Long post.. skip to the bottom for the TL;DR :-D
I'm fairly certain this is some of the oldest news I have ever read on this site, this was implemented a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, please do some research next time
haven't they already done this? and works perfectly btw...
Translation.... No one used our messaging app because they'd use it within the FB app. So know we'll force you to use it.
I never saw the need for two apps that do the same thing. This story is news to me and I think the move is pretty stupid. IMO
At this point,why not make another app to post pics to your wall? Lol
It was forced on Europe users a while back.
I think that's where most of the "200 million monthly users" comes from.
Frustrates me that companies can put out figures like that, when the bulk of it is because there was no other choice that people saw. When there's no other choice, people will be "motivated" to use it...
Not sure what all the fuss about having to use two apps. I think this is a non issue, the two apps are hardly going to affect your storage.
... Splitting the app into two leads to more efficiency, simplicity, and focused use. These are all the traits that Apple and not to mention the iPhone were founded upon.
I use both apps and use them for completely separate reasons. It's a nice divide. Glad to see facebook taking initiative and making the standard app (which is insanely bloated) leaner, more efficient and thus faster.
I prefer having dedicated apps. At the moment when I receive a message I have a notification stuck on both the Facebook and Messenger app which plays on my OCD terribly.
Not a massive fan of Facebook but am in no way anti. I've tried a lot of messaging apps over the years and Facebook has worked best for me.
It makes it harder to send stuff from Facebook to people on Facebook Messenger. You've gotta keep switching apps. I only like having them separate because I only use Messenger.
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Having two apps doesn't help with ad revenue. Anyway, no matter how much you hate Facebook, lots of people rely on it for messaging, so it's useful to have Facebook Messenger set up just so people can contact you. And this thing about stalking and intruding on your life is nonsense unless you put all your information on your profile.
The above few quotes sum up why it's not a great idea (for me, at least) right now.
It could work well, but doesn't.
Whenever I switch from the facebook app to another, the facebook app closes in the background and reloads when I go back to it - 9 times out of 10, it's not in the same place I left it. So my issue with having to switch to another app whenever I get a message, is that. Whenever I tap to send someone a message from facebook, I'm taken away, then come back to the app having closed in the background losing where I was up to. I then give up, and just close facebook not bothering.
I can't be looking at something on my "Most Recent" (because newsfeed is just useless) and message somebody at the same time, talking about what I'm looking at.
The only way that is doable, is with chat-heads (which I loved). It's great on Android, because chat-heads are everywhere, so you'd never actually be taken fully away from the Facebook app.
I understand the Messenger app, and would be great if all I ever did was message people, but I usually only message people whilst I'm using Facebook. Now I'll just be ignoring messages until I go on the Facebook website. Possibly just deleting the Facebook app completely, and just sticking to the Safari version, one tab for messages, one tab for newsfeed. Switching between the two nicely, without the other reloading.
Text message alerts also come through quite quickly, so I'm not missing out on any notifications.
Even forcing the iPad app is just bonkers. It's perfect for doing more than one thing, browsing facebook and messaging, because there's so much screen space to do so. Switching apps there makes less sense.
Messenger is good for those who want to just message - not good for those who want to message and browse Facebook at the same time.
TLDR:
Clunky in it's current state. Not smooth. Needs improving. Too many bugs.
I may come back to Facebook for iOS and Messenger if Facebook take advantage of quick reply or extensions on iOS 8 - only then will it work for me, as I could reply to the notification whilst staying on the Facebook app.
For info: Facebook crashes happened on my iPhone 5 and iPad 3, and continued to happen on my 5S and iPad air. I've been through re-installs, restores, as new, the usual. No joy.