Discord’s next mobile redesign could undo parts of its 2023 app overhaul

Discord might be getting ready for another big change to its mobile app. And from what the leaks show, it could move back toward feeling a lot more like the desktop version.

Wumpus Central posted that Discord is preparing a new mobile look with desktop-style adaptation, square elements, transparent or glass-like surfaces, and a reworked chat input that is the same as on desktop. You can check out the screenshots they shared below:

The company’s CTO, Stanislav, actually replied to the leak and confirmed they are leaning into Discord’s unique identity as a messenger. According to him, they are making sure the design system is more similar on desktop and mobile. He said he is excited that this will come with bringing back the original dark theme that the desktop app has. Stanislav also mentioned they are exploring lowering the number of buttons in the chat bar, which has been a big user request.

This probably sounds familiar if you remember what happened before. Back in December 2023, Discord did a major overhaul of the mobile app. They pitched it as something built more for phones rather than just a scaled-down copy of the desktop.

That update added bottom navigation tabs and split the Servers and Messages into separate sections. It was a pretty big change for longtime users who were used to the old way of doing things. Discord said they wanted the mobile app to feel more organized and better for touch input.

Then the company started walking some of those ideas back. In a blog post in May 2024, Discord said user feedback showed the split between Servers and DMs created friction. This was especially the case for people who go between mobile and desktop all the time. So they ended up moving those areas back together.

The CTO later explained that they enjoyed rethinking the app from a mobile-first perspective, but unfortunately, it did not really work well for most users who use both the desktop and mobile apps. He said that was part of why they did not fully ship some of those changes.

That is why this latest redesign rumor does not seem random at all. It looks more like a continuation of that correction instead of a completely new direction.

Users in the replies have also been asking for things like an account switcher on mobile. When someone brought it up, Stanislav said they actually have it running internally for themselves, but it is still frustratingly slow. He said it is something they want to ship eventually, even though he could not promise a timeline.

Meanwhile, the desktop app is also getting some love. In their March 6 patch notes, Discord said the desktop app now launches 11.8 percent faster in typical cases after they reworked how data loads at startup following earlier navigation speed improvements. The CTO added that the team has been doing amazing work shipping performance improvements and that more is coming.

So while the UI chatter is grabbing attention again, Discord is also trying to show that it is still doing the less flashy work under the hood.

Just keep in mind that this is still just a leak and not a formal announcement. But if the reported redesign does ship, Discord will be moving even further away from the mobile philosophy it sold in late 2023 and closer to the desktop-like experience it once tried to leave behind.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the direction in the comments below.

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