If you don’t like using Facebook Messenger and looking for a client for it to use, then let me please introduce for you Astro Facebook Messenger. This is probably the best Facebook messenger app for your Mac, it lets you chat with friends, even when you are offline. It includes native stickers, picture uploads, and even seamless group chat functions. Your productivity levels are about to plummet…
Astro design looks good comparing to the other messengers apps for Facebook, You can change the look of your chat window by accessing the Settings section. Select the settings icon from the bottom right corner of the screen. Then, select “Chat†from the listed options. Open the dropdown menu under “Chat Theme†to access the different looks. My favorite is the Star War theme. It makes your conversations look like the opening 3-D scrolling text from Star Wars.
The app features native access to your animated Facebook stickers. Plus, you can create your own customized sticker. Select the sticker section (it looks like a smiley face), and then select the star icon. Click on the plus (+) button to add a new sticker. From what I can tell, you can use JPEGs and PNG files as stickers.
To add an attachment, you can either select the “attach file†icon (it looks like a paper clip) or simply drag and drop a file into the chat bar. You can send all kinds of file through chat. I even started to send a zip file of some demo songs. However, I didn’t try to finish uploading it because it was taking a very long time.
The Good
This chat client works smoothly. I was able to connect easily with friends and family with no issues. I love being able to create my own stickers out of JPEGs from my own files. The drag-to-drop document feature is great. I wish all chat clients offered a feature that would automatically send screenshots like this app does.
The Bad
I’m not sure if this is related to Astro, or if it is an issue with my internet. However, a friend I was chatting with commented that my status showed me connecting and disconnecting intermittently while we were chatting. I confirmed with him that this does not happen while we are communicating though my normal third-party chat client.
Value
Astro for Facebook Messenger costs $1.99. From what I can tell, third-party Facebook chat clients in the Mac App Store range in price from free to $4.99. The average price for a chat client in this genre is about two dollars, so the price is reasonable. There is also a free version with limited functions available in the Mac App Store so you can try before you buy.
