Snapchat is testing a major redesign including breaking-news headlines, new home for Snap Map

This is the second time Snapchat is getting a redesign. The first time did not go well for the social media app at all

One of the redesigns for the app, on Android and iOS both, provides a new home for the Snap Map and Snapchat’s original video programming. The other screenshot shows a test of breaking news headlines inside the app that gives you timely news briefs to complement the existing magazine-style stories on the Discover page. (The Verge)

Snapchat is working on two major changes that can reshape the app entirely. Tipsters provided The Verge with screenshots of ongoing tests that have been rolled out to a small bunch of Snapchat users.

One of the redesigns for the app, on Android and iOS both, provides a new home for the Snap Map and Snapchat's original video programming. The other screenshot shows a test of breaking news headlines inside the app that gives you timely news briefs to complement the existing magazine-style stories on the Discover page.

(The Verge)

(The Verge)

The new redesign takes an app that has long been limited to three screens till now and splits them into five. "Snapchat currently opens to the camera, with a space for chats to the left and the Discover page — which features a collection of ephemeral stories from friends, creators, third-party publishers, and Snap itself — to the right. In the new design, the Snap Map — which displays your friends' physical locations on an animated map, and was previously accessed by pulling down from the camera screen — is now on the left of your chats. Discover has been renamed 'Community'. And Snap's slate of original series, which includes serialized dramas and reality-style programs, can be found to the right of Community in a new tab that has inherited the 'Discover' name," reports The Verge.

Snapchat has thus far prided itself for its obscure design choices, but it is now getting a navigation bar. You will be able to spot it where you are within the app at a glance and can move easily from screen to screen with a tap instead of having to swipe.

"We're exploring ways to streamline navigation across Snapchat, soliciting feedback from our community to inform future versions of our app. This test's UI offers more space to innovate and increases the opportunity to engage with and discover even more of what Snapchat has to offer," a Snap spokeswoman The Verge.

This new look test comes three years after Snapchat's last redesign. The last redesign did not go too well though, it was widely panned and lead to 2% of active users ditching the app entirely. Snapchat rolled back some of the most-hated changes eventually and that, couple with "new attention to its long-neglected Android app and marketing itself internationally led the company to have something of a comeback last year".

Snapchat has added uses for the past four straight quarters, and is now used by 218 million people a day, reports The Verge.