Snapchat could see major updates following poor earnings reports

[Greg S]

In the wake of abysmal performance for the third quarter due to lower-than-estimated user growth and revenue, Snap will focus on updating their app to make it easier to use.

Specifically, Snap shares in a letter to investors that it wants to target people who are slightly older. Currently, an average Snapchat user is between 13 and 34 years old. Already covering 70% of this age group in the US, UK, Australia, and France, Snap really does not have much choice but to try and attract an older crowd or look to other countries that may not have as valuable ad revenue.

Not only does Snap want to target consumers over 34 years old, it specifically will focus on Android users. By improving the performance of the Android app over the past several updates, Snap says that "significantly more Android users [were] added than iOS users in September, we wish we had done this sooner." It is possible that a large number of iOS users already use Snapchat, or that the increase in Snapchat users is occurring in regions where iPhones are too expensive to be widely used.

With a fairly substantial redesign incoming, Snap is putting itself in a prime position for receiving user backlash. Through the use of machine learning, reorganizing how stories are displayed to users will be an attempt to further engage audiences. Since stories are such a core feature to Snapchat, it will be no surprise if many users decide to turn to Instagram or other social media if they are not pleased by new changes.

Even though Snap Inc. is not doing very well financially at this time, Snapchat will not be going away anytime soon. Over 3.5 billion Snaps are sent daily with average users opening the app 25 times a day. Snapchat holds the title of most used camera app globally and accounts for more pictures taken daily than any other camera or service.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/71787-snapchat-could-see-major-updates-following-poor-earnings.html

 

[trparky]

I've never understood the concept behind Snapchat nor do I want to.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I've never understood the concept behind Snapchat nor do I want to.

Maybe if you tried to understand it, you could experience a change of attitude. That said, I'm not a Snapchat user either. Although I do understand it, it just doen't appeal to me... and neither does any social media for that matter.

 

[andrewdoyle88]

I used to use snapchat exclusively now but have almost fully switched to Instagram. I do find Instagram is geared towards iPhones which I'm thinking most apps are. If I record a story video on my S7 it looks pixelated.

I definitely have a larger friend base on Instagram.. I think this is the downfall for snapchat. Instagram is a photo sharing app first so you can see friends and their friends and its easy to search for people. Almost like a mini Facebook. Snapchat feels more like a standalone app that requires you to physically ask for someones snap username. I know there are ways to add friends via Facebook but it feels forced and me being an average user, I don't use it. Just my two cents - I think snap should have sold if they had a chance and never went public.

 

[Panda218]

I've recently starting using less snapchat cause the app runs like garbage on my Pixel. I constantly have super pixelated photos and low framerate when recording videos, but I never have any of these issues when using my work provided iphone SE. I hope they can resolve these issues as eventually I'll just stop using the service if it doesnt get better. The last update made a small improvement for a couple days, but im back to a shitty experience.