14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook has made good on its promise and is expanding the recently debuted mobile app platform beyond iOS to Android, with the launch of the latest version of its Android app.
Android and web developers now get the same features and capabilities that they do on the iPhone and iPad with the added benefit that they can use Credits in their apps, something they can't do on Apple devices.
"This version includes our redesigned mobile user interface and social channels for discovery and engagement with your mobile web apps," Facebook said about the updated app.
"Users can discover your apps directly in Facebook for Android via Requests, Bookmarks, News Feed, and Search. Apps can also acquire, engage, and monetize users with Authenticated Referrals and Facebook Credits," it explained.
With this update, developers can create HTML5 apps that run, inside the Facebook app, on the two largest mobile platforms. Facebook's ambitions may have been cut short by Apple, but the social network is not giving up and will have its own device-agnostic app platform, whichever way it can.
The latest version of the Facebook Android app comes with the UI updates to accommodate apps that the iOS app does. Apps on the Facebook platform can benefit from the social nature of the site, they can end up in the News Feed, users can send requests from the apps via Facebook and they can save their favorite apps as bookmarks on the Facebook app's homepage.
It's important to note that both native mobile apps and HTML5 apps built for Facebook can take advantage of the new features. The first part is how Facebook got Apple on board, since existing native apps, that you still have to install from the App Store, can benefit from the added exposure.
A bonus for the Android platform is that developers can use Credits in their apps, there are no monetization options on the iOS platform. Doubtless, pure Facebook mobile apps will benefit from the new exposure, but existing apps have just as much if not more to gain from being able to access Facebook to be known and noticed.