Facebook Home
Facebook, Inc. | |
Initial release | 12 April 2013 |
---|---|
Stable release | 1.2
/ January 13, 2014 |
Operating system | Android |
Website | https://www.facebook.com/home at the Wayback Machine (archived April 14, 2013) |
Facebook Home was a
Design
Citing that many users use smartphones for social networking services such as Facebook, its designers aimed to create an alternative user environment that would emphasize interacting with the device through people instead of apps. The Cover Feed served as the replacement home screen while using Facebook Home; it was used to view updates posted by others on Facebook in a full screen environment and access an application launcher. The lock screen displayed notifications (sorted by priority using an internal algorithm) from both Facebook and other apps on cards, while also displaying updates in a similar format.[1] Home aimed to hide as much of the Android shell as possible; by default, interface elements such as the status bar on the top of the screen were hidden.[2]
A system known as "Chat Heads" was used for
Device compatibility
Facebook promised support for Home on a "wide range of devices" (including smartphones and tablets), but it was only compatible with the HTC First (which is pre-loaded with Home and was unveiled alongside the software), One X, One X+, One (M7), Samsung Galaxy S III, S4, Note II, and Nexus 4.[1][3]
Initially the ability to view non-Facebook notifications through Home was only available on the HTC First, as technical limitations that prevented this functionality on other devices were patched by HTC in the First's distribution of Android.[4][5][6]
While the Facebook Home interface was officially incompatible with all other Android devices, some of its features were backported to Facebook's main apps. An update to the
Reception
A few hours after release, it had received an average review of 2.3 out of 5 on
In response to its poor reception, Facebook indicated in late-May 2013 that it was planning on making improvements to Home in response to consumer feedback.[12] The first of these improvements came in an update released in early-June 2013, adding the ability to pin shortcuts to a tray on the bottom of the application menu screen.[13] In December 2013, Facebook released an update to Home, which added a more traditional home screen.[6] Home has not been updated since, and is no longer available in the Google Play Store.
References
- ^ a b c "Facebook Home revamps any Android phone to make it about 'people, not apps'". The Verge. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "Facebook Home can be disabled on HTC First, stock Android sits beneath". TechRadar. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Facebook adds Cover Feed to standard Android app, no Home required". The Verge. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ "Facebook unmasks the HTC First handset". CNET. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ "HTC and Facebook announce the First smartphone with AT&T, arriving April 12th for $99.99". The Verge. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Facebook Tries Salvaging Home With Redesign That Makes Its Lockscreen More Familiar". TechCrunch. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ "Chat Heads come to Facebook Messenger for Android". The Verge. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
- ^ "Hours in, Facebook Home suffering from poor Google Play reviews as 48% of users award it 1 star", The Next Web, April 12, 2013
- ^ Pogue, David (April 9, 2013), "Facebook Grabs for Your Phone. What Gives?", The New York Times
- ^ Stern, Joanna (April 9, 2013), "Facebook Home and HTC First Review: A Nice Place to Visit, but Not Quite Home", ABC News
- GigaOM, archived from the originalon February 27, 2014, retrieved April 13, 2013
- ^ "Facebook puts HTC First launch on hold in the UK to 'focus on making Home better'". The Verge. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ^ "Facebook adds a tray for your favorite apps in Home update". The Verge. Retrieved 8 June 2013.