Facebook announces ‘Home’ for Android

Facebook has announced it will be releasing new software which puts feeds from the social network on the home screen of Android phones.

Dubbed Facebook ‘Home’, the system aims to change the users’ mobile experience by putting friends at the centre the smart phone. Home is advertised not as a phone or operating system and more than just an app. 

Home will act as a ‘wrapper’ for the Android operating system and becomes the main way to use a phone: notifications, pictures and messages will appear on the main screen of the phone rather than via the downloadable app. New ways to connect include: ‘Chat heads’ which optimise messaging so that people can seamlessly receive messages in a non-intrusive fashion while they’re using your apps.

Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, explained: “Now there’s a new use case that’s more and more important. We have our phones with us all the time and we want to know more what’s happening to our friends.”

Facbook have also attempted to quell the rumours of a Facebook phone. The organisation denied they are building a hardware device: “No. Facebook Home is a software experience designed to run on Android devices.

Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum said: “This is a great experiment for Facebook – it’s much lower risk than developing a phone or an operating system of its own, and if it turns out not to be successful, there will be little risk or loss to Facebook. If it does turn out to be successful, Facebook can build on the model further and increase the value provided in the application over time.”

Facebook’s Home will be available via Andrioid phones 4.0 or higher as a free download from the Google Play Store from April 12.

Watch Facebook Home’s introductory video here: 

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