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A Huge Redesign Is Coming To Snapchat (theverge.com)

One of the more interesting tidbits from today's earnings letter to Snap investors is the development of a new user-interface for Snapchat. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said: "One thing we have heard over the years is that Snapchat is difficult to understand or hard to use, and our team has been working on responding to this feedback." He confirms that a redesigned, easier-to-use Snapchat is coming. The Verge reports: And it sounds like whatever's on the way is far bigger than just some minor user experience tweaks. Spiegel says that "there is a strong likelihood that the redesign of our application will be disruptive to our business in the short term, and we don't yet know how the behavior of our community will change when they begin to use our updated application." Rethinking the way Snapchat works could certainly open the app to a huge audience of new users. Spiegel is right in calling out the usability complaints; Snap had to include a manual for using Snapchat in its IPO filing, which is a good indicator that it's not the most intuitive software in the world. But as Spiegel warms, drastic changes could also alienate some users and undercut Snap's cool factor. If you've taken the time to learn every corner of the app and master its tricks, you get it. Now, all of that is likely going to change. The earnings letter didn't give a release date for the new, improved Snapchat. The company's third quarter earnings report also revealed $39.9 million in losses stemming from unsold Spectacles. The camera-equipped glasses accounted for about 9% of Snap's losses in the quarter.

42 comments

  1. Never used Snapchat by Snotnose · · Score: 2

    That, and Facebook, are the 2 biggest memory hogs on my phone I wish I could delete because not only have I never used them, the odds of me ever using them approaches 0 as time moves toward infinity.

    1. Re:Never used Snapchat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      u r old

    2. Re:Never used Snapchat by l33t+j03 · · Score: 0

      WTF POS phone do you have that not only prevents you from removing snapchat and facebook but also lets them run in the background?

    3. Re:Never used Snapchat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      u r old

      Possibly, although I've never used snapchat either, I'm not dumb enough to have it running on my phone. If it came preinstalled I'd either remove it or just disable it.

    4. Re:Never used Snapchat by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Flagship phones from companies like Samsung push updates that install apps you can't remove. At least Apple only bundles their own apps you can't remove (easily).

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    5. Re:Never used Snapchat by E-Rock · · Score: 1

      Why can't you delete them?

    6. Re:Never used Snapchat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Flagship phones from companies like Samsung push updates that install apps you can't remove. At least Apple only bundles their own apps you can't remove (easily).

      You can install LineageOS on most Samsung phones. Why would you allow them to push updates like that to a device that goes around with you everywhere?

    7. Re:Never used Snapchat by jabberw0k · · Score: 1

      Bigger question: Why would anyone tolerate having a computer they cannot control?

    8. Re:Never used Snapchat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      u r dumb

  2. I know by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's have a PARRAAAAADE! Snap and chat at the SAME TIME!

  3. Letâ(TM)s fix something... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...thatâ(TM)s not broken. Fantastic!

    1. Re:Letâ(TM)s fix something... by Desler · · Score: 2

      If users report that it’s hard to use how can you say it’s not broken?

  4. Bad idea by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The people who like Snapchat already know how to use it. Kids don't WANT their parents to learn how to use it. And in general, people nearly always hate change in the short term, even if it's objectively an improvement. Of course, there's always the chance that the "improvements" will be anything but as well.

    This has every potential to go very badly. I'll be impressed if Snapchat users don't raise holy hell about it, because that's almost the inevitable result of these big re-designs.

    --
    Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    1. Re: Bad idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Their developers have been completely obtuse on this topic. Maybe their thought process has been protecting a niche audience or some other weird belief.

      Bottom line, its just plain bad and has put off everyone I know. Im old? Dont worry, Ill be laughing when they have closed their doors. If anyone wants to believe this little piece of pop culture is going to be around much longer then they have an investment to protect.

      Innovate or die.

    2. Re: Bad idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Snap is already in a sideways skid and they chance they pull out to avoid a crash are low

    3. Re:Bad idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe kids don't generate that much of a revenue stream, so SnapChat needs more users to actually make money.

  5. Okay. by SeaFox · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Meanwhile, in the land of people who care...."

  6. Not buying it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think Snapchat's been doing so badly that they are trying to jump a shark now.

    1. Re: Not buying it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah those absolutely stupid looking spectacles were not bad enough so we should take our core product under the knife and see just how bad we can make this trainwreck

  7. "...undercut Snap's cool factor..." by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    that right there.

