Facebook reveals Facebook Home for Android

Facebook has announced the upcoming release of its replacement homescreen app for Android phones.  Now instead of needing to launch the Facebook app to check messages or updates from your friends, you can do it conveniently from your phone’s homescreen.

There have been rumors for the past few years that Facebook is going to release their own branded phone to compete with the iPhone and Android phones, and this is either a step in that direction, or a branch off of it.  According to Facebook, “Home isn’t a phone or operating system, and it’s also more than just an app. Home is a completely new experience that lets you see the world through people, not apps.”

There are a few major features, such as the Cover feed. This replaces your phones lock and home screen and gives you a new style of viewing for your friends’ and families’ photos, articles and posts they are sharing the moment you turn your screen on.  Another major feature is “Chat heads.”  Chat heads allow you to have a continuous chatting and messaging session with your friends regardless of what you currently have open on your phone.  A small image of the friend who messaged you pops up over your current application and once tapped you can quickly read and respond to it.  This works for both Facebook messages as well as Text Messages.  In addition, Facebook Home also has a notification system for directly alerting you to posts from people you deem as being interesting or important to you. This makes it easier to see updates that are relevant to  you without having to constantly launch the app.

Facebook Home will be released in the Google Play store on April 12th for select phones as well as pre-installed on the new HTC First that is set to be released on that same day.  There is currently no plan for it to be released for the iPhone, and due to current restrictions on the phone, there probably never will be.  So if you’re one of those people who socially lives in their Facebook feed, this new home replacement app should be good for you.