

Ask HN: Why are FB and 4sq breaking up their apps? - taigeair

I&#x27;ve been trying to understand this trend of breaking apps into more dedicated apps. For example FB Messenger and Swarm.<p>I really detest FB messenger and Swarm is okay but not that useful.<p>I&#x27;d love to see some data or discussion on this trend because I don&#x27;t believe in it.
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frankacter
From back in January:

[http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/29/one-app-at-a-
time/](http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/29/one-app-at-a-time/)

Specifically:

"The other thing that we’re doing with Messenger is making it so once you have
the standalone Messenger app, we are actually taking Messenger out of the main
Facebook app. And the reason why we’re doing that is we found that having it
as a second-class thing inside the Facebook app makes it so there’s more
friction to replying to messages, so we would rather have people be using a
more focused experience for that."

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bnejad
Perhaps as a uncommon view here(I guess?), I really like the FB Messenger app
being separate. I use it quite a bit and I really like not having to deal
with/load content from the main Facebook app just to see my messages. Its also
quite a bit quicker from my perspective.

As for four square and swarm... I think they are running out of options and
this is their pivot. I've never "got" foursquare so I think I would be more
likely to use their platform as a simple discovery/review place like they
intend now. Swarm does not interest me in the slightest.

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nreece
Marc Andreessen's recent tweetstorm on unbundling
([https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/481556766283407360](https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/481556766283407360))
and rebundling
([https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/481575837464940544](https://twitter.com/pmarca/status/481575837464940544))
will help you understand the cyclic trend.

~~~
taigeair
Thanks for sharing that. It appears he's recognising industry patterns. Love
the way he explained it.

So I think it depends on your product and then you have a choice for growth:
either unbundling or bundling.

Just to summarise:

Reasons why it's good

1\. more focus => better user experience 2\. users can pick and choose apps
depending on their needs 3\. easier to manage development 4\. more real estate
on screen 5\. makes sense for new functionality not relevant to existing app
6\. limit failures by isolating apps 7\. clearer product market positioning

Reasons why it's bad

1\. complicated engagement loops (I see a friend on FB app and want to message
her, need to go to Messenger app) 2\. harder to become top of mind and habit
forming 3\. harder to market (unless you're a big company) 4\. loss of
synergies (google.com makes it easy to search for videos and news, unbundling
would hurt) 5\. more mental work for the user (remember which apps do what and
find them) 6\. more challenging to cross promote products or usage

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andrewhillman
When a website has a ton of features, unbundling makes for a better mobile
experience. The mobile app is usually a stripped down version of the website
and now apps are going further by unbundling popular apps/features to create
suites of apps. You have very little real estate to work with so I think
unbundling is a smart move, for now. Then down the road they may bundle back
up.

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antichaos
To control more pixels on user's home screen.

