Facebook’s new Paper app will put content (including photos) front and center
posted Friday, January 31, 2014 at 2:06 PM EDT
Facebook has freshly announced a new app for browsing through your news feed. Dubbed Paper, it looks to be a very different way of interacting with the things that people post on the social network. And a big part of that is that it'll take photos from being small thumbs to large, expansive, and interactive elements.
The app is set to launch on February 3 for iOS users in the USA, and we assume on more platforms and places later. Even though it hasn't launched yet, early indications are that it surpasses the basic iPhone app on just about every level—and the better image displaying could mean a lot to photographers who share their work through Facebook.
Because of the Flipboard-like interface, images will be more prominent than they are in the current app, where they just pop up in a feed. And the minimal interface will allow the photos to shine on their own more. You'll even be able to pan around large photos by tilting your device.
The app will also bring new ways to compose and share your content, which the designers have specifically compared to the way Instagram changed the way people shared images. So we're very curious to see how Paper works, and if it will actually pan out as a way to share your images with people who follow you.