The official Wikipedia app for Android was released on the Google Play Store more than three years ago and it has since received several updates. Another Beta version was released last June but this week, the Mobile Apps Team of Wikipedia is happy to bring a whole new mobile experience for the Wikipedia app for Android. The version on Google Play was developed ahead of iOS so Android users have an advantage to enjoy the new Wikipedia.
Wikipedia is no doubt one helpful app. This free encyclopedia contains more than 32 million articles written in 287 languages. Honestly, I don’t trust all the text written there for reference but the Wikipedia team is trying their very best to edit and filter the articles to reflect only facts.
The new version of the mobile app makes searching for articles and information easier. It makes knowledge-on-the-go more accessible on an Android device too. Design is more image-centric to engage the reader more effectively. The lead images are more contextually-relevant and displayed prominently now.
With this development, more information can be easily accessed by readers using the Android app. The images are now placed at the top of each article to attract readers. There’s also a “Read More” link at the bottom of each article for further reading. Search functionality has also been improved to include a higher and more defined contrast search bar, as well as, the recently searched terms. A larger version of the image can also be viewed on a pop-up up panel while viewing of images can be done by simply swiping left or right on the screen.
Wikipedia currently receives an average of 20 billion page views by half a billion readers every month. The monthly figures are big and more people are accessing Wikipedia from their phones or tablets so it’s only right that Wikipedia app developers continue to enhance everyone’s mobile experience.
Download Wikipedia app from the Google Play Store
SOURCE: Wikimedia
