Over the course of the next few days, a new version of Google+ will be rolling out to Android users. While visually the app won’t look much different than it does today, Google’s Leo Deegan has taken to the community site to let everyone know what to expect. Given he is the lead engineer of G+, he should know.
Though it very closely resembles the current app, this new version is the culmination of a complete rewrite of many core features using Google’s latest Android app infrastructure which will allow our Android team to build new features on a modern tech stack.
During the rewrite, we were able to build in some subtle updates. For instance, stream rendering and scrolling have been improved, the photo lightbox has been redesigned, comment options slide up from a bottom sheet, and grey-spammed comments are now viewable by post authors.
All of these changes point to a smoother experience overall with the community app.
There will be a few things that will be rough around the edges when this new version goes live. Leo points out that when a comment is left that it causes a full refresh of the post. Those issues will be worked through as the build gets out there and used more.
As for when to expect this new build, that’s not clear. Leo indicated the “next few days” but as of this morning, the new build is not in the Play Store.
While Google+ doesn’t have the depth of users like a Facebook or other social sites, Google has not abandoned it by any stretch. They continue to improve both the site as well as the apps and this is just the latest example of it.
