The social media world blew up with all things Facebook earlier today as a new mobile launch was announced live from Facebook headquarters in California. Available next week, Facebook will change the way Android users can experience their smart phone home screen with their newest development, Facebook Home.
“What would it feel like if our phone was designed around people not apps?” Mark Zuckerberg mused as he proposed a new approach to mobile social sharing.
New Facebook Home flips the way smart phone junkies use their phones, putting people in the center and apps in the background. Facebook Home relies on the features most natural to smart phone use such as swiping, tapping, and pressing, creating an organic, natural integration of your social world with your smart phone.
“The home screen is the soul of your phone. It sets the tone for your whole experience and we think it should be deeply personal.” –Mark Zuckerberg
The first feature debuted: Cover Feed.
Cover Feed operates in the background of your Android device, scrolling through your news feed automatically. You can flip through screens by swiping, double tapping to like, and long hold to zoom. Tap the comment icon to leave a comment and swipe away when you finished. Cover Feed displays the most important news about the people closest to you. To see more about a person or story, you can tap on a comment and go to the Facebook app.
When you get a notification, instead of a Facebook icon, you see your friend’s face. When you need to use other apps, pull up your lock screen by putting your finger on your own profile picture at the bottom of the screen (see photo above). Simply swipe up to see your apps.
Facebook Home also allows you to bookmark your favorite apps on a background screen.
The next feature of Facebook Home changes the way Android users message: Chat Heads.
“You’re constantly switching back and forth. We want to interact with people, not apps.” -Mark Zuckerberg.
When you receive a message, your friend’s profile picture and a message preview pops up. The “Chat Head” will follow you through your apps as you use them. If you want to message back, you can tap on the head to quickly pop in and interact, then swipe out to collapse.
You can drag the Chat Head across the screen to position where is convenient for you (pictured below).
Facebok hopes to make Home available on tablet devices at a later date, as well.
“Home is not just mobile first, it’s mobile best.”
After debuting Facebook Home, HTC and AT&T CEOs took the stage to announce the newest smart phone, HTC First. HTC First will be available April 12th for $99.99, exclusively at AT&T.
“We’re soon going to be living in a world where a majority of people using a smartphone will have never seen a computer,” Mark Zuckerberg said.
Facebook Home will be available in the Google Play store on select Android devices April 12th. Simply download and install! For more information, see the official site HERE. Will you try out Facebook Home?