Mobile UI Changes Are Bad (A Compilation of Feedback and Critisism)

Going to be a longer post, I want to go into detail about what people have to say about the newest Discord Mobile update, and talk about what some positive feedback is, what the negative feedback is, and where Discord can and should go from here to improve PR and user experience (UX).
I'd like to point out that, before I begin, I want to be as inclusive and civil as I can in this discussion. Where relevant, I will do my best to provide sources for claims made, and I will do my best to showcase both sides of the coin here. I want y'all talking in the comments to remain civil in your discussions, because the ONLY way anyone reaches an agreement here is if we are actually willing to communicate, which I should stress includes BOTH talking about your own ideas, and listening to others.

Section 0: Key/Legend, Section List

Any reference indicators ([1], [2], [..]) should be expected to be unique per section. Reference [1] in Section 1 will be different than Reference [1] in Section 2. These will be supplied at the end of a given section (before the next one starts), and are provided only as further context. If a reference is used more than once, that will just mean that the same source or context should be considered for further iterations.
This post covers:
Section 1 – What Was Changed : Goes over all the changes Discord claims to have made, and if more arise, any notable differences found by Users. If you already know what this update encompasses, feel free to skip over this one.
Section 2 – The Good : Talking about some of the positive feedback for this.
Section 3 – The Bad : What went wrong with this update, why do people not like it, and what can be improved.
Section 4 – Conclusion and Personal Input : While I do intend to keep this as objective as I can, I do want also to give my own feedback as a separate part of this article. I cannot stress enough that the pros and cons mentioned in Sections 2 and 3 are ones that have been pointed out commonly, and are in no way reflective of my own views.
Section 5 – Edit History : I intend to be transparent about what I change in this post over time, so that you (the reader) can see what has evolved over this duration, and you can be certain that my own intentions are not to deceive, and are not to invoke violence.

Section 1: What Was Changed

Discord mobile, release 207, which has been rolling out as far back as Dec. 8th, 2023 introduced a plethora of changes to users on iOS and Android devices. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and if you would like to append more to this, be sure to let me know.
As provided by Discord[1], here is what was changed:
- Servers and Private/Direct/Group (abbreviated later as: P/D/G) Messages have been separated into 2 “tabs”
- You can now select Server Channels to be pinned to the top of a Server's channel list (P/D/G Messages can be pinned in their respective “tab”)
- Message Search interactions have been moved, and now rely on different search categories
- Server Channels' details (searching, threads, notifications, settings) can be viewed by clicking on the channel name (at the top of the screen, when you are already viewing the channel), moved from location with Server member list (P/D/G Messages operate the same, where you can view the Channel's details from tapping once more at the top)
- A section has been added for mobile users, including a division for friends that are currently active (including their current activity if allowed)
- “Open P/D/G Message Channel” and “Add Friend” buttons have been relocated from friends ?tab" (removed) to messages "tab”
- The notifications “tab” has remained mostly the same, only adding algorithmically-selected content to highlight (labelled as, “for you”)
- A final “tab” has been added to personalise your profile, and acts as the only gateway to accessing your user settings (which also lets you personalise your profile in the same way)
- A confirmation dialogue has been added before joining Voice Channels, and an almost-navigational swipe up from the bottom of your screen will open the Voice Channels' Text Channels.
- The “Open Member List” gesture (swipe from right to left) has been replaced with “Quick Reply," and you can instead view the member list by navigating from an icon in the top right corner of a given Channel.
- Default “Dark Mode” theme has been adjusted to be darker (from what I can tell, it's more akin to the OLED dark/high contrast mode)
- Added toggle for mobile push notifications showing message content for P/D/G Messages

Discord also claims that their reasoning for this change is “making investments in improving and evolving the features available on mobile”[1]. For those looking to revert these changes, Discord has stated that “with this update, the original mobile layout is no longer available.”[1]
Now, these changes have actually been available for at least 7 months[2], but have only most recently been forced upon the public, possibly in spite of previous statements from/about the company[3].

[1] Discord's announcement about the update, here: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/12654190110999-New-Mobile-App-Updates-Layout
[2]NTTS (No Text To Speech) video on Mobile UI (12-05-23, DDMMYY): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tGL4-icGBw
[3]TNR's comment on Reddit on this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/discordapp/comments/12soc7m/you_can_now_get_the_new_mobile_layout/?rdt=57895

Section 2: The Good

Among all the negative feedback (that is, those pointing out what doesn't work with this update, and what is disliked), there have been a rather small minority speaking out about the things they liked as a part of this update.
Streamlining
Some people have commented that the new UI feels more “streamlined” -- that is indicating that it feels faster to navigate, and offers less resistance or confusion. I cannot personally agree, but this is the perspective some people have taken.
Application Launch/Run Speed
Similarly, a few users have claimed to experience faster runtimes, and frankly, I'm all on board for improving the efficiency of really any software, especially for, effectively, an online messaging platform. This would be great to see more of.
Personalised Notifications/Highlights
I can't explain nor back this one up. Hey, if this is you, let us know down below what you like about this. Discord now (seemingly arbitrarily) picks out certain bits and phrases, and pushes them to you, which you can find.. I think in the notifications "tab."
Voice Chat Changes
This one doesn't seem to have much negative feedback, folks seem mostly okay with how VCs have been changed. Getting a confirmation dialogue before entering them on mobile will be a huge help, and the buttons seem mostly self-explanatory.
Pinned/Favourite Channels
Another feature that's seen rather enough positive feedback, people seem to like being able to pin certain channels for faster or easier access.

