Facebook is revamping its mobile interface, to include changing some long-running design choices.
If we could play a word-association game with Facebook, we’d probably say “blue” and “squares” as our go-to description of the social media giant’s mobile app.
That may soon to change to “grey” and “circles, ” as Facebook has unveiled plans to revamp its mobile interface, changing some long-running aesthetic choices with something new.
First off, conversations on Facebook posts are getting a new coat of paint to look more like, to our eye, Facebook Messenger — swapping out blocky fields for rounder conversation bubbles to make a posts and replies look more like a modern messaging app.
Secondly, the News Feed proper will get a few readability tweaks of its own, such as bigger, higher-contrast text on the ‘Like/Comment/Share’ buttons so that they’re easier to tap. Links previews will also get its text enlarged for an easier read.
Speaking of links, the News Feed makeover will also feature changes that make it easier for viewers to see where a link may take them before clicking (and potentially help users identify clickbait before it’s too late, luck willing.)
Another big change likely to be met with scorn are circular profile pictures, replacing square pics to match the rounded-down, monochrome look that’s apparently become so hip since Instagram changed its look in a similar way back in 2016.
While innocuous at first, we learned from Twitter’s last refresh that users might not take to the new profile pic shape kindly. Critics of #NewTwitter at the time claimed circles look uninteresting, as well as made it hard for profiles to use text, certain logos or QR codes as their avatar.
Love it or leave it, Facebook’s new design is expected to roll out to users over the coming weeks. The company claims that the change should not impact a page’s reach or traffic, causing no inconvenience — minus changing to a circle-friendly profile picture, of course.
