Facebook plans to release more standalone apps like Messenger in the new year
For the new year, Facebook already has plans in place to release more standalone apps that offer new functionalities or otherwise repackage existing ones from its main iOS app.
As reported by CBC News (via iDownloadBlog):
“We’re getting away from that single app that does everything for you. We released nine different apps in 2014 and I think what you’ll see is we’ll release more in 2015 — at the demand and behest of our users,” says Jordan Banks, the managing director of Facebook Canada and the global head of vertical strategy.
Banks reiterates that Facebook has been inclined to a “multi-app orientation” not because “we think it’s right,” but because users “want single apps that do one thing incredibly well.”
Facebook Messenger
That may strike some as rather disingenuous, given the considerable user backlash that has resulted from the separation of Facebook Messenger from the main Facebook app — a move Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended, saying that the separate Messenger app is “a better experience,” especially since the main Facebook app is chiefly for News Feed browsing.
In addition to its main app, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook Pages Manager, Facebook introduced the following iOS apps this year: Paper, Facebook Mentions, Facebook Groups, Slingshot, Rooms, and Stickered for Messenger. All of these apps are available on the App Store for free.
See also: Ahead of the New Year, tips for putting your Apple iOS device on a diet, Our Apple wish list for 2015 includes new iPods, Photos for Mac and another surprise, and Celebrate New Year’s Eve with the official Times Square app.
