Facebook knows that its Android app needs a lot of re-work. The new (under testing) version of the Facebook for Android seems to be its efforts to come out with a new design.
Facebook is known for playing with its user interface every now and then; we are seeing a newer look very often these days. A new update was recently pushed for the beta and alpha testers for the android platform which presents a more comparatively flatter interface. While the changes are not very dramatic, the interface does look cleaner and more soothing to the eye.
The look is more attractive to the eye and is somewhat cleaner than the previous versions which is a welcome change. Here’s a screenshot of what the new UI looks like:
There’s a bar at the bottom of the screen which goes away while scrolling and the upper section of the screen is neater. There is no sliding left navigation drawer menu anymore. All settings can be accessed by tapping the menu button on the top right and overall the whole experience is better. On the flip side, there’s no order posts by most recent option. Plus the company claims it to be memory efficient. On the contrary it takes more RAM. But still there’s not much we can complain about as the current build is in alpha stage.
If you wish to try it out, you can become an alpha/beta tester by simply joining the Google groups and then being on the release channel of testers. But if you wish to avoid the hassle of doing so, you can download the .apk file from here. If you download the .apk though, it won’t provide you with updates since you are not on the alpha/beta channel.
This might/might not be the next look of Facebook since the testing groups are meant for experimental purposes only and in the end, it is up to Facebook to decide whether they wish to modify or revert back.
What do you think of the new look? Let us know in comments!
The author is a contributor to Digit and runs a blog called www.tech4every1.com