Facebook Lite Review: stripped for the next billion users
This week Facebook launches Facebook Lite, a version of their social networking app made for low-speed data networks around the world. This app is aimed at nations with little or severely limited data on smartphone, pushing the line between functionality and operability. This app isn't made for everyone – it's made for those that want to connect in remote areas, and don't mind giving up a few flourishes in an app to do so. Facebook Lite functions very similar to the standard Facebook app – can it keep up?
Facebook Lite was built for people who have limited bandwidth. As such, graphics and presentation are cut down to a bare minimum. It's not just black and white, but it is squared off. It's simple. It does just enough with barely anything.
The creators of this app had one thing in mind – reliability.
From what we've seen so far, this app is just as reliable as the Facebook app (full sized) before it, if not more so. With far fewer visual elements to trip over, there's a lot less slowing the entire system down.
It's fast.
It's not super pretty, but it's fast.
It requires very little, too. Even phones launched several years ago are able to run this Facebook Lite app.
Basic requirements for software are Android 2.2 Froyo, API 8, and that's it. At this time, the app is taking up the following space in our Huawei P8 lite smartphone:
Storage:
• 1.2 MB (App)
• 260 KB (Data)
• 1.46 MB Total
Not a whole lot, in other words.
Meanwhile, the original Facebook on the same device takes up the following space:
Storage:
• 42.14 MB (App)
• 71.67 MB (Data)
• 114 MB Total
It's tiny. It was made to be tiny, and it delivers. Above and below you'll see a number of screenshots of this app in action, delivering basic functionality to smartphones across the planet.
This app will be launching in countries across Asia this week, and in coming weeks in Latin America, Africa, and Europe. For more information, have a peek at the timeline below for our earlier looks at this app.