  8. 282 characters? by kiviQr · · Score: 1

    282 characters?

  9. Allow 280 snaps per chat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Then maybe you could get President Trump to endorse it.

    1. Re: Allow 280 snaps per chat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Easy enough for a President to use... there's your marketing tag right there.

  10. So I uninstalled it already by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

    I got sick of the 30 odd MB updates every 3 days and the 200ish MB of space it took up.

    And it kept complaining every time I opened it I had revoked its camera permissions. All I want to do is receive snaps, not send them.

  11. chris christie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    fat fucker is OUTTA HERE!

  12. Snapchump by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who would use this crap? Enjoy yer drugs and fancy phones girls. Those pictures you took of your junk will never die.

    Now....GET OFF MY LAWN PUNK.

  13. SnapWhat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People no longer use ICQ 98?

  14. No country for old men by m0gely · · Score: 2

    Snapchat is hugely popular with young people, and I think one reason they use it is because their parents can't figure it out. Or can't fully. This lack of intuitiveness drives old people away. My kids would say that's a good thing.

    1. Re:No country for old men by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Snapchat is hugely popular with young people, and I think one reason they use it is because their parents can't figure it out. Or can't fully. This lack of intuitiveness drives old people away. My kids would say that's a good thing.

      Keep in mind that to attract adults it would need the user base of other adults.
      As an adult, I'm not going to install it because it wouldn't be of any use to me.

      It's kind of a problem for them, but not for me, and probably not for you.

  15. Looking forward to ... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 3, Funny

    A Huge Redesign Is Coming To Snapchat

    ... Buttonchat or Zipperchat

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    1. Re:Looking forward to ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      SnatChat

  16. Snapchat is my #1 favorite app by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And this article leaves me absolutely terrified.

  17. oh hai! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anthony Wiener? How's prison treating ya?
    Your homey Hilldawg will be joining you shortly.

  18. A chat application. wow. amazing. yawn. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tells something about the state of the industry when a stupidly simple chat application and a stupidly simple micro blogging web page are million dollar businesses. Bleh.

    How much more low tech can it get? At this rate there will be an APP to bang two rocks together and will be worth billions of dollars.

    1. Re:A chat application. wow. amazing. yawn. by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      At this rate there will be an APP to bang two rocks together

      If you suffer any pain it's because you're holding them wrong.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  19. Bingo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I got bingo on "the redesign of our application will be disruptive."

    1. Re:Bingo by tehcyder · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I got bingo on "the redesign of our application will be disruptive."

      I think someone should point out to them that you're not supposed to disrupt your own fucking business.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  20. New Coke by Arzaboa · · Score: 2

    What is an app other than its interface? The user cost of having users re-learn an app, is large. This is going to have to be amazing.

    --
    "I ain't afraid of no ghost" - Ghostbusters

  21. use *LITE* version by DrYak · · Score: 1

    That, and Facebook, are the 2 biggest memory hogs on my phone I wish I could delete

    If they came pre-installed with the phone, and you can't actually reflash a decent ROM (LineageOS) because of locked bootloader, you can still uninstall the update and then disable them. The App will still take place on your flash, but at least they won't be running and hogging system ressource (memory and CPU cycles).

    If you *need* them installed (because of networking effect because all your friends, your family, your significant other(s) keep stupidly using them), you can try the Lite version that Facebook produces for 3rd-world countries. They consume much less resources. (But might miss some feature : Facebook Messenger Lite only features text chat, no video/audio calls).

    Regarding the other common hogs:

    - For Snapchat, I don't have any idea.
    - Skype also has a Lite version, but Microsoft hasn't enabled it in the playstore for all users, so you need to side-load it yourself, e.g.: from apkmirror.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  22. So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody important cares about Snapchat/FB/Instagram

  23. Difficult interface intentional? by Hoffy97 · · Score: 0

    Wasn't SnapChat's confusing interface deliberate, though? I thought I read somewhere they meant for it to be confusing, and many features to be hidden or unintuitive to force users to talk to each other about it and share tips/tricks. I can see kids liking that their parents don't understand it; lots of videos kids grabbed of their parents confused about how the lenses worked, for example. I never liked that mentality; thought it was self-defeating. Once Instagram came out with their "stories", I think it was the beginning of the end for SnapChat. They must be trying to draw the novices the initially spurned.