Of course, Snapchat has to roll out the updated code to its userbase before these features will become available. If true, this Snapchat update will allow the app to compete with the likes of Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and industry leader Whatsapp.
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It would be nice to have a video of the revamped video call function, as well as voice notes, the new UI looks more like the regular chat feature, but we guess the screenshots will have to do for now.
While the current Snapchat already supports photo sending and video chatting, they aren’t exactly easy to do because of the setup.
Like in those two apps, there is now an inline photo picker and has the ability to send stickers in text chat.
The new features, first described on a forum for Android developers, were apparently found when developers from Snapprefs, a project that develops Snapchat features for third-party software, were poking around in the code of Snapchat’s Android app. They were later able to get the new features to appear long enough to test them out and take a few screenshots. The new feature more closely resembles the interface used by other video chat applications such as Google Hangouts or Facebook Messenger, according to 9to5Google.
With updates like this, it’s of no surprise that Snapchat is fast becoming the go-to social media app.
What these two will bring to the table is the capability to ignore, listen or join calls. The indicator for online activity, which was previously a blue pulsating dot, is also now changed to a Smiley face.
Snapchat has more than 200 million users and half of them use the app every day.
The move for introducing new features is an indication that Snapchat is exploring more avenues for revenue, says Techcrunch.
All in all, it will be a welcome treat to find more features and a new sense of easiness on Snapchat, even if it means the messaging service’s “charm” will be a little dented in the process.
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For now, the code uncovered by Snapprefs appears to work only on devices running Marshmallow, the latest version of Android.
