Facebook has announced that it is testing a new version of Facebook Messenger for ndroid.
The new version of Facebook Messenger
offers the same functionality, allowing users to exchange messages with their Facebook friends and even with other Facebook / non-Facebook users provided their registered phone number is with the user. For the same reason, the app asks users to confirm their phone numbers when they sign-up.
The updated Facebook Messenger for Android app brings a brand new minimalistic tabbed user interface with the ability to swipe towards the left and right to see recent conversations, a list of the people the users message, and settings. It also offers the new round contact avatars that were introduced with Chat Heads that arrived with Facebook Home, Facebook's custom launcher for select Android phones. It's not clear if Chat Heads would continue to work with the new updated Messenger app. The Chat Heads feature allowed users to carry chats outside the messenger app with contact avatars representing open chats floating on the screen.
With the update, Facebook is also removing the ability to send and receive SMS messages from Facebook Messenger. This feature was also introduced with Facebook Home. How this falls in line with Google officially extending default-messaging support to third-party SMS apps, and integrating the feature in its Hangouts app, remains to be seen.
It's worth pointing out that the
independent Facebook Messenger service was first rolled out in December 2012 on Messenger for Android, in India, Australia, Indonesia, Venezuela and South Africa. It delivered messages to the recipients' Facebook message inbox if they didn't have Messenger installed on their phone.
The updated version of the app will also put a special Messenger icon next to a contact if the person is using the Facebook Messenger app.
Facebook has said that it will be testing this new experience with a limited number of people using Messenger for Android.