Users with slow Internet connections and cheap Android smartphones will now be able to use Twitter. The U.S. firm has released a new mobile experience called Twitter Lite, which will use less data and work faster. According to BuzzFeed News, the new mobile experience will be available around the world starting on Thursday.
Twitter Lite is faster, easier and data-friendly
Twitter’s new mobile experience is a data-friendly, faster way for users to access the micro-blogging site to see what is happening in the world. The company has been working on the new lighter mobile version for at least six months. According to the company, it worked with Google on the “progressive web app” to build it. BuzzFeed notes that the Lite version will load about 30% faster than the full Twitter website on slower connections. The new mobile website will also perform better on breaking connections.
At the launch event in media, Maya Hari, Managing Director for Twitter’s Asia Pacific region, said, “It’s a great proud moment for us.”
Aimed at emerging markets
Twitter’s new mobile site is, undoubtedly, aimed at emerging markets in the world, like India and countries in Latin America and Africa where people do not have access to high-speed Internet connections. The social network, which has been struggling from declining user growth for a long time, is now looking at emerging regions to find new users, and this new move appears to be part of those efforts.
At the launch event in India, Arvinder Gujral, Twitter’s senior director of business development for the Asia Pacific region, said, “Users in emerging markets like India usually don’t have Google accounts or credit cards that they can use to download apps from the Google Play Store. That’s why it was important for us to have a mobile website that provides an app-like experience.”
Twitter Lite, which is available through the mobile site, supports about 42 languages, of which six are Indian. The web application is already available in India and will soon be released in Indonesia and other emerging markets, notes Mashable.
What makes it special?
Twitter Lite comes with several features, including the ability to save recent tweets. This means users can access all their recent tweets when they are offline. Users with Android devices that run Chrome will also receive push notifications directly on their tablets or smartphones from Twitter Lite.
Another amazing feature is the Data Saver mode, which allows a user to preview videos and images and then choose which ones to download completely. Lite’s data-saving option, which users will have to opt for manually, can also compress the media content by about 70%, according to the company.
Twitter is not the first social media platform to offer a “Lite” version of its website. Facebook already provides its users with a “Lite” version of both Messenger and its main app on Android in some developing regions. Microsoft also released a lighter version of Skype called Skype Lite exclusively for India last month.
