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If he does, they really need to work on the UI/UX side of things because FB and Messenger already feel like bloatware and they're difficult to navigate. WeChat

If he does, they really need to work on the UI/UX side of things because FB and Messenger already feel like bloatware and they're difficult to navigate. WeChat on the other hand, along with KakaoTalk but WeChat especially, does it very well without feeling heavy and annoying to use.

asadlionpk 7y ago
Instagram is good.
- cheeyoonlee 7y ago
  I actually think Instagram is a better candidate to become the next WeChat
Thaxll 7y ago
None of those app are difficult to navigate...
- cheeyoonlee 7y ago
  Remember when Facebook and Messenger were once a single app? One of the main reasons they separated was to simplify user experience, aside from allowing sms login without a Facebook account, and I can't imagine the two together again at their current state. The reason why WeChat works so well is it's always been chat forward. Their 'moments' works moreso like a lite Twitter feed than Facebook's mess of a newsfeed. And all the misc third party integrations and apps are neatly organized and don't get in the way of chat and moments. Nothing about the interface or experience feels spammy or unnecessary and I never have to think much to get to what I want. At least that's just how I felt heavily using all those apps. There's something about all-in-one/mega apps that Asia does really well.
immichaelwang 7y ago
How is Messenger Bloated?
- make3 7y ago
  sometimes on HN I get the feeling that anything more than a command line application written in Rust or in C may be called bloated
  - vips7L 7y ago
    C isn't hipster enough for HN.
    - Tobani 7y ago
      I wrote a custom ARM assembler that generate prolog that uses genetic programming techniques to optimize the interface. I've found the best interface to be my set of 8 multi-colored LEDs driven by a custom build arduino system that talks serial. Unfortunately I have to use a usb-serial adapter these days, and then a usb-c-to-usb-a adapter. My dongles have dongles.
      - make3 7y ago
        can't tell if you're serious, the beginning sounds crazy but the end is a mundane practical issue
- deepVoid 7y ago
  It is a piece of bloated app that adds all your FB friends to your messenger friend list automatically and constantly spams you to contact them on anniversaries etc. I deleted it the same day I downloaded it.
  - djohnston 7y ago
    that's weird, i never get prompted to contact anyone except for the default thread that opens when you have a new friend, which admittedly i don't like
- mitchty 7y ago
  Its not like facebook applications haven't had insane amounts of duplicated resources and crazy amounts of gigantic libraries/frameworks: https://blog.timac.org/2017/0410-analysis-of-the-facebook-app-for-ios-v-87-0/ https://blog.timac.org/2017/0410-analysis-of-the-facebook-ap... Not sure if its relevant for messenger or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if messenger was overly huge for the task its performing.
asdfman123 7y ago
FYI, you can also download Messenger Lite. It's less seamless than messenger but it's much lighter weight.
- cheeyoonlee 7y ago
  I just checked and it's still not available in the US on iOS
modwilliam 7y ago
Could you be more specific about what's worse on Messenger than WeChat?
- cheeyoonlee 7y ago
  Facebook app, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram all feel a bit repetitive in features. Like they're competing against each other in many ways. WeChat as a single mega app feels very unified. If Mark builds the next WeChat for the West, I'm curious to know how he will unify those apps.
  - metasaval 7y ago
    Just fyi, unifying Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram is something they mentioned a while back [0], and is something that they're moving foward with now [1]. Although it's looking like they're just going to get the underlying architecture the same so you can message people across apps and less that there is going to be 1 app for everything. [0] https://www.slashgear.com/whatsapp-instagram-facebook-messenger-platform-unification-mark-zuckerberg-privacy-encryption-25563680/ https://www.slashgear.com/whatsapp-instagram-facebook-messen... [1] https://www.slashgear.com/facebook-messenger-f8-2019-desktop-apps-architecture-change-family-stories-30575107/ https://www.slashgear.com/facebook-messenger-f8-2019-desktop...
    - slenk 7y ago
      It's so they can track you better across all their platforms

asadlionpk 7y ago

Instagram is good.

cheeyoonlee 7y ago
I actually think Instagram is a better candidate to become the next WeChat

Thaxll 7y ago

None of those app are difficult to navigate...

cheeyoonlee 7y ago
Remember when Facebook and Messenger were once a single app? One of the main reasons they separated was to simplify user experience, aside from allowing sms login without a Facebook account, and I can't imagine the two together again at their current state. The reason why WeChat works so well is it's always been chat forward. Their 'moments' works moreso like a lite Twitter feed than Facebook's mess of a newsfeed. And all the misc third party integrations and apps are neatly organized and don't get in the way of chat and moments. Nothing about the interface or experience feels spammy or unnecessary and I never have to think much to get to what I want. At least that's just how I felt heavily using all those apps. There's something about all-in-one/mega apps that Asia does really well.

immichaelwang 7y ago

How is Messenger Bloated?

make3 7y ago
sometimes on HN I get the feeling that anything more than a command line application written in Rust or in C may be called bloated
- vips7L 7y ago
  C isn't hipster enough for HN.
  - Tobani 7y ago
    I wrote a custom ARM assembler that generate prolog that uses genetic programming techniques to optimize the interface. I've found the best interface to be my set of 8 multi-colored LEDs driven by a custom build arduino system that talks serial. Unfortunately I have to use a usb-serial adapter these days, and then a usb-c-to-usb-a adapter. My dongles have dongles.
    - make3 7y ago
      can't tell if you're serious, the beginning sounds crazy but the end is a mundane practical issue
deepVoid 7y ago
It is a piece of bloated app that adds all your FB friends to your messenger friend list automatically and constantly spams you to contact them on anniversaries etc. I deleted it the same day I downloaded it.
- djohnston 7y ago
  that's weird, i never get prompted to contact anyone except for the default thread that opens when you have a new friend, which admittedly i don't like
mitchty 7y ago
Its not like facebook applications haven't had insane amounts of duplicated resources and crazy amounts of gigantic libraries/frameworks: https://blog.timac.org/2017/0410-analysis-of-the-facebook-app-for-ios-v-87-0/ https://blog.timac.org/2017/0410-analysis-of-the-facebook-ap... Not sure if its relevant for messenger or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if messenger was overly huge for the task its performing.

asdfman123 7y ago

FYI, you can also download Messenger Lite. It's less seamless than messenger but it's much lighter weight.

cheeyoonlee 7y ago
I just checked and it's still not available in the US on iOS

modwilliam 7y ago

Could you be more specific about what's worse on Messenger than WeChat?

cheeyoonlee 7y ago
Facebook app, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram all feel a bit repetitive in features. Like they're competing against each other in many ways. WeChat as a single mega app feels very unified. If Mark builds the next WeChat for the West, I'm curious to know how he will unify those apps.
- metasaval 7y ago
  Just fyi, unifying Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram is something they mentioned a while back [0], and is something that they're moving foward with now [1]. Although it's looking like they're just going to get the underlying architecture the same so you can message people across apps and less that there is going to be 1 app for everything. [0] https://www.slashgear.com/whatsapp-instagram-facebook-messenger-platform-unification-mark-zuckerberg-privacy-encryption-25563680/ https://www.slashgear.com/whatsapp-instagram-facebook-messen... [1] https://www.slashgear.com/facebook-messenger-f8-2019-desktop-apps-architecture-change-family-stories-30575107/ https://www.slashgear.com/facebook-messenger-f8-2019-desktop...
  - slenk 7y ago
    It's so they can track you better across all their platforms