Facebook for Android just got faster and sexier, thanks to a new update that was rolled out over the last 24 hours. And, all of us Android users say thank you.
In August reports surfaced that the company forced its employees to use the former version of the Android Facebook app. That goal was for its staff to experience first-hand the dreaded spinning wheel of slow load times. So they felt our pain and fixed it.
The new Facebook for Android app includes tap-based access to photos so users can more efficiently add Likes, Comments and Tags; a faster, fuller Newsfeed and Timeline; and a new Stories bar that reduces the amount of refreshes required to see new content. During our hands-on time, we noticed some lag while waiting for our Newsfeed to finish loading, but an initial list of updates appeared almost immediately. The full list took a few more seconds though. On the other hand, opening letterboxed photos from our NewsFeed was instantaneous. Previously, we would see a black-and-white photo icon and the familiar spinning wheel of sluggishness. When we scrolled to the bottom of our NewsFeed, the New Stories bar dropped from the top of the screen and allowed us to jump upwards to fresher content. We also noted smoother scrolling on friends' pages too.
To check out the new Facebook for Android app, download it starting today from the Google Play Store.
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