Meta has began testing a brand new Fb UX in India that sends some customers straight into full-screen video after they open the app, placing Reels entrance and heart.
First outlined in July by Fb head Tom Alison, the check is designed to supply a extra immersive, video-forward person expertise. Alison stated on the time that Meta deliberate to start testing it later within the yr in “video-heavy international locations” outdoors the U.S., although he didn’t specify the place. The corporate will discover bringing the person expertise to the U.S. subsequent yr, he stated.
Customers included within the check can choose out and return to a Feed-first expertise, Meta stated. The basic feed will stay obtainable as a second tab on the Fb app.
The check comes as Meta strikes to make video extra central to Fb. Final yr, the corporate stated all new movies posted to Fb could be shared as Reels, no matter their size or format, and it even renamed the app’s Video tab to “Reels.” Meta has beforehand stated younger adults spend about 60% of their time on Fb watching movies.
India has lengthy been a testing floor for Meta’s video efforts, notably its push into short-form video. In 2020, Instagram began testing a dedicated Reels tab within the nation, months after India banned TikTok. The corporate additionally tested a Reels-first expertise for some Instagram customers in India and South Korea final yr that equally despatched them straight into the video UX after they opened the app.
The brand new check comes as video consumption rises throughout Meta’s apps in India. Not less than 97% of customers surveyed in Meta-commissioned research stated they watch video on its platforms each day, and 89% of Gen Z respondents stated they use Reels every single day, per the figures the corporate released in June. Meta has described Reels as more and more turning into India’s “private and first display screen.”
India is Fb’s largest market by customers, with Meta’s promoting instruments indicating an viewers of more than 400 million people within the nation.
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