X Android Performance Boost
X Fully Redevelops Android App After Year-Long Overhaul, Enhancing Performance and User Experience
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Key Points
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The rebuilt Android app was developed with a modern tech stack, specifically Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, and rebuilt from the ground up rather than patched.
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The Android app is now available to download on the Google Play Store, marking a formal release rather than a mere update.
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As part of the overhaul, X also rolled out standalone apps for X Money and X Chat to provide focused experiences alongside the rebuilt Android app.
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Historically, Android issues were severe enough that the app couldn’t load posts when users clicked links, a problem the rebuild aims to fix as part of restoring Android performance.
X has completely rebuilt its Android app from scratch after roughly a year of development, releasing the new version on the Google Play Store today. The rebuilt app promises faster loading, smoother scrolling, and more reliable notifications, according to TechCrunch and The Verge.
Nikita Bier, X's head of product, called the project one of the company's largest engineering efforts. The overhaul targets global markets where Android is the dominant mobile platform — and aims to win back users who gave up on X due to years of poor Android performance.
A Year of Work to Fix a Broken Android App
The old Android app had deep, lasting problems. Whalesbook noted that the app sometimes couldn't load posts when users clicked links from outside the app. That kind of basic failure drove users away. Rather than patch the old code, X tore it down and started over.
The rebuild took roughly a year to complete, according to TechCrunch. Engineers rewrote the entire app rather than layering fixes on top of old, unstable code. The result is a leaner, faster app that X says handles everyday tasks — scrolling, loading, notifications — far more reliably than before.
Built with Modern Tools: Kotlin and Jetpack Compose
The new app runs on a modern tech stack. X used Kotlin, a popular coding language for Android, and Jetpack Compose, Google's current toolkit for building app interfaces. These tools are now the standard for high-quality Android apps. Using them from scratch means X isn't dragging along outdated code from Twitter's early days.
The Verge reported that the new version is described as "faster, smoother, and more reliable" with better scrolling. Some features are still catching up — Spaces support and performance on older Android devices are still being worked on, TechCrunch noted. More tools like a video editor, react-with-video, and custom timelines are coming to Android soon.
X Money and X Chat Get Their Own Standalone Apps
Alongside the Android relaunch, X also released two separate standalone apps: X Money and X Chat. Each app focuses on a single feature rather than bundling everything into one place. X Money handles payments, while X Chat is built around messaging.
The move signals X's push to become more than a social network. Breaking out payments and chat into their own apps gives users a cleaner experience for those specific tasks. It also fits into Elon Musk's long-stated goal of turning X into an "everything app," according to Whalesbook.
Android First: A Shift in How X Rolls Out Features
For years, iOS got new X features first. That gap frustrated Android users, who make up the majority of smartphone users worldwide. iPhone in Canada noted that some features are now landing on Android before iOS — a meaningful reversal in X's development priorities.
Android dominates in most of the world's fastest-growing markets, including much of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. By fixing its Android app and shifting feature rollout order, X is clearly chasing that global user base. The app is available now on the Google Play Store, Yahoo Tech confirmed.
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