Snapchat redesign (2018): did it need fixing?

2018

Snap

Before: Snapchat, with friends' Stories and celebrity posts in the same place.
The fix: Split the app so friends went on one side and brands, publishers and celebrities on the other.
Then: More than 1.2 million people signed a petition to undo it. Kylie Jenner tweeted that she had stopped opening the app, and Snap lost about $1.3 billion in market value.

Half took it back

Snap added tabs to make Stories easier to find but kept the split.

Your call

More fixes nobody asked for

2024

Sonos

Before: A Sonos app that worked, alarms and sleep timers included.
The fix: Shipped a rebuilt app in May 2024 without alarms, sleep timers, queue editing and some accessibility features.
Then: Some older systems became nearly unusable. Sonos said the fix would cost $20 million to $30 million, and CEO Patrick Spence stepped down in January 2025.

Half took it back

The old app never came back. The missing features trickled back over months.

Your call

2010

Digg

Before: Digg: users submitted links and voted them up to the front page.
The fix: Launched Digg v4 on August 25, 2010, a rebuilt site that shipped buggy and changed how stories reached the front page.
Then: Users left en masse for Reddit. In July 2012 Digg sold for about $500,000. BusinessWeek had valued it at $200 million in 2006.

Kept it.

Never rolled back.

Your call

1985

Coca-Cola

Before: Coca-Cola, same formula since the 1880s, give or take.
The fix: Swapped the recipe for a sweeter one after it won nearly 200,000 taste tests.
Then: Calls to the consumer hotline went from 400 a day to 1,500. A group called Old Cola Drinkers of America claimed 100,000 members. When the old formula came back, Coke took 31,600 calls in two days.

Took it back

Original back on shelves 79 days later as Coca-Cola Classic.

Your call