Facebook pushed a new version of their Android app to users today, which abandons the old HTML5 version for a completely native app. This means uses can expect performance improvements while scrolling, viewing photos, and flipping through stories on your news feed. Facebook released a native app for iOS earlier this year and this update for Android catches up to its iOS version. Well, almost. More about that later.
Here’s a look at what’s new in the native Facebook app for Android.
The interface of the native Android Facebook app isn’t that much different. Stories on your news feed are presented more prominently as cards, like how you would see in Google Now. There is a new feature called “new story” which pops up whenever you reload your News Feed. This lets users see more news stories without refreshing their feed.
The main theme of the native Facebook app is better performance overall. Photos open immediately, stories load faster, and scrolling isn’t a choppy affair as it was with the HTML5 based app. Memory use has also been lowered so that your phone doesn’t get bogged down when Facebook is active.
While this update is solid, it still doesn’t match the finesse and speed of its iOS counterpart. There are still some occasional interface stutters while navigating the Facebook app for Android. While the iOS app features gestures to close photos, the Android version doesn’t include this and you’ll have to press the back button to back out of a photo.
Still, this update lays the groundwork for a faster, easier to use Facebook app on Android.
