Facebook launches faster iOS application for iPhone, iPad

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Facebook on Thursday launched a long-awaited update to its iOS application that promises major speed improvements over its slow predecessor.

The updated universal Facebook application is now available (iTunes link) for download in the iOS App Store. The features in version 5.0, as detailed by the social networking site, are all about speed:
  • We've rebuilt the app so it's faster and easier to use.
  • Scrolling through news feed is faster than ever
  • New banner lets you tap to quickly see more stories – no need to refresh
  • Photos open fast and close with one downward swipe
  • Instant access to your notifications
Facebook version 5.0 is a 7.3-megabyte download available for free from the iOS App Store. It is compatible with iPhones, iPads and iPod touches running iOS 4.3 or later.

Rumors of the application first surfaced in June, when it was said the updated software would launch in July. But July came and went without an update.

The updated application is believed to feature speed improvements through using Objective-C, the programming language used to build native applications for iOS. The previous Facebook application, which users complained was incredibly slow, was built primarily on HTML5, a Web-based programming language.

Facebook


Last month it was said that former Apple employees were hired by Facebook to revamp its application for the iPhone and iPad. The company opted to create a major code overhaul for its iOS software rather than just a simple update.

According to Bloomberg, touch-screen UI developer Greg Novick; iPhone software gurus Tim Omernick and Chris Tremblay; and creator of Apple's first-party Stocks app Scott Goodson are all a part of the Facebook development team.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,897member


    I'll buy that for a dollar.

  • Reply 2 of 37
    The iPad app rocks!
  • Reply 3 of 37
    negafoxnegafox Posts: 480member


    Facebook runs considerably faster on my iPhone 4S now. I am guessing the issue was that UIWebView lacks Nitro making JavaScript performance abysmal.

  • Reply 4 of 37
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member


    New app or no, the Facebook timeline still sucks.

  • Reply 5 of 37


    Also, appears that the messenger and camera stand alone apps were included in this new update.  Pretty zippy.  Still prefer the stand alone messenger app (for notification purposes)

  • Reply 6 of 37
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by John.B View Post


    New app or no, the Facebook timeline still sucks.



     


    Yeah.  The whole app sucks on iPhone regardless of these updates.  


     


    - You can never tell if you are seeing everything since the default is to show "popular" stories only and you can't change the setting.  


    - The entire screen on an iPhone is filled up with the "suggestions" they put at the top (also un-configurable), so you have to scroll down to see anything useful.


    - notifications still completely broken (but then they are on most apps)


    - advertisements still get higher placement than a post from your relatives 


     


    I could go on and on but the whole mobile experience is just awful for the most part.  


     


    Facebook seems set on being a browser-only thing really which kind of makes sense when you think of the kind of comments Zuckerberg made about mobile and the fact that most of the people working there are laptop carrying geeky young males.  I don't think they get mobile at all, but it doesn't matter right now because they are popular anyway.  

  • Reply 7 of 37
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member


    "The entire screen on an iPhone is filled up with the "suggestions" they put at the top"


     


    What phone is that? My 4s shows none of that, just a menu bar at the very top.... everything else is postings. Oh and when you choose "sort" on that bar you can select "most recent" rather than "top stories".

  • Reply 8 of 37


    You can finally 'like' comments from someone else's photo(s). Launching full screen pics on profiles is really fast too. A much needed update if you're a FB whore like me lol :)

  • Reply 9 of 37
    moochmooch Posts: 113member


    Thank God!

     

  • Reply 10 of 37


    when you want something done right, hire apple.

  • Reply 11 of 37
    Must watch guys! :D
  • Reply 12 of 37


    Buttery smooth!

  • Reply 13 of 37
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,192member


    OMG I can't believe how little I care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Reply 14 of 37
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member


    Wait you mean the Facebook developers finally figured out what a block was? Not to do things on the main thread? image

  • Reply 15 of 37
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,455member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mooch View Post


    Thank God!

     



    You can thank the developers instead ;)

  • Reply 16 of 37
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post


    OMG I can't believe how little I care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



    That's my feeling when I hear Gruber, Marco, Siracusa, et al jabber endlessly about Twitter (and their apocolyptic horror at the new developer restrictions), so I understand.

  • Reply 17 of 37

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    - You can never tell if you are seeing everything since the default is to show "popular" stories only and you can't change the setting.  



    The Sort button (top right) lets you switch your news feed from Top Stories to Most Recent to put it back in chronological order. it is pretty crappy at remembering the setting though and will resort back to Top Stories seemingly at random, but the website also fails to remember your sort setting with any reliability so I suspect its a general facebook flaw rather than just the app .

  • Reply 18 of 37
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member


    Interesting...


     


  • Reply 19 of 37
    dmarcootdmarcoot Posts: 191member


    It seems just as slow as always. Interface still sucks. They should hire LinkedIn's app development team

  • Reply 20 of 37


    Well, you can sort by top stories or most recent, but yeah, i don't think that shows everything. but then again, if it really showed everything, there would be way to many updates and it would make the iphone app hard to use. I guess i can understand the desire for the ipad app to have it though...

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