Snapchat gets chattier than ever with Chat 2.0

Snapchat is a massively popular communication tool, especially among younger demographics. However, the chat feature has always been a little bit buggy, and most users have naturally gravitated to its primary feature of sending ephemeral images that vanish after an initial viewing. These users tend to hop between Snapchat for images and other mediums, like SMS messaging, for a more reliable chat experience. Now, however, the company is giving a bit of love to their oft-neglected chat feature by bringing Chat 2.0 to the game.

Chat 1.0 launched two full years ago and has remained relatively unchanged since its arrival. What makes the next iteration of this service special is that it allows its users to seamlessly transfer from text, to stickers, to audio, to video, to pictures. Snapchat is aiming to make the communication experience a bit closer to what it’s like in real life by providing an increased sense of immediacy. This new hot-swapping, multimedia approach is sure to confuse the hell out of anyone older than thirty, but the younger crowd will probably love it.

In their words:

You can start by sending a few chats, and when your friend shows up, start talking or video chatting instantly with one tap. Your friend can simply listen if you want to sing them a song, or watch if you have a new puppy to show them. If they aren’t there, you can quickly send an audio note to say what you mean. And sometimes, a sticker says it best :)
What we love most about the new Chat is how easily you can transition between all these ways of communicating — just like you do in person. When that’s possible, you aren’t texting, calling, or video chatting… you’re just talking. We’ve been working on this redesign for a while — we can’t wait to hear what you think!

What do you think of Chat 2.0? It will be rolling out over the course of today, but you can snag it now by downloading the latest version of the app in the Google Play Store. Give it a whirl, and then come back and report on your experience in the comments! Oh, and while you’re at it, why not give us an add?