Facebook is finally rolling out Instant Articles to all Android users globally. Available on iOS since October this year, Instant Articles were being tested on a group of Android users last month.
Facebook said that it has teamed up with more than 350 publications across the globe for Instant Articles. For those unaware, Instant Articles allow a number of publishers to post their articles directly to the social networks mobile apps. These articles are highlighted with a lightning bolt icon on the top right corner and Facebook claims that they load 10 times faster than a standard mobile web article. Instant Articles also provide a richer reading experience than standard mobile web articles that makes the content more fluid, interactive and immersive. They even boast features such as interactive maps, image zoom, autoplay videos and audio captions.
In November Facebook had joined hands with the 5 well known publishers in India such as India Today, Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Aaj Tak and The Quint. However, now Android users in India will see Instant Articles from publishers like ABP News, Amar Ujala, DailyO, Dainik Bhaskar, Dainik Jagran, Divya Bhaskar, DNA India, Hindustan Times, IBN Live, IBN7 Khabar, iDiva, India Today, India.Com, Indiatimes, MensXP, Naidunia Jagran, NDTV, NDTV Khabar, Scoop Whoop, Scroll, The Huffington Post India and Zee News.