Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Discord recently updated the layout of its mobile app, shifting away from mimicking the web and desktop layouts and optimizing for a small screen.
- However, users are vocally expressing their dislike for the update, claiming it is buggy and also goes against years of muscle memory, amongst other complaints.
- Discord has mentioned that users cannot revert back to the old layout, and the new layout is here to stay.
Discord is one of the best messaging apps you can use, especially if you want to focus more on building communities rather than simpler one-on-one conversations with your friends and family. Discord has a robust desktop and web experience, and the mobile app mimicked the same for a long time. Recently, Discord announced a new layout for its mobile app that was seemingly optimized for a mobile-first experience. But it seems users do not admire the update so far, and Discord may have pushed a fair few to cancel their Discord Nitro subscription, too.
Discord officially began rolling out its new mobile layout in the app on December 5, 2023. This new layout is said to refocus Discord’s approach to mobile. Instead of merely shrinking down the web experience, the new layout attempts to make Discord mobile-friendly. This advance was said to be necessary to accommodate the slew of features that Discord has added over the years and presumably also to allow Discord to grow its mobile user base and enable it to contend with other mobile-first instant messaging apps.
But users hate the update. There are lots of complaints on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) and Reddit. Primarily, users are complaining of the dissonance between the desktop and mobile versions that is impairing their built-up muscle memory.
Many find the new UI confusing and challenging to pilot, while some are reporting bugs. For instance, for some users, the mobile app would ignore the phone’s auto-rotate setting (and I can’t tell you just how much that would have annoyed me).
WHAT IS THIS DISCORD UPDATE
Even if you do not update the app, the app layout will be updated through a server-side push.
Users and even streamers are calling upon Discord to change the mobile layout back and not double down on it.
As Dexerto reports, Discord had already doubled down on the new mobile app layout shortly after its original announcement.
In response to these changes and the confirmation from Discord that the old layout is not coming back, many users have said that they have canceled their Discord Nitro subscription.
We could not locate any way to revert the Discord mobile app to its old layout on neither Android nor iOS. Even if you do not update your app or revert to an older app version, you will still be forced to the new layout through a server-side update. Some spurious websites refer instructions, but these instructions are outdated/incorrect and not applicable for the stable rollout.
Unfortunately, users will have to either make their peace with the new update or examine alternatives.
Do you admire Discord’s new mobile app layout?
190 votes
