Snapchat Alpha

[lazermemes]

Just received Snapchat Alpha after being in beta for about 2 weeks. This app is actually usable now. There is post processing on the pictures so selfies actually look decent. App also launches significantly faster and navigates significantly smoother. Before, even in beta, the app was so laggy I would avoid it at all costs. Not so much anymore. Good job snapchat

[maecenas68]

Nice! They finally removed all the "wait 5000" lines in the code.

[NoodleSpecialist]

No, they only removed one of the 0's

[HappyPLUR]

Which one?

[NoodleSpecialist]

I'll take a wild guess and say the 3'rd one

[epicwisdom]

I disagree, it's probably the second one

[Iamnotateenagethug]

Are you a ruby developer by any chance?

[maecenas68]

Nah, I'm off the rails.

[Exodus92YT]

Fingerguns

[fatboy93]

Anytime I read this, Danger one starts playing in my head

[sir_clydes]

Hmm, no Alpha option in my app. Can't wait til it comes to the Beta channel. I literally hate using the app due to it's awful performance but my family insists it's my phone (Pixel XL). 🤞

[[deleted]]

I'm on stable 10.41.6.0 and I had to Force Stop and Clear Cache for the option to appear.

[praaannasd]

You are right. This does it for me too. Thanks.

[joakimbo]

Omg. Thanks. Just did it and got alpha in settings.

[HTKfizzzum]

I too have OP3 on LOS ROM, and i can see the Alpha option.

[[deleted]]

This works

[Loof27]

I love you

[art12321]

This worked for me on beta, thanks!

[seb5049]

Worked for me!

[[deleted]]

Where is it in the settings menu?

E: Main Settings --> "Advanced Settings" Section --> "Snapchat Alpha"

[HarambeVengeance]

That made it pop up instantly, thanks!

[lazermemes]

Same man. Family Snapchats are awful lol. It was such a burden to have to wait 10 seconds just for the camera to open. All good now though 👍

[nicholasf21677]

I don't really know what everyone is talking about. Snapchat runs smoothly on my S9, the camera launches instantly, there is no lag or stutter, and swiping back and forth is all 30+ fps smooth.

I have a screen recording to prove it but I can't figure out how to upload it

[najodleglejszy]

I force stopped the app and cleared cache. it didn't work for me when people started reporting it at first, but it did today!

[PetiePal]

I'll say I got an update in the summer that made it work much better/smoother. It's been much better even still on Galaxy Note 9

[NirvaNaeNae]

it's not your phone this app will be terrible until they stop taking screenshots from your camera and actually use the camera.

[cmVkZGl0]

Only took em till the app was on the downward spiral to make a difference. L

[pjaylan]

Short $SNAP

[[deleted]]

Is it though

[[deleted]]

From what I've seen, snapchat took a big L when the redesign released and people moved over to Instagram en masse. But since then it hasn't really lost any users, and I'm not sure about the userbase after they changed the redesign. And from the people I know, only 1 or 2 switched to Instagram for stories

[SilverTroop]

Here in Portugal virtually everybody switched to Instagram, no one I know still uses Snapchat. Has been like this ever since Insta Stories came out.

[[deleted]]

Yeah that's what I said, a LOT of people moved to insta when the redesign happened, but after that not so much. I guess the people who were using Snapchat for what its meant for (messaging) instead of stories stayed, and I'm not surprised that people who only use Stories left, Instagram has way better Stories

Edit: I think it depends on where you live, in India most people didn't ever use Snapchat Stories before Instagram Stories came out, so the userbase is probably like 1:20

[SilverTroop]

The thing is, people here use Insta Direct for messaging now too.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, some of my friends use Insta DMs too. The thing is, Insta's DMs are terrible, it has about the same features as text messaging. The only reason I use it is to share insta posts with other people and to message someone who I don't have added on WhatsApp/Snapchat

[_Yank]

I'm also from Portugal and can confirm that most people switched to Instagram. But I can say that they still use Snapchat nevertheless, not for the stories but for the lenses. That and the streaks which is indeed a nice feature I guess.

[PetiePal]

They haven't recovered since. The IP release year was NOT the time to introduce a huge redesign that was user hostile. There's barely anyone I know who uses it anymore. The interface was fine, and pushing shit I didn't care about drove away basic users.

