Redesigned Slack App Now Available For Android And iOS

All of the redesigned changes that Slack made to its app are now live and available on the public versions of its Android and iOS apps.

Previous reports revealed that Slack introduced many changes to its Android and iOS apps. Now, those changes are live and can be enjoyed by those who are using the apps on their respective smartphones, The Verge reported.

Slack had been trying the new features it introduced to its app for a while now. It tried the new features through a test version through its beta channel on the Android Play Store earlier in May, and through TestFlight for iOS devices earlier this week. And after some confusion regarding the early release of the update notes, the changes are now official and can be used by everyone.

Here's a rundown of the changes that Slack made to its Android and iOS app.

A new navigation bar

Slack added a new navigation bar at the bottom of the app. This navigation bar makes it easier for users to do the four main things that they can do on the app – things that the company itself admitted to being “complicated to get to” on the mobile apps.

This navigation bar contains a “Home” view for the sidebar, “DMs” (most recent DMs are still listed first), “Mentions” (for catching up with others), and “You” (which allows for easier status and preference customization).

These four items were previously accessed by swiping on the three-dot line menu. Now, they can easily be accessed with a tap on the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen.

A new Compose button

Slack also added a Compose button to make it easier for users to compose messages. Now, users won't have to look for a specific channel or DM before they can create a new message.

A new swipe mechanic

Users had to do a lot of swiping back and forth in order to do things in the app previously. These meant sending messages to a specific channel or person was typically troublesome to do. Now, users will only need to swipe right to access their workspace and preferences, or swipe left to go back to their last conversation.

A new Lightning button

The Slack iOS now has the Lightning button featued on the desktop app. Tapping on this button in a message field allows users to do things like taking polls and creating customer support tickets easier and with less hassle.