESP32-CAM module, that is specifically tailored for use with Prusa Connect.
ESP32-CAM for Prusa Connect

In the job menu, you can view all your print jobs, both running and completed, for all printers in one place, with options to pause or stop active jobs, or reprint any job from the history. All your uploaded print files in Prusa Connect are neatly organized into individual team folders for easy access. To start a new print job, simply tap the print button, select the 3D printer, and you’re good to go.

With your mobile device’s camera, you can now easily register a new printer to Prusa Connect by scanning the QR code on the printer’s display. You can also use your mobile device’s NFC to share your WiFi credentials with the printer in a single tap. These new features will vastly improve the process of adding a new printer to your workplace.

Quick access to Printables

Right in the app you’ll also find a Printables button to quickly access and browse our community library with thousands of printable 3D models. You can browse all Printables projects and download files to your device, or, if a project includes a prepared G-code file, compatible with your printer, you can simply tap the Print button and send it directly to one of your printers. We’re still working on this section, so certain features may not be available yet or may not work properly at the moment. In upcoming updates, we plan to fine-tune it to make it more user-friendly and compatible with as many Printables projects as possible.

Within the first week, more than 10,000 users downloaded the Prusa app, and currently, we have over 20,000 active app users, both of which are truly amazing numbers! Even better, the users’ feedback has been very positive, and we’d like to thank everyone for it as it helps us make the application better and as user-friendly as possible. Please keep sending us your comments and ideas for improvement, we appreciate them!

The development of the Prusa mobile app has only just begun. Although it does not include all Prusa Connect functions just yet, we have plenty of amazing features we want to implement, such as advanced printer control, management of the local storage on your printer, setting up the printing queue, and delayed start for time planning of your prints. Last but not least we also want to implement the system widgets so you can quickly check the status of your printer or the print job.

All these functions will be implemented into the Prusa app over the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned for updates!

Happy printing!