Gadgetory

this isn't the first time people have said Facebook has copied snapchat but how did it do this time I'm Taylor Martin this is now and this is slingshot versus snapchat last week facebook launched a new mobile app for sharing self-destructing photos and short videos to friends of course that sounds a lot like another popular mobile app snapchat and many have called slingshot a snapchat home this isn't the first AB from facebook called a snapchat clone facebook launched poke last year and finally killed the dud service in May the question many are asking though is what's the difference between snapchat and slingshot at the surface slingshot seems like a direct shameless copy of snapchat especially if you read no deeper than last week's headlines however just reading the first lines of the respective descriptions tells you that they're not identical / the google play description slingshot lets you quickly share moments little and big with lots of people at once snapchats description reads enjoy fast and fun mobile conversation snap a photo or video add a caption and send it to a friend and that's where the first difference is your audience you can post a snap to your story for all to see but it doesn't push your snap to everyone it's simply there for people to see once they open the app otherwise you have to select who you send snaps to one by one in slingshot there's a button many have requested for snapchat select all hit that and hits in and you will bomb all your friends with a self-destructing photo or video on the other hand there is no story feature in slingshot instead the developers feel like it's more of a news feed for your friends activities than a messaging app speaking of snapping a photo the viewfinders in both apps are pretty similar choose the front or rear camera toggle flash add text and draw in snapchat however you get a few additional features like filters textiles and the ability to save a photo though that is accessible in slingshot in the settings the interfaces are also a bit different in snapchat you slide from left to right between your chat feed the capture mode and your list of friends and their stories in slingshot you simply have the capture mode and you pull down to reveal your name the settings menu and the ability to add people still none of these differences are quite as important as the sole reason slingshot isn't a ripoff of snapchat the one feature that makes slingshot more like a chore than a friendly messaging client you must give before you can receive if someone sends you a shot you must send them something in return before you can unlock the message an act that gets increasingly annoying as you continue to use the app sometimes you just want to see someone shot without having to send something first what you do unlike a shot however you can tap it to react or take a quick shot in response or simply send a short text response in snapchat if you get tired of sending dozens of pictures of your face from different angles you can hop on over to the text chat and if both users are in the chat view at the same time you can both hold the live video button for a quick video chat in short snapchat is a very friendly way to communicate beyond the standard text message it takes the friction out of sending pictures and videos back and forth to have a more intimate conversation while slingshot has a more visually polished appearance it creates a very rocky disjointed experience that makes you jump through hoops to message your friends or pay to play although the idea behind it forcing people to create content rather than just llort is Noble it's an idea we don't feel many will be so eager to get behind we'll stick with snapchat for now folks thanks for watching if you enjoyed this video be sure to click the thumbs up button below and of course subscribe to see more videos like this one in the future be sure to follow us on all the usual places twitter facebook and google+ at pocket now I'm Taylor Martin you can find me on twitter at casper tech and i will see you next time