Facebook Lite a worthy Facebook replacement? Let's find out

Facebook Lite app offers some unique features which makes it better to use on slow internet connections.

| Published: Friday, February 10, 2017, 19:26 [IST]

If you have read the news lately, the lite version of Facebook has crossed 200 million monthly active users. This is indeed good news for the social media company. And it seems that the app has gained more popularity since its launch in 2015.

However, if you have not heard about the app or don't have experience using the app, then you might have some questions regarding the app. So in this article, we will discuss few things about the app which hopefully will help you get a better picture about the app.

Facebook Lite a worthy Facebook replacement? Let's find out

Originally launched for the users in developing countries where internet speed are an issue and have been erratic, the Facebook Lite app is basically a slim version of the main Facebook application. It is a lighter version of the main Facebook app that has been designed and developed from scratch to work smoothly with poor data connections and low-end phones. Moreover, if data costs are your priority then this is the best app that you can use.

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Facebook Lite, on the other hand, comes with various options which do provide a decent user-user experience while using it. You can always do the general "stuff" that is like, share and comment on the Facebook Lite application. You can also browse your newsfeed and can even message your friends through this application. Well, Facebook Lite indeed provides every facility that the main Facebook application offers, but altogether in a lite manner.

Having said that, let's further look at how Facebook Lite compares to the main Facebook app.

Download Size

Well, this had to be the first point. Facebook's original version for smartphones is a huge download. The size of the native Facebook app is 71.8MB before installation and 195MB after installation. And while Facebook is constantly updating the app, you are bound to install the updates regularly and waste your internet data.

On the other hand, the Facebook Lite version is under 1MB, and once installed, it takes up 2.82MB of space. Therefore the app is quicker to download and install. This will benefit more if you are on a 2G network as downloading and installing the Lite version becomes swift.

However, the sizes may vary depending on the device.

RAM

As the original FB app contains a lot of features, it will use a large amount of RAM and ultimately strain the performance of the hardware. The FB app is known to occupy almost 150MB - 300MB of RAM in the background. On the other hand, FB Lite is a lot lighter on the RAM as it takes up around 50MB - 150MB of RAM usage.

User Interface

No doubt the original FB app has a better UI, with a well-organized layout and features. However, due to its high-end features, it takes up a huge chunk of your data costs. The app downloads a lot more information in the background.

However, the FB Lite version is completely opposite. Facebook Lite is kind of an unpolished version in comparison to the actual Facebook app. It feels like an older version and while using it you would be reminded of a possible feature phone version of the social app. However, it is not that bad and because of the basic looks the app can perform quicker downloads and save data.

Chat

FB Lite offers the option to chat within the app and it works surprisingly well. The native app does not come with this feature instead you need to download a separate resource intensive app called the Facebook Messenger which takes up another 150 MB of storage.

Notifications, Alerts, Audio

Unlike the full version, Facebook Lite cuts out the alerts and popup notifications that can be irritating sometimes. Though notifications are available, the audio effects and sounds are done away with, helping the app be lighter and operate smoothly.

Speed

FB Lite as compared to native Facebook app is definitely faster. The app loads the pages in almost half the time you would take to load them on the full version of Facebook.