Every so often a new app or website will suddenly appear on the tech scene and become the talk of social media. A sure favourite in 2015 was live-streaming app Periscope and co-founder Dom Hofmann is at it again with his brand new app, Peach. Being dubbed a mix between Twitter and Slack, Hofmann describes his new app as a “fun, simple way to keep up with friends and be yourself”.
Like most social platforms, you need an account to use Peach. This brand new messaging app is a lot like Facebook, I know what you’re thinking, “do we really need another messaging app?”, but bear with me. Peach is very similar to Facebook, only it’s better. You can add friends, share and read a stream of updates, but Peach’s interface is more simple and unique.
Peach has a quirky function in its text commands that allows users to avoid tapping through various menus. Centred around ‘magic words’ such as gif, rate, draw etc., Peach makes posting content easier. If you type ‘draw’, a little drawing panel comes up and you can doodle away. If you type in ‘gif’, users can search for a gif before posting it for their friends to see. It’s important to note what an improvement this is from both Facebook and Twitter. When Twitter announced the arrival of gifs back in June, Facebook soon followed. In order to use a gif on Twitter, you need to upload the file yourself. Whereas on Facebook, you have to paste the link as it will upload as a still instead. Peach eliminates both the saving and uploading process of posting a gif online. In addition to this, Peach features a variation of Facebook’s retired ‘poke’ feature with a number of different ways to get other user’s attention. Instead of poking, users can wave, ‘boop’, ‘hiss’, or even blow a kiss as each variation accompanied with a corresponding emoji. In case you not sure what to share, there’s also an option which prompts you to complete a fun sentence (think “I’d love to have a life time supply of _____) too.
Peach may be a hip, quirkier version of Facebook, it’s not exactly revolutionary. Magic Words are cool and all but they’re not enough to warrant using Peach long-term.
At this year’s CES, Facebook announced an exciting new addition to its Messenger app – a direct integration with Uber! This means you can book your car from within the Messenger app, instead of loading up the Uber app separately. Peach’s ‘magic words’ has a lot of potential and could completely revolutionise this kind of integration. At the moment, the app has the ability to recognise what you’re listening to, it adds a link for your followers to open the track in Spotify or Apple Music.
Overall, Peach is very quirky, exciting and has a lot of potential. With no merging or collaboration, the app could be in danger of fading out.
What apps/services do you think would benefit from integrating with Peach? Tweet us your thoughts: @wolfbexp