Ever wondered what Android app is gaining the most traction in Nigeria? Is it WhatsApp, Facebook or Candy Crush?
Yeah, according to recent figures from SimilarWeb, YouTube Go- the stripped down version of the main YouTube app -takes the crown for the top-rated app on Google Play Store for Nigerians. This could serve as a pointer to the fact that Nigerians appreciate video content, especially when it doesn’t take a toll on mobile data.
Google in its efforts to ‘build for billions’ and cater for countries with poor Internet, made the ‘Go’ family of Android apps. These ‘Go’ apps are light-weight and data efficient versions of some of the Google apps you are already used to. There’s YouTube Go, Google Go, Google Maps Go, and a few others.
By removing some of the features of its elder sibling, YouTube Go is able to use considerably less data and ship with a much smaller app size, only about 8.9MB on the Play Store. Because video streaming is optimized on the app, it is able to stream videos even on very poor connections and reduces phone hanging. It also takes data usage transparency up a notch by revealing the size of the video the user wishes to download for offline viewing.
The app gives users the option of choosing between two video resolutions for download – basic (3gp) or standard (360p). Downloaded videos can be viewed as many times as the user wishes without having to use data again to stream or download. The user only has to connect to the internet once in a while for the app to confirm that the video settings have not been changed by whoever uploaded them.
With the proliferation of really nice video content in the Nigerian entertainment space, especially comedy skits, whole movies and music videos, apps like YouTube Go help increase the accessibility of these content to the greater number of the population who use feature phones and who cannot afford hefty mobile data bills.
You can download the YouTube Go app here.
Featured Image Source: Global News Radar