Updated Facebook iPhone, iPad app arrives, is twice as fast

A new Facebook app for Apple mobile devices that the social network says is twice as fast as its predecessor arrived Thursday in Apple’s online app store.

Facebook says the new app, which will replace both the current iPhone and iPad apps, has been rebuilt from the ground up to give users a much faster experience.

Facebook said the new “app is twice as fast as the previous version when launching the app, scrolling through news feed and opening photos in feed.”

GALLERY: Freshest Facebook features

The app has also received two notable changes.

Now, when you scroll through your news feed, Facebook will show you a banner at the top to alert you of new posts that have been added to the feed, and you can tap the banner to be taken to the them.

Also, photos will now load instantly, and the presentation for photos also appears to have changed -- it now more resembles the layout of the Facebook Camera app.

“Tap on any photo and it opens right away,” the company said. “Pull down to close it with a single swipe.”

To get the new app, simply update your current one or download it from the App Store. There’s no word on whether Facebook’s Android app will also get an update.

[Updated, 12:05 p.m. Aug. 23: Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook comment that the company’s Android app also received an update Thursday.

“We just released an updated Android app today too,” the Facebook CEO said, responding to a Facebook user. “Not completely rewritten, but still a step forward.”]

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