So, Instagram announced a major update to their Android app and it is quite big and makes a lot of changes. They must be applauded for what they’ve accomplished with this new version 5.1 of the Instagram for Android app. They’ve managed to redesign the application without changing the way things work or for the most part where they’re located. But at the same time, they’ve improved the overall UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) to probably the highest levels they’ve ever had for the app since its launch. Not only did they double the speed of the app (their claim) but they’ve also halved the overall size of the app, likely meaning that it is overall far more efficient and will probably result in better performance on slower devices as well as higher performing flagship devices.
If you look at some of the screenshots I took below you can see the overall visual differences in the design of the app as well as some of the user interface improvements by moving some buttons closer together or making them neater looking or organized. The funny thing is that the last time I compared the experience on Android versus iOS the Android version already looked better primarily because images were edge to edge in the main feed rather than framed, which looked much cleaner and gave you a better looking image.
In addition to the improved look of the main page and seemingly untouched explore tab, there have been changes to the camera interface itself as well as the look of the profile page. You can see a picture of a dazed and confused yours truly via a Nexus 5 as well as yours truly’s profile page.
The biggest changes are really under the hood with the improved performance and improved camera interface. But the guys and gals over at Instagram (and Facebook?) have really done a great job redesigning the app while still leaving a lot of the core functionality the same, keeping people from hating the redesign. The truth is, the Instagram app is a great app and very well designed and deserves very high praise. The same can’t be said about Facebook’s recent redesign of their Facebook webapp, which really feels like a major step backwards after the Windows 8.1 Facebook app did a fantastic job of properly utilizing the platform, touch and screen size. A shame, really. Maybe the Instagram team should be in charge of Facebook’s design, too?