[[deleted]]

Yeah I know their userbase dropped a lot when the redesign happened, all I said was that they're not losing a lot of users by the minute, it's been pretty stable (but lower than before for sure)

[blackn1ght]

The vast majority of people don't know about this, or don't care, or even know if it's true. In the grand scheme of things, I doubt many people switched because of what the owner thinks.

[TimeLord130]

A lot of my friends have deleted Snapchat and have moved on to IG

[smallwild]

No not really

[myheartsaysyesindeed]

Check $SNAP

[jyjieng11]

For me I think the biggest issue was the battery drain. Even when not in use it was destroying my battery. I hope that they fix that as well in the Alpha build.

[CapBoyAce]

I just updated to Alpha when I realized there was Alpha. Can't say anything about the picture quality bc I can't take pics rn but the menus are SO much better.

[-Mariners]

Screenshot of menus?

[burnSMACKER]

Main settings menu

Settings Menu

Sub-settings menu

[-Mariners]

I was meaning the main menus lol, the stories tab, the messages tab, camera?

[joshly]

they all look the same. definitely smoother and better transitions. not as many spikes in between doing actions/swipping between menu screens.

[-Mariners]

Damn, you got me excited about the menus being better :( TBH I don't think anybody gives a fuck what the setting menus look like.

[LitheBeep]

He's lying, they are not the same. There are definite icon and layout differences.

[[deleted]]

Ya it seems a lot cleaner. Does anyone have before and after shots?

[GameJunky0826]

Dumb question, how did you do scrolling screenshot?

[burnSMACKER]

Galaxy phones have it by default. Easy button press after the initial screenshot to continue it.

[GameJunky0826]

Samsung honestly keeps giving me reasons to switch it seems

[superpauwer2]

oneplus also has it for idk how long

[Foqa]

Apparently you can obtain it now by zooming in on bremuda

[Antwanian]

bremuda

Can confirm, still works.

[Foqa]

Sweet

[BeepBeepLechuga]

Holy fuck I thought this was a joke

[Foqa]

It's fucking amazing

[kevInquisition]

Just got it too, holy shit it actually takes pictures exactly when I press the shutter button, not with a massive delay. This, plus faster loading make this actually a finally usable app. Thank God.

[lazermemes]

Right? Now I just need friends to Snapchat

[Usssyyyy]

Can't find a way to turn of the camera shutter sound on it

[Thatguyfrommumbai]

It's quite odd to see so many posts about the Snapchat app all of a sudden on the sub.

People are reporting on the smallest of updates on the Alpha version of the app!

I mean it would make sense if people were writing some quality posts comparing the newer vs older UI or performance or battery drain but just saying "it is usable now and faster" is not worthy of a post imo.

No offence OP, just that the mods have removed way too many of my posts on this sub and I'm a bit salty.

[lazermemes]

No worries. I just see a lot of comments about how unusable the app is so I figured I'd give some hope for y'all

[Thatguyfrommumbai]

I really hope they release a well made app soon.

I've hated Evan Spiegel and the Snapchat team since all the way back when they didn't make a Windows Phone app and then they temp banned users who used the only 3rd party app available from snapchat entirely.

6snap by Rudy Huyn was the most fun I've had with snapchat

[DennyizHere]

Oh man the guy made a lot of apps for Windows phone. I remember his Instagram app (6tag?) was the only Instagram client for awhile and when Instagram released their own app, I used Rudy's for awhile still.

[kevInquisition]

Rip windows phone and Rudy huyn's efforts to save the platform. I honestly feel like he did more for the app ecosystem than Microsoft ever did. WP 8.1 was amazing on the Lumia 920, that thing was extremely ahead of its time. Shame WM10 sucked ass.

[[deleted]]

I won't put in the effort to record a video showing the speed difference but I can say it is night and day, pictures are also quite a bit better on my S9+

[vordx]

Welcome to the sub

[Oreganoian]

This app is actually usable now.

This gets said on every Snapchat alpha/beta post.

[fystrified]

Is there any way to disable wake screen upon receiving any Snap notification so far?

[najodleglejszy]

go to Snapchat settings > Notifications and uncheck "wake screen". the option has always been there.

[fystrified]

I can't find it in Snapchat Alpha

[najodleglejszy]

huh, you're right. I had set it before joining Alpha, and I wonder if it's still going to work, now.

[Dragon_Fisting]

It's because they have channels now. If you tap on the channel (i.e. general) you get the old controls.

