Snapchat announces new UI, Voice Scan, Places & more at Summit

Snap, Inc. has announced a huge range of updates to the Snapchat app, some of which are beginning to roll out from today. The changes were revealed at Snapchat’s Partner Summit and include an improved interface, AR features, voice controls and more.

Snapchat will get an ‘Action Bar’, bringing tabs to the app for the first time. It’s now rolling out to all users and will change the way users navigate the app, separating the Discover page with the Snap Original shows and making Snap Maps more prominent. Users can still swipe between pages, but tabs intend to show where each feature is located.

Happening Now: this feature shows breaking news for U.S. users

Businesses can now be displayed on Snap Maps, with information about their opening hours, locations and reviews, through TripAdvisor, set to become available. Later this year, food orders will be possible through DoorDash and Uber Eats.

Snapchat’s Scan feature has received a few updates. It can now scan and look for plants and dog breeds – up to 90% of plants and trees. Yuka integration will be coming in the next year and promises to let users scan for food and calories in those items.

Voice Scan will bring up results for lenses based on what you say. For example, if you say ‘Hey Snapchat, turn me into a dog’, the results would be related to Dog filters or lenses.

Further improvements include Snap Minis, which will incorporate apps within Snapchat: effectively mini versions of them. Places will let you find popular tourist spots, and Topics will let you explore user-submitted Snaps related to a specific subject.

Avatar photo
Ben Ward

Senior Editor, discussing everything Apple and supporting other writers and members of Apple TLD's team of volunteers.

Articles: 625

Leave a Reply