Do you use the Android Facebook app? Are you constantly frustrated with how slow and buggy it is? The app has seen a few updates that have alleviated some of the problems, but it’s still a mess. iOS users got an updated Facebook app back in August while Android owners were left to fend for themselves.
After a month of waiting, Android users will finally be rewarded for their patience. An insider at Facebook told Engadget that the social network is in the final testing phase for its new native Android app. The original Facebook app for Android was built off of HTML5, and was either bad or awful depending on your device. Going native should help fix most of the problems that plague the current app.
Unfortunately, there is no time frame for when the new app will be available. It could become available this week, or it could become available at the end of the year. Facebook’s testing periods can be notoriously long if they feel that the product isn’t up to snuff just yet.
As such, Facebook had better make sure their first native Android app is perfect when it launches. Mobile is becoming increasingly important to Facebook. Android is especially important as a NPD study from May found that 70 percent of Android users use their phones primarily for Facebook. That’s a massive market that Zuckerberg and pals can tap into for some of that sweet mobile ad revenue.
I know I’m not alone when I wish that Facebook would hurry up with the new Android app. Hopefully this news means that it’s on the fast track to getting out of their hands, and into ours.
