This is not a drill: Snapchat is about to get a major redesign
Big changes are headed for Snapchat — again.
The company is set to roll out a major redesign of its app in the coming days, Snapchat confirmed Thursday. The new look, which is being previewed to the company's beta testers on Android now, adds a search bar, new navigation and a global live story that will feature snaps from all over the world.
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The new look is much more polished than previous versions of the app and the search bar makes content much easier to find. It sits at the top of the chat, camera and Stories sections of the app.
There, you can search for friends and get shortcuts to other parts of the app. Finding a friend's name brings up a one-on-one chat.
The search function also show shortcuts for your recent contacts, "quick add" where you can see friend requests, and contacts who you haven't yet added on Snapchat.
You can also search for publishers from Discover and live stories.
The app's navigation has also changed slightly. You no longer access your profile and settings only by swiping down from the camera. Now, you can also tap on the Bitmoji in the upper left corner from any section of the app.
Additionally, Snapchat is adding a new global live story called "Our Story" that any user can contribute to at any time. Previously, live stories were highly curated and limited to location-specific events like sports games, breaking news and other planned events.
There are other Easter eggs in the update as well. The friends screen now shows your "best friends" — those friends you contact most frequently (perhaps a nod to the "best friends" feature Snapchat eliminated nearly two years ago, though the new one is not visible to others).
But the most notable part of the update is how much easier to navigate the app is, which had been a longtime point of contention among the app's critics. With the addition of search, Snapchat users can now find just about anything they are looking for with just a tap, rather than rooting around the app's menus.
The new look is already rolling out to Android users who are part of the app's beta and will be coming soon to everyone else.
