An update for Android Snapchat users this week was released, and it was supposed to bring a whole new experience. On Twitter, Snap said, “To Android, Love, Snapchat,” and added, “Enjoy the new, faster Snapchat, rebuilt just for Android.” Have you updated your Android phone? Don’t get too excited just yet.
However, this new update has been controversial from Android users. If you have the Google Pixel 2 or newer device, or even a Samsung Galaxy S10, you might have better luck with the new Snapchat update experience. You may get an integration of the Snapchat photo/video-capture engine and the manfacturer-powered camera API. This means you could actually take pictures with your real camera.
Aside from users on those device, there isn’t much to offer, honestly. Android users are still relegated to capturing images from the camera’s viewfinder. Capturing pictures directly from the camera itself is ideal, but it’s not a reality for all Android users. Snapchat only sees through your camera’s lens and displays that image on your screen.
If you’re always in ideal conditions to capture photos, this may not be groundbreaking for you. But if you’re not in the most ideal conditions, you’re essentially out of luck, to say the least. At that point, you will have to settle for the minimum photo quality offered through Snapchat’s viewfinder.
Is Android a priority for Snap?
A lot of love has been spread for the iPhone. It’s fairly clear at this point that Snap is offering a better experience to iPhone users more than Android users. Snapchat’s app may be faster now and Twitter’s offering of a little ghost/Android icon when you use the hashtag #SnapForAndroid is cool too, but the overall experience for Android hasn’t improved.
