Over the last couple of years, we have seen ‘lite’ versions of some popular apps targeting users with slow data speeds. Apps such as Facebook Lite, Messenger Lite and other ‘lite’ apps offer users a way to stay in contact with their friends and family without using so much data.
Facebook has paved the way and now Twitter is jumping into the lite apps bandwagon. Twitter has revealed that it has started testing a native Twitter Lite app for Android. The company is testing the app in Philippines at the moment.
The Twitter Lite app is similar to the Lite version of Twitter’s website which has been around for less than a year. Twitter Lite for Android is about 3MB in size, very small and perfect for individuals with slow data connections. Twitter says that this Lite app saves uses 70% less data without interfering with the core Twitter experience. The company says that it achieves this by mainly reducing bandwidth-hogging media like videos and photos. If this is not enough for you, there is a “Data Saver” option to hide all media until the user specifies the video or image he/she wants to see.
Twitter Lite is still being tested in the Philippines saying it is just an “experiment” for the app. The company has not said if it has plans to roll it out to other countries. This is the case right now but may change if the test in the Philippines go well.
Twitter Lite supports Android 5.0 and above and works perfectly with both 2G and 3G networks. I will keep an eye on this app and let you know when it is available in other markets.
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