"Instant Articles" is a tool recently developed by Facebook that allows its iOS users to browse trending news from all over the world without ever having to leave the site. And just a few days ago, Facebook announced that it will be releasing the news-giving feature on Android phones.
On Dec. 17, 2015, Facebook declared that one of its newest tools will be catered to Android phone users through its official app. According to product manager Manuel Reckhow, the development team of the company has been testing the Instant Articles' feature in beta form with a select group of people who uses Android as their platform in browsing the app. And it is found out that just like those users with iOS, the easier and more convenient way of reading experience prompted these Android users to share more Instant Articles to their friends rather than those people who use the standard web version.
Mr. Reckhow also stated that now there are over 350 publications all over the world that have joined their news sharing feature, from famous sites such as Buzzfeed and ABC up to NPR and regional publishers. The 350 number is a massive change compared to the 20 publishers they had when they first started earlier this year.
But even though giant online news publishers have joined the program, some Facebook users still feel like there's a little amount of news worthy of being posted on their newsfeed. Sometimes all they can see are uninteresting pictures and those make them not click on the link anymore. The company has thought of a solution for this by stating that once all the speed issues on the site have been regulated, these articles could be presented the same way as GIFS.
In a recent study they did, Facebook was declared as the largest traffic driver for news sites. That's why it only makes sense that the company will develop such a feature that will cater to its users' growing needs when it comes to knowing the latest news around the world.
