AppleInsider Staff
Speaking at Re/code's Code Conference on Tuesday, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel said the ephemeral messaging firm is tossing around the idea of ditching its familiar hold-to-view user interface, a change that could help pave the way for an Apple Watch app version.
When asked about a Snapchat app for Watch, Spiegel said he considered developing a lightweight version for launch alongside the device, but ultimately held off on development, Re/code reports.
"It has to be a totally unique experience," Spiegel said.
For Snapchat, which has seen an explosion in video content consumption, creating a Watch-ready app is far from straightforward. Aside from Apple's video streaming restrictions, the user interface is not well suited for small-screened devices. With its iPhone app, for example, Snapchat photos and video are viewable only while a user is touching the screen, a method not likely to translate well to Watch.
Spiegel hinted Snapchat's tap-and-hold UI might soon be replaced or ditched altogether, saying, "I think, for us, it's holding us back from longer videos being watched on our service." With a shift toward video, Snapchat might not make it to Apple Watch anytime soon.
Snapchat isn't alone in holding off on Watch app development. Industry giant Facebook has yet to release a made-for-Watch app version, while other social networking services like Facebook-owned Instagram debuted apps bogged down by usability issues and weak feature sets.
Malcolm Owen
Wesley Hilliard
Marko Zivkovic
Christine McKee
7 Comments
I'm definitely in favor of this change. I find the hold-to-view method annoying, particularly when I want to take a screenshot.
This fad will be history in a couple of years.
Not every app translates to the Watch, the same way there wasn't a need to port all OS X programs to iOS. It's about building ideal experiences for each platform.
For example, Failbook's recent update killed the iPad-designed version of their app and just pushed out a blown up iPhone version for iPad users, which is horrendous (they're also still 32-bit only). The heck with that, I deleted it and gladly reclaimed the 250MB of space, and Failbook can deal with getting even less from me (I don't use it the same way most people do).
Good! Hate the hold to view design.
Hold to view is a pain.