Elon Musk has at all times most well-liked minimalist designs, with buttons and controls hidden as a lot as attainable, protecting a sleeker and less complicated look.
That is the method he is taken together with his different corporations, so it is no shock that Musk can be seeking to implement a extra stripped-back design ethos on the X.
We’ve already met with this Changes to link previews in appsOver the previous few months, we have additionally seen a number of examples of the X’s extra important pending redesign, which Remove all function buttons And metrics from beneath in-stream X posts to focus extra on content material.
It’ll additionally change the way you work together with the app.
To have interaction with posts, X will quickly swap to a extra haptic-centric method, requiring customers to swipe left to love and publish in-stream and swipe proper to answer.
Which, once more, clearly aligns with Elon’s minimalist imaginative and prescient, however it will likely be a major change in how individuals work together with the app. And with most customers Not already engaged with the postIt looks as if a dangerous transfer.
However that is not the one UI shift coming to X.
X is experimenting with a extra minimalist reformat, together with a simplified “faucet to increase” perform, to make longer posts simpler to learn.
Though it’s growing new video controls primarily based on extra intuitive engagement behaviors.
These are attention-grabbing additions, which make the X platform extra of a pure motion and interplay, versus handbook button presses on the display.
However will customers come alongside for the trip and pursue these much less upfront management choices?
It is value noting right here that whereas Twitter had lengthy labored on the best way to simplify the app, firm executives noticed it as a key impediment to its progress.
In 2018, Twitter’s then-CEO Jack Dorsey famous that utilizing Twitter was “loads of work”, with many new customers having dangerous experiences when utilizing the app for the primary time, resulting in a excessive churn price. Twitter tried to enhance it with higher suggestions and a streamlined account set-up course of, however they could not appear to get it proper, and could not maximize its attraction amongst internet customers.
With that in thoughts, it is arduous to see how X’s upcoming revamp will assist. After all, having fewer controls on the display will imply much less visible litter, however it should additionally make it tougher for brand spanking new customers to know the best way to work together with the app.
Possibly, ultimately, it should higher align with individuals’s expectations. However proper now, it looks as if a dangerous transfer, particularly for a platform that has seen little person progress in almost two years.
However Elon has a imaginative and prescient, and it appears nothing will stand in the best way of creating it a actuality.
And on the similar time, previous Twitter administration has additionally been very risk-averse on this regard, not often making any adjustments that have not been beta examined for actually years earlier than.
It appears one of the best method might be someplace between the 2, however perhaps, Elon’s Accelerated Improvement Program is what the app wants.
