Google faces off with Facebook as the two companies strive to reach more viewers in territories with limited mobile internet.
Google-owned YouTube is focusing on expanding the coverage of the lite version of its video streaming app, YouTube Go, which is currently available in 15 countries. Through an official blog post, the company revealed its plans to expand to more than 130 nations soon.
What Is YouTube Go?
According to developers, the Go version is a data-friendly variant of the regular app, which promotes local sharing with other users. It was initially launched last year in India, and more countries like Nigeria, Thailand, and Indonesia were recently added to the list.
Users can control the amount of data used by the app. YouTube Go also adjusts video quality from basic to standard resolutions when a stronger connection is available. The company aims to make online videos more accessible to places where DSL broadband internet is uncommon. This leaves residents with no other option but to rely on mobile data connections, which, in some cases, is considered a luxury because it can be quite expensive.
What Does It Do?
YouTube Go is primarily designed to service emerging markets that have intermittent to no broadband internet connection. The developers took several factors into consideration including the widespread dependence on expandable storage on Android devices, poor or no wireless signal strength, and premium cost of mobile data.
One of the notable features of the app allows users to share videos with devices within a specific range. Multiple users establish a connection through Wi-Fi Direct, and this enables the recipient to play the shared footage in the YouTube app.
The company claims that its development team continues to try out different sharing protocols that give users "the fastest, most reliable and secure connections to the broadest range of devices."
YouTube videos can, likewise, be saved locally on the smartphone's memory or its supported expandable storage media for later viewing. Furthermore, playback experience can be toggled to stream in low quality, which adapts to slower network connections.
The app's home screen immediately highlights popular clips within the locale and is automatically set to the user's native language, if applicable.
Tried And Tested
The company claims that it had experimented with the YouTube Go app and found success. According to their reports, an Indonesian startup took advantage of its features to teach women the basics skills required to manage a small business.
Additionally, in Lagos, Nigeria, a primary-school teacher claims that the app allowed her to view clips that supplemented her knowledge of math and other subjects.
According to the company, YouTube Go will soon be available in select countries in the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Central America, and Asia.
