Android Go: Google News Gets Data-Saving Features, Low Data Bandwidth Users

Google on Monday introduced several data-saving features for its News app, keeping in mind consumers with low and capped bandwidth, including those with Android (Go edition) devices Google News gets mainly four new features to load content in a manner that will save precious data of users. This includes changes for video content loading, compressed images, and a new offline mode for articles to be read later. Furthermore, Google notes that these changes are going to get activated automatically whenever needed, and the user will not have to toggle a setting or make sure it is in the right mode.

The Google News app gets a new feature that when applicable, enables videos in the app to open with YouTube Go by default, and they won't auto-play either. This ensures that the videos are played in a clear yet lightweight manner, to save data consumption. Newscasts that show up on the main page, and essentially are previews of a story, will adapt to become more text-focused, removing data-heavy content. Apart from restricting auto-play of videos, GIFs will also not be allowed to auto-play. Images will be compressed, and will need confirmation of a tap before being downloaded. The new Google News app will also cache less data to save on your device, the company said in its blog post. The updated app is already available on Google Play, and should hit the App Store soon.

Lastly, select articles will also get the option for download over Wi-Fi for reading later, even in offline mode. This will enable users to consume news even in areas with spotty connectivity. Google notes that these features will be enabled automatically, with no toggle or setting required to be turned on to ensure that these data-saving features are active. The tech giant claims that these new features will roll out in the coming weeks to users all around the world.

September 11, 2018