Facebook unifies mobile for 250 million users

Product designers have streamlined Facebook mobile development for more efficient updating

Facebook announced changes to the framework underlying its mobile sites this week, which for users will result in a unified set of features no matter what device you’re using.

To go along with each of the different kinds of mobile devices offered by providers, Facebook has gradually introduced different versions of its site over the years. There’s m.facebook.com, the sort of default mobile site that most Internet-enabled phones likely go to first. For high-resolution touchscreen devices, however, touch.facebook.com offers a more intuitive and elegant experience that wouldn’t be possible on lower-end devices. And beyond those two, there’s 0.facebook.com, a text-only version of the site for users who can’t afford the data or the speed required to load images.

Before, Facebook would have to develop features independently for each different mobile site, resulting in a fragmentation of accessibility across devices.

Today that changes:

“Every device uses the same framework,” writes Lee Byron, product designer at Facebook. “This way we can move even faster and build new features just once for every mobile device. It also means that everyone can access the same features, whether writing messages or checking into Places. There will no longer be a difference between m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com, we’ll automatically serve you the best version of the site for your device.”

This is great news for developers at Facebook because they’ll have less obstacles in the way when developing the social network’s mobile offerings, but it’s also awesome for users because it’ll translate as less delays for upcoming features.

For example, location features, including the ability to check into venues and access nearby deals, are lately one of the most sought-after for mobile Facebook users. Unfortunately, developers were forced to roll out the feature in batches, first to iPhone users via the native app and slowly to everyone else. Now that process will be a lot more streamlined.

Facebook says 250 million people access the site via mobile devices now, meaning nearly half of the entire user base does so. Clearly, its mobile offerings are only grow more significant going forward.