Snapchat is “building a new version of our Android application from the ground up that we will launch in select markets before rolling it out widely.” It seems as though this is a separate project from the big remake it has also promised.
In today’s earnings letter to Snap investors, CEO Evan Spiegel revealed that Snapchat is working on a significant overhaul of its app. “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.
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.” His full statement on the new app follows below:
One thing that 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. As a result, we are currently redesigning our application to make it easier to use. 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. We’re willing to take that risk for what we believe are substantial longterm benefits to our business.
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.
