Targets emerging markets.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: One of the most aired grievances about the Facebook app is that it’s a veritable resource hog, especially on older phones that don’t wield the same capabilities as the latest flagship models. Be it on Android or iOS, the Facebook app eats a lion’s share of data and processing routines on any phone it is running on.
Many consumers may have acclimated to the Facebook app’s substantial drain, but it is a major issue in emerging markets where many phones lean toward the lower-end of the spectrum in terms of components, while data plans are not particularly sizable either.
To alleviate the plight of millions of consumers in developing markets — most of whom use low-spec Android devices — Mark Zuckerberg and co. have released a lighter version of their Android app, aptly named Facebook Lite.
The new application was quietly launched in a handful of Asian and African countries over the weekend: Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, and Zimbabwe. The Menlo Park-based company is allegedly considering expanding, but could also discretely axe the project should it fall short of expectations during its initial soft launch.
Many may wonder why the social media titan is taking the time and effort to launch a version of their app seemingly featuring a less robust feature set. The answer boils down to two important points: accessibility and expansion.
According to a report by TechCrunch, “Smartphone sales are soaring in India, which was the fastest growing market in Asia Pacific in Q3 2014, while there’s huge potential in Africa and Southeast Asia where mobile will be (or already is) the primary internet platform for millions.”
Even though Facebook overhauled its de facto app last year in an effort to streamline performance, the company has now ensured users have the ability to access its services no matter how rudimentary their device or connection may be, effectively handing Facebook a glut of new territories to expand its reach farther into.