Snapchat’s long-promised Android redesign is not far off being implemented with the alpha version of the new app available to those with root access.

The new Snapchat app, which was discovered by Jane Manchun Wong and further broken down by XDA, addresses the performance issues associated with the Android version – removing the choppiness and sluggish pace of the app, lending to a smoother and speedier experience. In addition, Snapchat’s Stories section now looks very similar to Instagram’s.

Despite the positives seen in Snapchat Alpha, being in a test phase, it is still very buggy and is lacking some of the controls and features which will appear in the full app like the map and Snapcodes. And users of the alpha can’t send chats. Furthermore, the app still appears to screenshot the camera’s viewfinder as opposed to actually taking photos – so users can still expect lower quality images than on iPhone by the looks of things.

All things considered, it may be best to wait for at least the beta to arrive before actually having a play around with the app, especially with the need root access.