Facebook Home
 |
|
The lock screen used under Facebook Home displays status updates and photos from the user's news feed
|
|
| Original author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 12 April 2013 |
| Stable release |
1.2 / January 13, 2014
|
| Operating system | Android |
| Website | www |
Facebook Home was a user interface layer for Android-compatible smartphones that was developed by Facebook. Designed to be a drop-in replacement for the existing home screen ("launcher") on an Android device, the software provides a replacement home screen that allows users to easily view and post content on Facebook along with launching apps, a replacement lock screen that displays notifications from Facebook and other apps, and an overlay which allows users to chat via Facebook messages or SMS from any app. Facebook Home was unveiled at a press event on April 4, 2013, and was released on April 12, 2013 for a limited selection of devices from HTC and Samsung Electronics—including the HTC First, a new smartphone pre-loaded with the software.
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 serves as the replacement home screen while using Facebook Home; it is used to view updates posted by others on Facebook in a full screen environment and access an application launcher. The lock screen displays notifications (sorted by priority using an internal algorithm) from both Facebook and other apps on cards, while also displaying updates in a similar format. Home aims 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 are hidden.
A system known as "Chat Heads" are used for messages and SMS; avatars of friends that a user is currently in conversation with are overlaid on the Android interface. Tapping an avatar opens a pop-up chat window over the app currently in use.
...
Wikipedia