The new Path app has been out on the iPhone for about a week, and it’s been getting good reviews among the early-adopter set. In this episode of Fly or Die, John Biggs and I go through the pros and cons.
Pros: The app’s design is gorgeous, with elegant little flourishes like the various status updates pop up in a quarter circle on the lower left of the screen when you hit the “+” button or the timestamp clock that hovers over each item as you scroll through your feed. The app has moved beyond photo-sharing to broadcast where you are, who you are with, what music you are listening to, status updates/thoughts, and even if you are awake or asleep. “It has all the best features of all the best apps that I use,” gushes John.
Cons: It’s still a mostly-private network, although you can share specific photos and other updates to Twitter, Facebook, or Foursquare on an individual basis. The private default could also be a pro in that you feel more comfortable sharing things to a small circle that you wouldn’t otherwise. But many people will still encounter the empty-room problem of not knowing too many other people on Path yet. The other con is that it might be trying to do too much (photos, videos, location, music, status updates, sleeping patterns), and is competing for mindspace with some other already-dominant apps like Instagram and Foursquare to soem extent.
Overall, this is a very well-designed app with a lot of promise. They’ve built it. Now, will users come?