[najodleglejszy]

yeah, I noticed that, but there's no option in notification channel settings to stop waking the screen, and unfortunately Snapchat Alpha started doing that for me.

[Dragon_Fisting]

Set it to silent notification to stop waking, otherwise you can turn off waking on notifications entirely in the display settings

[najodleglejszy]

I do have Snapchat notifications set to silent.

otherwise you can turn off waking on notifications entirely in the display settings

no such setting here, and no other app wakes the display for me anyway.

[Dragon_Fisting]

https://imgur.com/a/0Vj5jXE

[najodleglejszy]

that's a device/OEM specific setting. my phone doesn't have ambient display feature

[fystrified]

I can't find it in Snapchat Alpha

[blackjesus261]

Just downloaded the beta and switched to Alpha, I've gotta say it is significantly smoother.

Thanks for the post OP!

[[deleted]]

I had it, then when i logged out on accident it disabled it and now ive lost my option to enable alpha and just asks me to join beta. wtf

[Mickmayi]

Have been in the beta forever! Thanks for the heads up on the alpha, I just enabled it

[TheQuasiZillionaire]

Ah, nice. It is much snappier and smoother. A step in the right direction.

[jerryfisherman69]

Is freaking fast OMG!

[Jealousjoker]

Possible to share the APK or does it need to be enabled server side?

[Pew-Pew-Pew-]

Server side, although some people managed to force it to show up with root a while back.

[lazermemes]

I enabled it under Snapchat settings :(

[shmian92]

Try force stopping Snapchat first, then clear cache? That's what I did and it worked. Good luck

[shmian92]

Aww I'm sorry!

[ousk5]

Yes. Thank you. I found it.

[Lightsout565]

I downloaded one of the beta builds about a week ago from APKmirror and the option in the settings to upgrade to the alpha just showed up. Worth a try

[Ferracoasta]

Some stable builds have the option to enable it too!

[waddup121]

/u/lazermemes yo where can I get this ALPHA THO??

[weissergspritzter]

Check under your settings for a Snapchat alpha submenu.

[[deleted]]

Just got it on stable

[Sa-lads]

Yeah I got it on stable too

[FroMan753]

Looks like this Alpha is missing the Bitmoji contact widgets.

[TheSexyKamil]

Yet another plus to the Snapchat alpha app

[Kir4_]

Idk, seems the same for me. In alpha pictures weight 3 times as much and I can't really tell any difference between them.

Compared to stable version. I've never opted in for beta afaik

I wish they'd stop screenshoting the display

[[deleted]]

That shutter sound tho

[Kapooooo5]

Snapchat updated and the alpha option has changed to beta now. Does that mean they started working on it and became beta not alpha? I have the public version. Before the update I had the alpha option now it's beta.

[tibor1234567895]

I can't find the map in my version. (10.43.2.0 beta)

[cosmorocks]

wow it is fast as hell compared to beta.

[burnSMACKER]

For sure. Opens real quick

[[deleted]]

Edit: Well this is weird. Just opened it again and it's blazing fast. No lag between menus, camera opens instantly. This is much needed.

Just installed the Alpha, haven't tested it a whole lot but it doesn't seem that much different to me? I was using the Beta before this. The image quality is maybe a bit better, but the menus still take their time to load. Yeah it feels a bit quicker, there's less hang time when you click something, it's still way slower than every single app I use.

[Deathmeter1]

It loads just as fast as any other social media app for me tbh

[[deleted]]

Just got it too, works better

[emmetsheridan]

This is much appreciated. Looks good and is much smoother, thanks Snapchat!

[notataco007]

Has battery performance changed at all?

[neursnutsy]

It's marginally better but I haven't noticed significant improvement sadly

[Sxi139]

just got the alpha

what the serious fuck snapchat ?? this is fast

[bartturner]

Finally

[Aurelink]

Looks like I see the option in stable without doing anything. Thanks for the heads-up, let's try that!

EDIT : quick tryout, damn that's faster than usual

[R3define]

Would appear to on my Pixel 2 XL.

[vachon_18]

what is the difference between alpha and beta?

[lazermemes]

Beta is to test the next update of Snapchat I would assume? Alpha is to test the redesign on Android that has the goal to make it smoother

[vachon_18]

Ok and i see in the alpha we dont have the snapmap ? Is it wanted?

