Update, 30 Nov: Snapchat has officially announced its redesign that will work to “separate social from media”.
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The company also announced “a more sophisticated Best Friends algorithm” that will ostensibly order your friends list by whom you chat with most.
Original article: Snapchat’s app redesign, first announced by CEO Evan Spiegel earlier this week, will debut on 4 December according to a report by Business Insider’s Alex Heath.
Quoting sources “familiar with the matter”, the publication claims that Snap employees were notified internally regarding the planned release date. Along with said date, details of the actual redesign of Snapchat’s app have also been outed.
On the face of it, nothing will change. Snapchat’s home screen will still open on the camera screen, but it’s what lies either side of the app that does receive a nip-tuck.
The left-hand side of the app will house all communication and Story content from friends — a stark departure to the current design, that places friends “chat” dashboard on the left, and “Stories” to the right.
The right-hand side will now house Snapchat’s Discover section for publishers. Previously, this was only accessible by swiping right twice, almost hiding it from first-time users’ view.
A curated feed of content powered by the company’s machine learning savvy is also set to be included, a feature hinted at by Spiegel in his aforementioned announcement.
Other current design staples were not mentioned, including the current “pinch to view Snap Map” system, and the top-level search bar, that was one of the more noticeable changes to the app this year.
Snapchat officials failed to confirm the above information, but differentiating the content published by friends and content published by companies and celebrities should make the app easier to understand, and a more effective marketing platform.
Feature image: Memeburn
