Twitter launches ‘lite’ version for data-conscious users

MANILA, Philippines –Twitter on Thursday, April 6, 2017, launched a new version of Twitter that’s supposedly faster and less data-heavy than their standard app, called Twitter Lite.

Twitter Lite is now available worldwide in 42 languages, including Filipino. 

The service can be accessed by going to mobile.twitter.com on the web browser on your smartphone, tablet or computer.

Data saver mode

The interface that greets users on Twitter Lite is very similar to the actual app. But unlike the app, Twitter says that Lite can consume up to 70% less data and launches 30% faster.

The app “minimizes data usage, loads quickly on slower connections, is resilient on unreliable mobile networks, and takes up less than 1MB on mobile devices,” said Twitter.  

Twitter Lite achieves the promised “70% less data consumption” with its data saver mode. The option can be turned on by clicking on the profile photo on the upper left section. Users are taken to a screen where they can edit their profile and turn on the data saver mode, among others.

When the data saver option is turned on, it further reduces the amount of mobile data used by not fully loading images and videos automatically. Instead, users will see a preview of these, and it is up to the user to choose which ones to fully load. 

These features are beneficial to users in countries where mobile data connections can be slow and inconsistent, and data allocations can be expensive. This includes the Philippines, which is still known to have some of the slowest yet most expensive internet services in the world as of early 2017. 

The GSM Association (GSMA) also said that while smartphone adoption grew to 3.8 billion connections by the end of 2016, nearly half of all mobile connections are still on slower 2G networks. These connections on 2G are what Twitter Lite hopes to reach out to. 

Lite could prove useful even to those on faster 4G networks: the less data that whatever app consumes, the better it is for anyone’s data budget. 

With Lite, Twitter vice president of product Keith Coleman says that they’re taking down barriers for prospective users: 

“There are several barriers to using Twitter, including slow mobile networks, expensive data plans, and lack of storage on mobile devices. Providing the key features of Twitter – user’s timeline, Tweets, Direct Messages, trends, profiles, media uploads, notification, and more; we’re making Twitter more accessible to millions of people – all you need is a smartphone or tablet with a browser, no app store account needed.”

App-like features

In spite of being an application you have to access through a web browser, Twitter Lite has some functionalities that remind one of a native mobile app. 

Users will be able to create a shortcut to Lite on their phone’s home screen – although the feature is currently limited to Google Chrome users on Android. To do so, tap on Chrome’s option menu (denoted by the 3 stacked dots on the upper right section) and tap “Add to Home screen.” An icon then pops up on the phone’s home screen, that can be tapped for quick access to Lite – just like a native app. 

Chrome users on Android will also be able to receive a wide range of push notifications, and get offline support, which prevents usage disruption in case the mobile connection goes off. – Rappler.com