 |
Snapchat used to be one of my favorite apps.
Today? I’m fighting to not uninstall it.
|
I remember when Snapchat held a spot in my heart. A few months ago I was a (self-proclaimed) “snapstar”, with stories over 100 seconds long filled to the brim with quality, hilarious snaps. I had Snapchat open every second of every class, waiting to capture a funny moment for my story. Im pretty sure that if I attempted that today, my phone would melt (literally). Plus, the battery wouldn’t last more than my one hour long class.
 |
| Snapchat’s newest update includes all-new unbelievable loading times! |
A few nights ago I opened Snapchat, and attempted to view my friends’ stories. Attempted. My phone took less than 30 seconds to pick up heat at a worrying rate. It also lagged at a speed worthy of a phone with a megabyte of RAM. I decided it was time to drop this phone, and switch immediately. My daily driver could not function in such a manner, that performance was unacceptable. I blamed my phone until I opened Reddit, and saw a post which complained about how Snapchat drained their battery. You could argue that my phone being old(-ish) is the cause for this problems. However said Reddit post, plus my friend’s battery life on a new sony proves contrary.
 |
| Snapchat is a forever hungry beast, which won’t stop until it devours your battery. No device can be saved. |
How can this drain nearly 30% of my battery? The drain is truly unacceptable.
The cause is probably the new Discover feature (which I never use, and as far as I know none of my friends use). Seriously. Who opens Snapchat to read the news? Another reason for my absolute loathe of this feature, is how it consumes my data. I have a very limited data plan, and it ate through half of it. Needless to say, I didn’t make it through the month.
This is the story of how my favorite app became the reason of my loathe. How Snapchat transformed from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. The transformation is saddening. If only Snapchat had stayed simple, without the Discover feature terribly implemented, it would have remained my top app. It saddens me. This is an example of the bad side of ambition.
Yes, ambition is good. But you have to pair it with an appetite for perfection, and polished details. Ambition on its own, is careless. That is how Snapchat’s recent updates have been.
While writing this article Snapchat received a new update, it is July the 16th of 2015, the time is 24:29. Going to open it now. The lag is gone, but my phone’s temperature did rise. Good on you Snapchat, saved yourself. Barely.
The time is 24:35. Snapchat has been open in the background. My phone has suffered a worrying temperature rise. Force-closing now.
The time is 24:40. My phone’s temperature has returned to normal after force closing the app.
Signing off now.
Have your own bone to pick with Snapchat. Let us know about it on Twitter @masala_tech, and remember to keep things spicy!
By Phil Monnier
By Phil Monnier
