Thank you so much for the reply and all the help, Anders.
Unfortunately, the change is quite removed from what was the most desirable mode. When I noticed it appearing in the app, I didn’t even bother checking the forums 
The changed app ended up not matching my usage patterns (and not resolving the existing usability concerns I had), thus I stopped using it and recommending it at events.
Shared some more at Mobile apps: how we stopped using them .