Facebook unveiled its latest effort at engaging users today, a new iPhone app called Paper that will be released Monday. Unlike Facebook’s existing smartphone app, which is purely functional, and the irritating mobile experience of Facebook Home, this one looks beautiful and easy to use.
Paper looks like a cross between your existing Facebook news feed and a news reader app, with both status updates from friends and news stories. The app eschews buttons and menus in favor of simple swiping gestures. Instead of the standard news feed you see large images that you can tilt your phone to reveal more of, auto-playing videos, and status updates that fill the display.
You are encouraged to consume content from outside of Facebook without leaving Paper, by choosing categories of online media you’d like to see in addition to your usual news feed items. Each of those categories – such as food, photography, sports, and science – can be leafed through like a tiny magazine.
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