X completely restructured its Android app from the ground up, which took a year to complete.

      Android users have long dealt with a subpar version of X. After almost a year of development, the company has ceased updates to the previous app and rebuilt it entirely from the ground up.

      The new version is being rolled out as a standard update via the Play Store, according to X, meaning there is no separate application to download. It promises improved loading speeds, smoother scrolling, and more reliable notifications.

      The reason for the overhaul lies in the poor reputation of the old app. For many years, the Android experience lagged behind iOS, and at one point last year, it even had difficulties loading posts when users clicked on links, as noted by Digital Trends. This was particularly problematic for an app designed for accessing posts.

      X’s product leader, Nikita Bier, described the rewrite as one of the most significant engineering efforts in the platform's history. The team opted to rebuild the core system instead of merely patching the existing code.

      The focus is not only on enhanced scrolling. Bier emphasized that the new foundation allows X to develop and deploy features much more quickly. This efficiency is vital as Elon Musk drives his vision of an “everything app.”

      X is broadening its capabilities into private messaging, payments, video content, and its Grok AI. A flexible codebase is essential for all these expansions. The redevelopment emphasizes speed more than any particular feature.

      However, it is still a work in progress. The live-audio feature, Spaces, is currently unsupported, and older phones still experience performance issues. Upcoming features such as a video editor, video reactions, cashtags, and custom timelines have been promised, although no timelines have been given.

      Users have taken notice, with X’s own post flooded with feedback: images taking too long to load, videos freezing, notification icons clustered together, a two-factor login loop occurring days after a phishing incident replicated X's login alerts, lack of support for foldable devices, and a missing dark mode.

      Some criticisms were more profound than mere bugs. Tablet users continue to see a single column layout rather than the three-column format available on the web. Galaxy Fold users also miss the side padding that made the app functional on a larger screen. One comment simply inquired about the programming language used for the rewrite.

      These issues aren't groundbreaking. In 2026, a fast and reliable social app is merely the standard, not a standout feature. Competing apps also encounter their share of reliability issues, and all are in a race to release the same common features.

      Still, for Android users who have witnessed the previous X struggle with fundamental tasks, improved scrolling is a sign of progress. XChat, its encrypted messaging service, was released for Android in June. The platform is at last beginning to address the needs of its most underserved user base.