Snap revealed new features to Snapchat during its Snap Partner Summit. One change to the app is a tab bar at the bottom, and a change to the business is more Snap Originals.
Snap Partner Summit: Users
Snapchat has long has navigational features like swiping right for conversations and swiping left to see your friends stories. Now, the company-titled ‘action bar’ will feature navigational tabs at the bottom, like the Snap Map, Chat, camera view, Stories, and Discover.
Meanwhile, a new feature coming to Snap Map is discovery of local businesses. Starting today you can tap on local businesses and find information like address, hours of operation, and reviews from TripAdvisor and Foursquare. Users can also tap a button to order from delivery apps like DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats.
In the Discover tab, users will find a new “Happening Now” banner to highlight updates across different stories like entertainment, politics, sports, and more. Snap will compile content from publishing partners like Bloomberg, E! News, Buzzfeed News, The Washington Post, ESPN, and others. You can tap on the banner to see news from multiple sources organized into the above categories.
Finally, Snap announced a new line of Snap Originals, its foray into original content. Partnerships with NBCUniversal, NFL, NBA, ViacomCBS, and ESPN have been extended. Unscripted series, docuseries, comedies, and unscripted dramas are some of the new categories arriving to the app.
Snap Partner Summit: Developers
Developers are getting some new goodies, too.
- Camera Kit invites developers to bring Snapchat’s AR camera to their own apps.
- Snap Minis are a new way for developers to bring their services inside Snapchat and empower new, social experiences.
- Dynamic Lenses bring real-time information from your apps into Snapchat lenses.
- Bitmoji for Games, brings the ultimate cross-platform avatar for gaming. On mobile, PC, console, and beyond, Bitmoji for Games puts you and your friends right into the action.
- Bitmoji Paint, from Snap Games Studio, brings together millions of players to simultaneously contribute to one global collage.
If you’re a developer and interested in trying Snap Kit, you can learn more about it here.