An Exciting Update to Discord for Android

Android users, rejoice! Today, anyone who uses Discord on an Android device to talk with their friends and communities will have plenty of reason to celebrate. That’s because Discord for Android is getting a major overhaul that brings significant improvements to the quality of the mobile experience.

Today, we’re excited to share some of the improvements Android users can expect to see on the Android app over the coming weeks, including:

Feature consistency across platforms through a centralized and streamlined app development process across Android, iOS and desktop
Faster app update release cycles when a new feature is introduced or a pesky bug is fixed thanks to a more consolidated process

An illustration of two Android phones side by side. The left phone shows Discord’s old Roles setting page. The right phone shows the new Roles setting page with updated icons, a new Reorder option, and easy access to the @everyone role’s permissions.

Consistent Experience Across Every Platform

Historically, work on the Android implementation of new features would often be delayed until desktop and iOS were completed, resulting in some features that launched first on one platform before eventually arriving on another one. You may have noticed this when we share announcements of upcoming features with a note saying something along the lines of “Android support coming soon.”

Switching to React Native for the Android app means an experience that is ever-improving at a more rapid pace across every platform Discord is available on, while still retaining Android and iOS specific patterns in the UI. Design details and UI elements will also now be more aligned between desktop, iOS, and Android. New Android users who install the app for the first time will be greeted with a larger font within the app that is more consistent with iOS, and existing users have an option in settings to switch.

An illustration of a computer monitor, laptop, iPhone, and Android phone lined up in a row. All four devices are in the same Discord call, and the user interface is consistent on all four platforms.

A Delight For Users And Engineers Alike

Android users will also enjoy the benefits of faster app update release cycles. React Native allows us to streamline and consolidate our processes, which helps our engineers work more efficiently and push out updates more frequently, especially now that the team won’t be spending as much time maintaining different codebases for different devices.

As Discord continues to grow across platforms, we want to find ways to support you and your communities as quickly and efficiently as possible, regardless of which device or platform you happen to be using. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been rolling out the new version of our Android app, rebuilt from the ground up using the React Native development framework to create a better experience for all our users. Utilizing React Native across every mobile platform Discord is on is just one of the tools that helps us support what you do, and we can’t wait to show you how.

Want to see for yourself? If you already use Discord for Android, the app will automatically update across your devices in the coming weeks. If you’ve never used Discord for Android, you can download it on the Google Play Store.

Building a platform that users love is an ongoing and collaborative process at Discord. We’re so grateful to our community of awesome testers who have dedicated their time and effort over the past months to provide us with valuable feedback. Our team will continue to work on making the Android app the most quality app it can be.

We take user feedback very seriously and want to make sure what we’re introducing provides you with the best possible experience. As we roll out this new framework, we’d love to know what you think! So, feel free to hit us up on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok, or reach out to us on our feedback site.