Facebook App Lite
Sunday, April 8, 2018
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Facebook App Lite, Early today, Facebook uploaded a brand-new, slendered down version of their app called Facebook Lite to the Google Play Store. Focused on low-end gadgets in emerging markets where cellular data is a little slower, we have to admit, we were plenty excited at the possibility of a 2G-friendly variation of the normally bloated Facebook app.
Not long after setup, our optimism was fulfilled with cold tough truth-- this app was bit more than a wrapper for the mobile web view (ie, it's almost identical to visiting m.facebook.com). Okay, so there are some essential distinctions. There's no videos (like, at all) and unlike opening Facebook in your phone's web internet browser, Facebook Lite will provide you with push notifications on your Android device, helpful if you're waiting for a crucial message and want to stay up to date with friends without having to refresh the web browser.
The trade off? Facebook Lite-- which is advertised as less than 1MB (252KB), but in fact used up 1.16 MB after setup-- demands a reasonable quantity of approvals from your Android gadget, similar to the full fledged 114MB (after setup) regular variation of the app (only without the place information). Oh, did we discuss it's slow?
Even on WiFi, the app is sluggish to load, sluggish to scroll, and slow to change between News Feed, your messages, and notices. Even with a high-end Snapdragon 801 equipped Android device, the "app" directly up seems like molasses. But as we mentioned, you do get direct access to your messages without having to set up Facebook Messenger, so there's that.
We think Facebook actually had something here and were really wishing for a quicker, lighter, less feature heavy, Facebook app for those of who don't require all the frill of sticker label shops and so on. Sadly, Facebook Lite really simply doesn't cut it.
Facebook Lite is presently readily available for all Android 2.2+ devices in Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, or Zimbabwe through the Play Shop. Those living in other places who had actually still want to give it a shot, you can download it from us through the link listed below.
Download: Facebook Lite for Android
Facebook App Lite
Not long after setup, our optimism was fulfilled with cold tough truth-- this app was bit more than a wrapper for the mobile web view (ie, it's almost identical to visiting m.facebook.com). Okay, so there are some essential distinctions. There's no videos (like, at all) and unlike opening Facebook in your phone's web internet browser, Facebook Lite will provide you with push notifications on your Android device, helpful if you're waiting for a crucial message and want to stay up to date with friends without having to refresh the web browser.
The trade off? Facebook Lite-- which is advertised as less than 1MB (252KB), but in fact used up 1.16 MB after setup-- demands a reasonable quantity of approvals from your Android gadget, similar to the full fledged 114MB (after setup) regular variation of the app (only without the place information). Oh, did we discuss it's slow?
Even on WiFi, the app is sluggish to load, sluggish to scroll, and slow to change between News Feed, your messages, and notices. Even with a high-end Snapdragon 801 equipped Android device, the "app" directly up seems like molasses. But as we mentioned, you do get direct access to your messages without having to set up Facebook Messenger, so there's that.
We think Facebook actually had something here and were really wishing for a quicker, lighter, less feature heavy, Facebook app for those of who don't require all the frill of sticker label shops and so on. Sadly, Facebook Lite really simply doesn't cut it.
Facebook Lite is presently readily available for all Android 2.2+ devices in Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, or Zimbabwe through the Play Shop. Those living in other places who had actually still want to give it a shot, you can download it from us through the link listed below.
Download: Facebook Lite for Android