Facebook for iOS update adds new Recommendation system, tickets to movies & more

Facebook recently announced that a new update for its social networking application is now rolling out to iOS devices. Along with the update’s announcement, Facebook also released a detailed changelog that includes all the new features and improvements added to the app.

The latest Facebook update is meant to offer users additional ways to take action faster once they have found something they wish to purchase or a place they want to go.

For example, when you’re ordering food, you will now be able to do that directly from restaurants Facebook Pages. There’s a new “Start Order” tab on any restaurant’s Facebook Page that uses Delivery.com or Slice, so make sure you tap on it to get your food ordered faster.

Also, the update adds a new option that allows users to get tickets to movies and events much easier. They can be bought directly from dedicated Facebook Pages via Fandango. The new feature has been implemented in partnership with Ticketmaster and Eventbrite, and users will now be able to get tickets to other events, free or pair, directly from the event page on Facebook.

Another new feature included in the new update is the option to request an appointment at a local business, such as spas and salons. You will now be able to request a time via the business’ Facebook Page and view the entire range of services and offerings. You will receive your appointment confirmation via Messenger.

There’s also a new “Get Quote” feature, which allows you to request a quote from a business. This only works with some local business Pages thought.

The new version of Facebook for iOS comes with a new Recommendation system. Whenever you write a Facebook post looking for advice on local places or services, you will be able to turn on the Recommendations option for that particular post. Once you turn it on, friends can comment on your post with suggestions, which will then be able to see on the map.

According to Facebook, these new features will be initially rolled out in the United States in the next couple of days. Facebook also states that it will announce new features in the coming months.

Source

Facebook introduces Save, a new bookmarking feature to help tame your News Feed!

It only happens when you’re in a hurry. You launch Facebook to quickly see what your friends are up to and see something you actually have an interest in exploring. Facebook is making it easier to save those posts with a new bookmarking feature.

Today, Facebook introduced Save for Web and mobile. The new feature acts as a bookmark for items you find interesting such as links, places, movies, TV shows and music. The saved items can be accessed later for viewing on the Web or on your mobile device. Plus, you can share any items you’ve Saved with your Facebook friends.

To access the Saved items on the Web, just click on the Saved feature on the left-hand side of your News Feed. On mobile click on the more tab. Saved items are organized by category and can be opened, shared, or archived. If you save something and forget about it, Facebook will periodically notify you that you have items you found interesting at one point.

The new feature, like almost all components of the social network is to keep you inside Facebook. Instead of saving items to Pinterest, Instapaper, Pocket, or other read-it-later services, you can use Facebook as a bookmarking service. It’s also a good way to keep track of restaurants and stores you may want to visit. With reviews already part of a business’s Facebook page, this could be bad news for Yelp.

Save will start rolling out to Android, iOS and the Web over the next few days.

Facebook for iOS update brings video autoplay to the app

Facebook for iOS received an update that will now allow videos to automatically play on your News Feed once you scroll by them on your screen. The update brings Facebook for iOS to version 6.8. The automatic video playing cannot be turned off, but you can make some adjustments. One good piece of news is that while the video will play no matter what, by default the video is mute. So if you don’t feel like being disturbed as you flick through your Facebook News Feed, you won’t hear a thing, unless you want to.

And you are going to want to embrace the ability to mute the volume considering that not only are uploaded videos playing automatically on the screen, but so are advertisements. Hey, Facebook needs to monetize, you know.

Look, we’re willing to let you in on a little back door secret. Facebook would just feel awful if it forced you to use your precious data to watch a video, or even worse, an advertisement. So you can actually disable the auto play video on a cellular network so that it will work only when you’re connected to a Wi-Fi pipeline.

While the auto play feature is only on the iOS version of Facebook, it is expected to come to other platforms as well.