Match.com Debuts New iPhone App
Contributed by: ElyseRomano on Sunday, May 11 2014 @ 11:16 am
Last modified on
Spring is a time of renewal, and in keeping with the theme of the season, Match.com has unveiled a freshly redesigned mobile experience for iPhone users. Match 3.0 for iOS took major cues from Apple's own iOS7 overhaul, even redesigning the Match.com logo for 2014. But the biggest inspiration for the new Match mobile app was its competitors.
Prior to the app’s makeover, it was a carbon copy of the Match.com website. These days, the mobile application includes original features that were built specifically for smartphones and can't be found online. The app now opens to a Discover page containing two brand new features: Stream and Mixer.
Stream serves up photos of singles close to your location utilizing an innovative algorithm that analyzes your preferences. The feature highlights additional photos and a member's profile as well as the primary profile picture, giving a greater glimpse into his or her personality. Match President Amarnath Thombre spoke proudly to TechCrunch[*1] about the new feature:
“The challenge was to leverage all the rich data that Match has about users, like secondary photos and information from their bio, and make it super lightweight,” Thombre said. “With the Stream, users can see a lot of information about their potential matches without ever clicking in to anything.”
Mixer is Match’s attempt to capitalize on the explosive success of Tinder. Scroll through a rapid-fire presentation of profiles. Swipe right if you're interested; swipe left if you're not interested. You can also like photos and send messages from within Mixer.
Other new features include:
- Threaded messaging. Messages are now organized in conversations, enabling you to easily preserve the history between you and a match. “Delivered” and “read” receipts are included.
- Easier photo uploading. There are now three different ways to add photos from within the app’s interface.
- In-app notifications. In-app notifications make it easier for users to stay connected.
- In-app purchasing. For the first time, users have the ability to purchase subscriptions and additional features while signed into the app.
- More ways to communicate. Communication can begin as soon as you launch the app and can be continued in multiple different ways, from Stream to Daily Matches, and even directly from a members’ photo. Single-click payment is now available.
Of course, in addition to all the new features, the updated app still includes traditional search and matching, but the experience has been redesigned to be more mobile-friendly. Considering that 50% of Match.com’s sign-ups come from mobile, and more than half of messages sent between users come from smartphones, the new generation of Match's iPhone app is coming not a moment too soon.
Here is our Match.com review where you can find more information on this service.