X Rebuilt Its Android App, and New Features Will Reach It First

The X Android app has been rebuilt from the ground up, allowing future features to reach Android before iOS for the first time as the company speeds up mobile development.

Head of Product Nikita Bier said the refreshed app is now rolling out globally through the Google Play Store, describing the rewrite as one of the largest engineering projects in X’s history. Beyond improving performance, the overhaul is designed to let engineers deliver new features at a much faster pace while giving Android users access to updates without the delays that previously separated them from iPhone users.

The rebuilt Android app marks the end of a development effort that began nearly a year ago.

In August 2025, Bier announced plans to assemble an Android “Dream Team” to rework the application from the ground up after acknowledging that the Android experience had fallen behind its iOS counterpart. He later pointed to one of X’s strongest weeks for Android downloads as further evidence that the platform deserved greater engineering investment.

That investment has now resulted in a completely rebuilt application rather than another round of incremental updates.

According to Bier, future releases will reach Android first or launch across Android and iOS at roughly the same time, giving the platform’s largest mobile audience earlier access to new capabilities.

The project was about more than making the app feel faster.

X rebuilt the Android application to replace an aging foundation that had become harder to maintain as new features were introduced.

The company says the new architecture improves loading times, scrolling performance, notifications and overall responsiveness while creating a cleaner codebase that allows engineers to build and release products more efficiently.

That engineering work also explains why several recent features appeared on iOS before Android. Maintaining feature development while rewriting the Android application required teams to balance new releases with one of the company’s most complex software projects.

The rollout is not entirely finished. Bier said engineers are continuing to improve performance on older Android devices and are still completing support for Spaces hosting as feedback from users helps refine the rebuilt application.

The new Android foundation is already beginning to change X’s release roadmap.

Bier confirmed that React with Video, Video Editor and improved Spaces hosting are arriving soon for Android users.

Other capabilities, including Cashtags and Custom Timelines, are already available, closing feature gaps that had frustrated many Android users.

Collectively, these updates expand the platform’s focus on video creation, live conversations and personalised content discovery while allowing Android users to receive new experiences much sooner than before.

The decision carries particular weight because Android powers the majority of smartphones across much of the world.

Markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America rely heavily on Android devices, making the platform central to X’s global audience. Delivering new features to Android first allows the company to serve a larger share of its user base without asking them to wait behind iPhone releases.

For creators, businesses and everyday users, that means earlier access to publishing tools, richer conversations and new ways to engage with communities on the platform.

The Android rebuild arrives as X continues expanding beyond its original social networking roots with investments in creator tools, AI experiences through Grok and newer services such as X Money and X Chat.

The rebuilt Android application provides the technical foundation needed to support that broader product roadmap. Rather than spending engineering resources working around legacy code, development teams can focus on shipping new capabilities and refining existing ones.

There are still refinements ahead, particularly for older Android devices and remaining feature rollouts. Even so, completing the rewrite removes one of the biggest obstacles that had slowed Android development.

For users, the immediate benefits are a faster and more reliable app. For X, the larger achievement is creating an Android platform capable of keeping pace with the company’s product ambitions while placing Android at the front of future mobile releases.

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