Dear friends,
We are happy to announce that version 6.0 of Plum Village App is now available in the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and via Google Play for Android phones and tablets. This is our second major update of 2026, following version 5 in March.
Version 6 introduces a fresh new look for the app, and we have also improved the way the app downloads content to be faster and use less data and storage.
A new look for the Plum Village App
Over the years we added numerous features to the app, but the look of the app has remained broadly the same since 2020. Now, we introduce a new look with new artwork, updated colours and fonts, and improved layouts.
Looking back at the old design
Before we demonstrate the new design, let’s take a quick look at the design of the last version of the app (version 5), by taking a look at the Meditations tab:
Although the practice tracking feature seen in the screenshot was introduced earlier this year, the basic design with the bold orange header had not been updated since 2020. It was starting to look dated, did not make the best use of space, and was not aligned with other Plum Village materials such as the official Plum Village website.
Now, here is the Meditations tab in the new version 6.0 of the app:
And here is the updated home screen:
The new look is more minimalist and makes better use of space, as well as aligning with the Plum Village website.
Artwork by Mimi Chao
The new design includes artwork by Mimi Chao. Mimi is an illustrator taking inspiration from nature and mindfulness (including the Plum Village tradition). We felt her artwork was a perfect match for the Plum Village App.
When we asked Mimi what inspired her to offer her artwork for the Plum Village App, she told us:
Thay is my first and foremost spiritual teacher. His teachings on nature and interbeing deeply resonate with me, and directly influence my artwork. It brings me great happiness to be a part of the Plum Village App.
The first place you will see Mimi’s artwork is in the “Quote of the Day” banner on the home screen:
You can also see this artwork under the Search screen for the type filters:
We are continuing to work with Mimi to introduce her artwork throughout the app. The new colours in the app are chosen to align with this artwork and the theme of nature.
Why nature?
Buddhism originally emerged in ancient India, in a society where agriculture played a central role in everyday life. The teachings often used metaphors of seeds, roots and growth that would have been understandable to people living in close proximity to nature.
In the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, these connections to nature remain an important part of the teachings. Mother Earth is held in great respect, whilst concepts from nature continue to be used in the teachings, for example to explain the psychology of the mind.
Plum Village also celebrates nature through the Happy Farm project, which provides food for the community, but also an opportunity to practice mindfulness through service meditation.
Our new look draws on this connection to nature, reflecting the wisdom that Mother Earth offers in our everyday lives.
đ We also recently updated our Web Edition to use this new look. This makes most of the Plum Village App available on any device. Visit https://web.plumvillage.app/ and explore the Plum Village App in your web browser!
Faster startup and content loading
As the content library within the app has grown over the past years, not only in English but through the addition of numerous other languages, it was taking longer and longer for the app to start up for the first time. This was because it downloaded a list of all the content, one at a time, and the list was getting quite long. For some people on slower connections, this could lead to the app getting stuck on first launch.
We have made some technical improvements to the way the app fetches the list of content, so that it is much faster and uses less data. Previously, the app downloaded a list of content for all languages, but now, it will only do so for the languages you have enabled, saving space on your device.
This new approach also reduces data usage which may be important on some mobile devices, and it is also important for the app team, because it reduces our hosting costs, which allows donations to the app to go further.
Other improvements in v6.0
This update includes many other small improvements and bug fixes, including:
- The Bell of Mindfulness has been updated to work on Android 17 (which was released earlier this year).
- Meditations within playlists now count towards a streak if you use practice tracking.
- Improved formatting of text items.
Continuing the development of the Plum Village App
Our small team is working at an increased pace to extend and improve the Plum Village App, with four major updates over the past two years, offering many improvements including:
- New Home screen with a quote of the day (v3);
- Improved minimalist meditation timer;
- Contributor biographies and browse by contributors (v4);
- Practice reminders and practice tracking (v5);
- Improved search;
- Nature-inspired layout (v6);
- Fast and more reliable.
We continue to carefully improve the appâs design and navigation, making it easier to use and more beneficial for more people, as well as adding features and content. To help guide us in this process, we invite you to offer suggestions, comments, and votes on our public feedback board â there are already many ideas we want to work on.
In order to sustain this increased pace, please consider offering a monthly donation to support the appâs continued development and the addition of new meditations, talks, and other resources. As has been the case with Buddhist teachings for millennia, the app is freely available to all â but this is only possible because of many generous donors.
If you are enjoying the app but are unable to donate at this time, you can also support us by leaving a positive review on the App Store, Google Play, or TrustPilot.
You can also actively help our efforts by contributing subtitles in English or any other language.
If you experience any difficulties or bugs when using the app, please report these via our contact form; we will follow up by email to help.