[Hands on] Snapchat Alpha is a faster, cleaner version of Snapchat

Last November, Snap announced that Snapchat for Android was going to be rebuilt with a focus on performance and ease of use. It has been close to a year since they announced this redesign and we have yet to hear anything about it, until now. We have managed to enable the new design to showcase what it looks like, and we also have a video comparing the old and new versions to show how much better the new Snapchat Alpha performs.

Snapchat Alpha was first discovered by Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) but was subsequently independently enabled by XDA Recognized Developer Quinny899, Kieron Quinn of Mighty Quinn Apps.

Snapchat Alpha – A Cleaner Snapchat

While playing around in the app, the first thing you'll immediately notice is how much faster it is. The screenshots below won't show how much smoother the app is, but the video at the end of the article will definitely show how much better it performs. As for the design, the settings menu is more simple, and the stories menu now looks very similar to the Instagram Stories menu. At first glance, the friend's list looks almost exactly the same, but at the bottom, the navigation bar is black instead of transparent and the icons are a bit more noticeable. This isn't a big update, but it does make the app feel a bit cleaner.

The new profile page removes Snapcodes, though this will probably be added back soon, and removes the trophies and share menu. It has an all-around cleaner look, similar to what Google is trying to do with the newest Material Theme guidelines without following the same style. In the Stories UI, the only change I noticed is when you go check to the stats of your post, it shows in an Instagram Stories-style interface with a preview and a search bar. In the messages UI, the bottom bar has been redesigned by removing the calling and video calling buttons but that may be added back by the time this new design is officially completed. In addition, the new messages UI also moves the icons to the side and puts the bar in the middle.

I'm a fan of what Snap is doing with this new Snapchat Alpha update. It is noticeably faster than it was before, which is already enough to justify the new update. But it also has some nice user interface updates to make the app easier to use. These first set of screenshots are just a few things that I noticed when playing around with the app. There could be more that I am missing—if I am missing anything, let me know in the comments below.

Snapchat Alpha – A Faster Snapchat

And here's a video showing off the old Snapchat versus the new Snapchat Alpha. You can clearly see that the new version is faster.

How to enable Snapchat Alpha

If you are interested in enabling the new Snapchat Alpha redesign, you can learn how to do so in this guide.

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