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Google is trying to make its fast-loading web tech a standard
Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages have one main problem: they only work in a handful of places (mainly Google, Twitter, Bing and Baidu), which makes their fast-loading technology irrelevant everywhere else. Their underpinnings might not be confined for much longer, though. The search firm has launched a campaign to turn AMP-derived technology into a web standard. It's aiming to clean up and refine these technologies (which include pre-rendering, offline support and locking down features) so they're useful virtually everywhere. Sites that met the criteria could be treated the same way as AMP pages in Google's search results and Android's Top Stories news carousel.
Google is testing its fast-loading AMP tech inside Gmail
At this point, Gmail is the world's most popular email client, but that doesn't mean that Google can rest upon its laurels. The company is now experimenting with its Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) tools to bring email into the 21st century. If you're unaware, AMP is Google's way of making webpages load faster on mobile devices, often by acting as an intermediary between you and the site you want to visit.
Google will remove its name from fast-loading mobile URLs
Google's fast-loading, data-saving AMP sites help you mainline morning news on the train to work, but they come with an undesirable side effect. As you will've noticed, the URL for an AMP site looks something like this: google.com/amp/www.engadget.com... As Google explains, it starts loading the page before you've even decided whether to click or not. For that and privacy reasons, Google has to be the middle man, though it has figured out how to nix that URL prefix in its mobile Search apps. In the latter half of 2018, though, Google has said it expects to be able to remove the AMP signature from URLs in Chrome and other smartphone browsers, too.
Apple plans to make Safari scrolling a lot smoother
Apple is making changes to its mobile Safari browser that will make scrolling work smoother across all websites, according to posts on Hacker News and Daring Fireball. Right now, regular pages scroll differently on iOS Safari than sites like Reddit that use AMP (Google's accelerated mobile pages). That's because Google uses an iOS technique that allows AMP pages to override the default scrolling, making pages slicker and faster to browse.
Google makes it easier to share its speedier mobile web links
Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages are great for speeding up the web on your phone, but not so much if you want to share links with friends. Frequently, the only hint at the original link is a brief mention at the top -- share the page you're looking at and you'll give people Google's AMP cache, not the actual site. You won't have to wonder where the original link went for much longer, though. Google is fulfilling a promise by adding a simple way to share the source for an AMP story. When you're looking at an article you tapped in search results, the AMP header bar will have an anchor button that shows the original link. You can even hold down that button to trigger your browser's native sharing feature when available.
Google's mobile search results now show fast-loading sites
Chug a Mountain Dew, turn that thrash metal up to 11 and grab your smartphone, because it's time to get AMP'd. Cringeworthy play on words aside, you'll now find Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) across the entirety of Google's search results. Previously, only articles in the Top Stories section of search results were graced with the AMP lighting tag, but as promised last month, there are now many, many more of these fast-loading sites around.
Google's fast mobile pages coming (with ads) in early 2016
Google revealed the "AMP" endeavor last month to accelerate mobile page-loading times, the slowness of which is a huge user bone of contention. It now says the fast-loading mobile pages will hit search results by early next year, and also gave more details about the project's raison d'etre: ads. The list of partners supporting the effort include its own AdSense, Outbrain and AOL, Engadget's parent company. The AMP project will cut mobile data use and wait times, but Google's not just being altruistic -- it's trying to curb ad-blockers, which heavily impact the company's ad revenue. Apple recently gave ad-blockers a big boost when it revealed it would support them for Safari on iOS 9.
Google wants to make mobile web browsing faster
Let's face it: a lot of those beautifully-designed websites, feature articles and media don't translate well for those browsing on a mobile device. To improve the speed and efficiency of the mobile web, Google has announced the Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project. Through the initiative, Mountain View is looking to leverage existing HTML tech to help publishers build "light-weight" sites that load faster, even if they contain video, animations, slideshows and other items that typically require significant bandwidth. "We also want the same code to work across multiple platforms and devices so that content can appear everywhere in an instant," a blog post announcing AMP explains. Google has already used AMP's HTML open framework for Search and its other apps/services (like News) could see the tech as well. The company already has around 30 publishers on board, including Twitter, Pinterest, WordPress and LinkedIn. Of course, Google isn't the only one improving mobile browsing as Facebook varies how your News Feed loads based on your connection.
