Facebook The Messenger App Updated with New Design for Android and iOS

Facebook is rolling out an update to its dedicated Messenger app for Android and iOS has received a major redesigned interface and improved functionality. today that brings a fresh new interface and an improved experience for chatting with friends who aren’t on the service.

[quote style=”quote-style3″]In terms of functionality, there are a host of under-the-hood improvements to make sending and receiving messages faster, says product manager Peter Martinazzi. There are also some front-end tweaks that makes the app faster — especially on Android, where the SMS texting feature, which let you text friends who don’t have Facebook, has been removed.[/quote]

Facebook probably couldn’t have chosen a better moment to redesign their Messenger app. With an advantage of one billion users, the social network doesn’t have to worry about popularity, yet it is facing strong competition from WhatsApp, Viber, Line and other services that have substantially grown in the past years.

[quote style=”quote-style3″]While Facebook won’t let you text a phone number from Messenger, the company plans to use phone numbers in a new way: to identify its users, just like in WhatsApp. Upon opening Messenger for the first time, it will ask you to provide your phone number. Then, the app can match you with people whose numbers you have, but whom you aren’t Facebook friends with. Facebook guarantees your messages will reach somebody’s inbox if you have their phone number.[/quote]

Messenger for Android update will be available to select users immediately, and iOS users will receive the revamped version later.