Facebook announced on Thursday that its Instant Articles — which allows for faster loading within the Facebook news feed for content from select publishers, as well as extra interactive features — has gone live across Asia for iPhone users.
The Android rollout is due to follow by the end of the year.
This comes about two weeks after the feature debuted on Android in India, and includes more than 50 media partners across Asia.
“Expanding Instant Articles to Asia is a significant milestone for the product and for each of our early launch partners,” Facebook’s director of global media partnerships, Andy Mitchell, said in a blog posting.
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“Instant Articles has been designed with extensive feedback from publishers, and we’re excited to bring this collaboration to our publishing partners in Asia to help them distribute fast, interactive articles to their readers in the Facebook app.”
The social media giant debuted Instant Articles in the U.S. back in May, but it was only available on iOS.
The full list of media partners for the Asia launch, by market (some will “begin publishing soon”):
- China: CCTV News
- Hong Kong: Ming Pao Daily News
- India: Aaj Tak, Hindustan Times, India Today, The Indian Express, The Quint
- Indonesia: Kompas.com, Merdeka.com
- Korea: SBS News
- Malaysia: Sin Chew Daily
- Philippines: ABS-CBN News, GMA Network, GMA News, INQUIRER.net, Rappler
- Singapore: The Straits Times
- Taiwan: Apple Daily Taiwan, Chinatimes.com, Next Magazine Taiwan
- Thailand: Kom Chad Luek
- Vietnam: VnExpress, Webtretho
- Hong Kong: Apple Daily, Oriental Daily News, The South China Morning Post
- Indonesia: detikcom, Liputan6.com, Tribunnews
- Malaysia: Astro AWANI, Berita Harian, China Press, Harian Metro, Malaysiakini, New Straits Times, Oriental Daily News Malaysia, The Star Online
- Taiwan: ETtoday, Sanlih E-Television, United Daily News Group, Vogue Taiwan
- Thailand: Daily News, Kapook.com, Khao Sod, Nation TV, Prachachat, Matichon, Manager Online, Thairath
- Vietnam: Thanh Niên, Tuoi Tre, Zing.vn
And here’s how Facebook describes the Instant Articles feature in its own words:
Every Instant Article has a lightning bolt, so when you see that lightning bolt in News Feed, you know it is going to have a fast, interactive experience. Along with a faster experience, Instant Articles introduces a suite of interactive features that allow publishers to bring their stories to life in new ways. Zoom in and explore high-resolution photos by tilting your phone. Watch auto-play videos come alive as you scroll through stories. Explore interactive maps, listen to audio captions, and even like and comment on individual parts of an article in-line.
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