After years of revision and development, the Facebook apps for Android and iOS are fairly good. When it comes to a touch-optimized way to access your Facebook account, these aren’t your only options. Facebook Touch may not be well-known, but it’s a mobile-friendly version of Facebook that includes more than just touch-friendly features.
We Had Touch Before Smartphones!
When someone says a touch screen, you might think “smartphone,” but that wasn’t the case when Facebook Touch was established in 2009. Most mobile users didn’t have touchscreen smartphones because the first iPhone and Android phones had only been around for a year or two. Although it was unclear whether mobile operating systems would triumph, social media was already widely used.
So it made logical to build a touch-friendly Facebook interface that isn’t limited to a single operating system and can accommodate the largest possible number of Facebook users.
Facebook Touch is browser-based, so you can’t download and install it, but that’s the beauty of it. You can use Facebook touch if you have a touchscreen device with a suitable browser installed.
This raises the question of why Facebook Touch is still operational and maintained. After all, almost all cellphones these days run Android or iOS, so why not get rid of Facebook Touch?
Not every touchscreen is an Android or iOS device.
While it may appear that everyone you know has an Android or iOS device, worldwide smartphone penetration is expected to reach 78 percent by 2020, which is a huge number but still leaves more than a billion people without one.
People who don’t have access to a smartphone are likely to rely on feature phones. Limited browsers can still be operated on feature phones, and Facebook Touch works nicely on these devices.
Don’t forget that some touchscreen gadgets don’t run on iOS or Android. This may be seen in Ubuntu Touch devices and Windows touchscreen laptops. Regardless of your device’s operating system, Facebook Touch can accept anything with a sufficient browser, so it’ll be a decent user-friendly experience.
What about the mobile version of the website?
“But wait,” you may be thinking, “the Facebook mobile site is also touch-friendly!” Yes, the mobile website was built from the bottom up for touchscreen devices.
Facebook Touch, on the other hand, also has many advantages over it. The most major benefits are that it is less congested, requires less data, and performs better on devices with low-resolution screens. Facebook Touch is a good solution even if you have an Android or iOS smartphone that is on the low end of the range or an older phone. This leads us to the next significant Facebook Touch benefit: speed!
The Facebook Touch Is Quick!
Because Facebook Touch is such a pared-down version of the full-fledged mobile Facebook app or desktop site, it consumes very few resources. This implies it works well on low-end handsets or devices and performs admirably on newer or better ones.
If your Facebook needs are bounded by Facebook Touch’s capability and you spend a lot of time on Facebook, the small footprint of Facebook Touch can add up in terms of time saved.
It’s an excellent low-bandwidth option.
Facebook Touch isn’t just simple on low-end CPUs; it’s also a decent fallback if you’re in an area where 3G or faster connection rates aren’t available. Plain 3G is no longer fast enough for the contemporary Facebook experience, but if you’re in the GPRS area, Facebook Touch can help. There’s no need to download an app, which is a good plus. When you really need it, simply go to the touch site using your device’s browser. It’s the ideal way to keep up with your social network while on a poor internet connection.
It’s possible that the image quality will improve.
While it’s difficult to verify as a uniform scenario, it appears that some users get high-quality photographs on their smartphones even when the app or whole mobile website isn’t always at its best. This isn’t necessarily Facebook’s fault; it’s just that when you have a device with limited internet or CPU power, photos may load faster and videos are more likely to play smoothly.
Facebook Touch Consumes Less Battery Power
Modern smartphones offer remarkable battery life, but when you’re on the verge of running out of juice, you’ll want to conserve as much energy as possible. Because it only loads the very minimum of content required to utilize Facebook, the Facebook Touch website can help you get a little more mileage out of your battery. The apps and complete mobile web page have a lot going on and can drain your battery.
The Disadvantages of Using Facebook Touch
Facebook Touch has its uses, but there are a few aspects of it that are less than perfect.
First, because it was never meant for huge, high-resolution displays, it doesn’t operate very well on a desktop internet browser. Because Facebook Touch doesn’t have a desktop version, the site just extended itself awkwardly across the screen of a desktop browser.
The user experience isn’t ideal, either, especially if you’re accessing Facebook on a device that’s capable of running the official mobile apps without issue.
A Better Alternative to Facebook Is Facebook Lite
If you have an Android or iOS smartphone and want to use Facebook Touch for speed and bandwidth, you should probably use the Facebook Lite app instead. This is a low-end version of the official Facebook app meant for individuals with sluggish mobile internet connections.
It can be a lifesaver when the signal bars start to fade if you remember to download, install, and log in to the app before you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere.
For Android, there’s a Facebook Touch App.
You may have come across an app named Touch for Facebook, but you should be aware that it has nothing to do with Facebook. It’s an app called Lighthouse (previously H5) that can’t be found on the Google Play Store. Instead, you must download and install an APK file on your Android smartphone. Before you can install the Facebook Touch APK, you must first enable unknown sources on your Android device.
As a general guideline, we don’t advocate installing a third-party app from somewhere other than the official Google Play Store. When you install third-party software, you always run the risk of getting malware. Aside from that, we believe using your Facebook login credentials with a third-party application is a bad idea.
It’s up to you if you want to take the risk of installing such an app on your phone, but you should do so with the awareness that it’s not an official solution.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Facebook Touch?
Because even the most basic smartphones are now capable of running the official Facebook app, the list of people who should utilize Facebook Touch is shrinking by the day. Still, we believe there are a few people who could benefit:
People who use feature phones.
Users that do not have an Android or an iOS device (E.g., Windows Phone or Ubuntu Touch).
Assume you’re having accessibility issues with your smartphone’s basic apps. Before relying on Facebook Touch, you should check out the phone’s built-in accessibility features.
Free star
The official app, the regular website, or the Facebook Lite app should be used by everyone else. If none of these options work for you, you can use Facebook Touch.
You may also read: How to Recover Deleted Facebook Posts on a Computer and a Smartphone