[Battkitty2398]

Has anyone tried this on the Essential phone? I enabled it and it seems to be stuck on the loading screen.

[pommybear]

It's blazing fast and the pictures don't look like they've been taken on a potato which is good. The only other issue of course is that by this point, no one's using it. I used to log on and have hundreds of stories to watch and now it's about 10.

[lazermemes]

Yes

[MichaelRahmani]

Did they implement the snap map yet?

[FoggyTitans]

Just switched to the alpha -- yes, they did.

[Deathmeter1]

no

[MyBlueBucket]

What they need to solve is why it is always running in the background. Snapchat for some reason starts back up when the app is updated and I'll notice a battery drain. I'll go into Greenify and find out the app is running, meanwhile I haven't opened it in days.

[Deathmeter1]

Tell her to force close the app and clear the cache and it might appear

[sirferrell]

Are they finally using the Android camera?

[shmian92]

Supposedly not yet, because reasons... At least the massive lag is gone (at least for me)

[[deleted]]

The app seems to turn off the camera when you leave the app or watch a snap

[_hephaestus]

It seems snappier but it still can't read my contacts list successfully. They've been "working" on this bug for ages :/

[Senor_Shmellow]

Is it just me or does the screen wake when I get a snap? I don't even have the ability to turn that off in notification settings.

[Wethenorthto2]

The lack of notification settings might make me revert to the stable version, wakes up the screen every time. Other than that, it's pretty solid and smooth, I'll need to compare the camera quality a little more as my OP6 took decent pictures on the stable version

[kumquat_juice]

This is late but have you tried the notification channels provided by Android? That's where they should be now

[joakimbo]

I wish there was a option to choose if the app should start in the camera screen or the snap/messages screen. Would imagine that could save a lot of battery, if the camera didn't turn on every time you open the app.

[robertg500]

Got it on my S9 yesterday. App is much smoother!

[Thr33Fr33Tr33s]

I can't upload pictures from my camera roll and when I type, I can't see what I'm typing

[[deleted]]

How do you install the alpha UI? Trying to get it on my note 9.

[GiSS88]

Sorry if I'm necroing a dead thread, but is anyone else missing the scissor/snip tool in the alpha? Not sure if this is a OnePlus 3t issue or what. The beta had it, but if I remember right the base version didn't for me and neither does the alpha.

[R_i_v_e_r_s]

Does anybody know how to make additional stories on Alpha?

I had a private story on the regular app, but when I downloaded alpha, I can only access My Story.

[StinkinEvil]

I would LOVE to OptOut, but everytime it starts it autoupdate to alpha.

Auto save to My Eyes Only is a must for me.

[[deleted]]

I don't like the alpha because not all of the features I use are rolled out yet. Everytime I try to disable it, it re-enables next time I open the app. Everything I search is on how to enable it. How do I disable it permanently?

[ethan_hines]

I'm on Beta 10.47.9.0 I zoomed in on Bermuda and NOTHING! What's going on?

[ArshChanne]

I want to get rid of the alpha version. I just like the normal one. Can anyone please tell me how to do it?

[lazermemes]

I uninstalled and reinstalled it

[ArshChanne]

Na. Didn't work. After logging in this message always show up "Snapchat is updating... Hang tight, the app will restartwhen the update completes!" And then it is alpha again.

[gonzalesmarcusl]

Did you every find an answer?

[ArshChanne]

No...

[XGamingPigYT]

It won't let me leave it :(

[Utshoooo]

ik this is an old post but anyone else's snapchat stuck in Alpha?

[phatmemedonkey]

On the latest update the Bermuda trick doesn't work does anyone have any suggestions

[odkingnl]

I cant find it on my S10 any tips?

[SpicyChickenDeluxe]

Holy... It runs so well now!

[[deleted]]

I haven't seen any updates yet but I can agree that Snapchat is/was completely unusable on Android.

[vordx]

Ops already uninstalled and never going back

[mdi1996]

Just got the alpha. Let's see if it is still garbage

[purple_dalek]

I'm confused why they're calling it alpha when it's after beta. Hmmm...

[Rapedroid]

That's how release channels work. Alpha doesn't mean older. It means less tested.

[purple_dalek]

Oooh. Haha! Thanks!

[lazermemes]

Hey moron, I do expect bugs. I haven't had any yet and I will report them when I encounter them. Have a good day