X Rebuilt Its Android App From Scratch: What Changed in 2026

X (formerly Twitter) completed one of its most ambitious engineering projects since Elon Musk acquired the company in 2022: a full ground-up rewrite of the Android app. Shipped on July 20, 2026, the new app promises faster performance, smoother interactions, and a foundation for much quicker feature development . Here is the full breakdown of what changed, what is still missing, and what comes next.

Project Timeline: From Alpha to Global Rollout

The rewrite was not a sudden update. It followed a deliberate, months-long roadmap:

• March–May 2025: X developer Fred Lohner confirmed a "next generation X Android" was in early alpha testing, initially limited to verified accounts .
• August 2025: The full rewrite project formally began. X head of product Nikita Bier announced he was assembling an Android "dream team" to reshape the experience .
• November 2025: X began rolling out an in-app toggle labeled "New X Android," allowing users to switch between the old and new UI experiences within the same app .
• July 7, 2026: Bier confirmed the rebuilt app would reach all users that month and finally close Android's feature gap with iOS .
• July 20, 2026: Public global rollout began via the Google Play Store .

Technical Overhaul: A Total Rewrite

This was not a cosmetic update or a patch. X rebuilt the Android app from the very first line of code .

• Built from scratch: The entire codebase was replaced, not incrementally updated .
• New tech stack: The app was rewritten on a Kotlin + Jetpack Compose foundation, modernizing the core architecture for better maintainability and faster development .
• Primary goal: Speed of shipping. Bier said the rewrite was designed primarily to enable X to build and deploy new features at "lightning speed," not just to fix performance or appearance .

Feature Improvements: What Users Actually Notice

X says the new app is measurably better in several everyday areas:

• Faster loading: Content loads noticeably quicker across the app .
• Smoother scrolling: The feed and timeline scrolling experience is improved .
• More reliable notifications: Notifications are more consistent and dependable .
• Custom timelines: Users can now add specific topics as a "custom timeline" tab on the home screen .
• Feature parity with iOS: The rebuild closes Android's historical feature gap with iOS; new features will now launch on Android at or near the same time as iOS . In fact, Bier wrote that "going forward, many things will hit Android first," reversing the historical dynamic .

Current Limitations: 'Still Some Rough Edges'

Bier was upfront that the new app is not yet polished .

• Bugs and unfinished areas: Bier acknowledged there are "some rough edges," describing the release as "Day 1" of a new foundation .
• Missing features: The new app may not yet have feature-for-feature parity with the old Android app on day one. Known gaps include the ability to host X Spaces (live audio rooms) and optimized performance on older devices .
• Early-stage stability: As a fresh codebase, users may encounter glitches that were not present in the older, more mature app .

Future Plans: What Comes Next

The long-term ambition is speed and parity.

• Lightning-speed feature development: The main benefit is the ability to build and deploy new features far more rapidly than the old architecture allowed .
• Android-first features: Some features may now land on Android before iOS, reversing the historical dynamic .
• Continued polishing: X's engineering team intends to iterate quickly, fixing rough edges and expanding capabilities on the new foundation . Bier specifically called out bringing the new video editor (already on iOS) to Android, improving performance on older devices, and enabling Spaces hosting .