No-buffering playback with new UC Browser

The Alibaba Mobile Business Group company has announced a new version of its popular browser. The UC Browser 12.0, is now the flagship product of UC Web. UC Browser’s upgraded version, number 12, supports faster video content consumption on mobile. It consumes 50% less data and buffers with zero time lag.

Addressing the media on her visit to India, Shallia Li, head of UC Browser (International Business Department) at Alibaba Mobile Business Group, said, “UCWeb has always been dedicated in making content easily accessible for users, even when they are in a limited bandwidth area. With evolving user demands, we are also upgrading our technology. Our data compression technology now provides a ‘No buffering’ video watching experience. Our vision of ‘Content for Everyone, Every Content for One’ is making content accessible for users regardless of network infrastructure and mobile hardware type while also personalising and customising the content as per users’ preference.”

UC Browser 12.0, the company claims, consumes half the volume of data as compared to other browsers for the same quality of content. It also supports the latest video coding format, VP9 Codec, helping save more data as compared to the last version, while returning the same video quality. The upgraded browser also supports new Media Source Extensions, introduced by World Wide Web to facilitate video streaming on websites. It will help optimise pre-loading of videos on websites and switch the definition automatically under different network situations. The updated browser gives users a “no buffering” video experience. Viewers can also click “Play” and watch videos simultaneously while it is downloading. The upgraded browser provides users with a smoother browsing experience. The UC Browser now runs on an upgraded core U4 Kernel, which allows for faster page loads without draining the RAM of the device.

The UC browser witnessed 50% growth in page views on news feeds from Q2 to Q4 in 2017 in both its Indian and Indonesian markets. The product has now been upgraded from being a traditional browing tool to a content distribution platform powered by big data technology. The UC Browser’s “Be Smart” feature uses big-data technology to cater to users’ demands with personalised recommendations. The browser has been a big hit with smartphone users in India.