Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

Mark Zuckerberg has a 'yellow' version of Facebook on his phone with all kinds of special features

Mark Zuckerberg showed off an internal Facebook-only version of its iPhone app during a live video this week, as part of the introduction of Facebook's live-broadcasting feature.

Advertisement

As previously noticed by The Verge, the app includes several features that you can't get on the normal iPhone app.

First, as he opens it, he mentions that this is the "yellow version of the Facebook app, which is our internal build." You can see it briefly on the screen here:

yellow version facebook skitch
Screenshot

Later, as he demonstrates one way to start broadcasting live video, he says "you can tap on the composer at the top," as he selects the "Whats on your mind?" button:

composer skitch
Screenshot

And that rolls out a new kind of menu with a list of content types you can post. Facebook confirmed that it recently changed that menu and started rolling it out for some users.

Advertisement

"We've re-designed the 'What's on your mind?' menu at the top of your News Feed to inspire people and make sharing on Facebook more fun and dynamic," a Facebook spokesperson told us. "Tapping on 'What's on your mind?' will now bring up a menu of the all the different ways you can share, including options like posting photos and video, feelings, or checking in to a place."

You can also see below that there are options for posting Music, Slideshows, and GIFs, suggesting some pretty cool new features could be coming to the mobile app soon.

Rumors have swirled that Facebook's been building a music service since at least last summer, and it's supported posting GIFs since May 2015, but there hasn't been any specific button for them. "Slideshow" would presumably let you post a bunch of related pictures in slideshow format, like another test noticed last summer, although it may also refer to the new type of Slideshow advertising format that Facebook introduced last year for emerging markets.

facebook new menu skitch
Screenshot

Zuck cautioned that not all of the features in the video would show up in the live app, and Facebook tests different interfaces all the time. But it's still a tantalizing glimpse of how Facebook works and some of the things it's considering to increase user engagement.

Advertisement

Here's the full video to check out yourself. The demo starts around 7:00.

Live from Facebook HQ for the Live video launch!

Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Facebook Mark Zuckerberg
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account