Overall, these can be some great things to focus on. If we can see more functionally useful changes, which improve the app's efficiency (especially on lower-end devices), reduce visual clutter (thus providing easier in-app navigation), and maybe even also improve certain UI elements' placements (both in accessibility and consistency), then this would mark truly a new day for Discord's mobile application.
If you (the reader) would like to add to this list, be sure to add your ideas in the comments below.

Section 3: The Bad

While there are a few good things in this update, I think I'm more than safe in saying they are drops in the bucket compared to the torrential amount of backlash Discord has seen from this. The feedback forums (here) are flooded with people who are livid at these changes, the subreddit is filled to the brim with folks talking about it, their application listings in Google Play and Apple's App Store have seen a lot of 1/5-star (negative/critical) reviews (there are some allegations at this point that the developers have privatised recent reviews as a result. Whether that is true or not, I could not say), and perhaps most shockingly of all, this is the update I've seen most widely talked about -- more so than usernames, more so than image tiling, more so than their logo and colour change, more so than the font change, more so than replies or stickers or anything else to this point.
So, what all is bad? What do users dislike, and what can be changed?
Application Speed
Some users, as mentioned in Section 2, have reported faster speeds. More still, however, have talked about slower loading times. It seems to be most specifically tied to loading one Text Channel from another, but there have been some claims that the app overall runs more slowly.
Navigation
Users who have learned the app's previous control flow, or those who are more used to the desktop application, have all stated that the reshuffling of common elements has left them baffled and frustrated. Ultimately, many agree that the previous UI felt simpler, it was easier to understand (like gestures performed similar tasks, it was very similar to the PC UI, and so forth). Some of this can be alleviated by adjusting UI elements' positioning, but further improvement may necessitate some proper experimenting, and perhaps some particular focus on consistency. 
Swipe-Reply (or “Quick Reply”)
Something that one could label as part of navigation, many people are frustrated by the gesture change. Swipe left to view channel participants mirrors the swipe right to view server/channel list, and has been the accepted motion for years, to my knowledge, approaching a decade.
UI Cluttering
Many users feel that the new UI feels cluttered, it feels messy, it feels all over the place. I'm certain there are specific instances that folks would like to point out, and as some get more attention than others, I may take time to append these to this list of things to be improved for the UI cluttering.
Pins (Threads, Previews, Positioning)
Taken from a certain Scramblecat's post[1], and somewhat reflected by a thorough search of relevant feedback[2], the new UI does not handle pins well. Bug or not, people are overwhelmingly distressed at this new appearance, and have made their voices heard in talking about the poor implementation. First and foremost: “thread” pins are now jumbled in with a given channel's, making it impossible to distinguish between them. Some reports also conclude that pinned messages are entirely misplaced in unrelated menus. From there, embeds are not previewed alongside the pinned message, which can make jumping between them difficult.
Accessibility
The new mobile application colour has given rise to more than a few complaints about difficulty reading. As mentioned in Section 1, the new dark mode colours very closely resemble the OLED theme, and that very high contrast has made the application inaccessible for some.
Furthermore, there have been some issues with the general placement, with some users have reported that the UI is hard to read, and/or that the different text font, size, and placement makes interaction difficult.

Overwhelmingly, the response to this update has been negative. Some will attribute that to fear of change, some will say it's entirely unjustified, more still will point it out as a phase that will pass over, so.. think of it what you will. Very few people have shown substantial positive thoughts on the matter, though.
Look damn near anywhere on the internet now, there are people talking about it, about how much they dislike it, about how much it deserves to be reverted, or at least given an option to be toggled (as was true for around 7 months).

[1]Scramblecat's post here: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/19629610727447-A-Review-of-the-New-Mobile-UI-The-Good-AND-The-Bad-
[2]Search results in Discord's own feedback forums here: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/search?filter_by=community&query=Pin+Image&topic=360000786192&utf8=%E2%9C%93

Section 4: Conclusion and Personal Input

Quite obviously, a lot of people think this is bad. There may be good notes about it, but the overwhelming majority have nothing short of disdain for these changes. There have been a lot of users unsubscribing from Discord Nitro – their premium subscription – as evident from the many posts on this feedback forum. There are also a lot of people who have opted to start moving away from Discord. If this appeals to you, you may find interest in one of the below platforms/applications:
Revolt - https://app.revolt.chat/
Spacebar: https://spacebar.chat/
Matrix: https://matrix.org/
Element - https://app.element.io/

I frankly also think this is a change for the worse. I think Discord is at the point of making changes for the sake of making changes, and I think they've stopped really, truly taking input from their users – which, for some is, making the ecosystem no longer desirable.
What Discord had previously was fine and good, it was intuitive, it reflected their desktop application, and it was much more consistent than the mess that it is currently. Sure, it must have taken them a while to design this new system, but the new UI is very clearly, very obviously, not to most people's liking, and I don't see it in their best interests to keep it.

Section 5: Edit History

Any changes made to this post will be kept here.