So you don’t want a new smartphone and are happy with your Samsung Galaxy S III or a newly purchased HTC One, how can you try Facebook Home? Well, it will be available in the Google Play Store come April 12th as a free download. There’s a few caveats though. It won’t support all devices, at least not at first, but Facebook promises monthly updates and support for a wide array of smartphones and tablets coming soon. Read on to find out what devices, and when.
While we can’t be sure of Facebook‘s full plan yet as they didn’t reveal all of the details, we have a pretty good idea. Obviously HTC is a partner here with the HTC first – the first Facebook Phone, but we’re also expecting Samsung to play a large role. The reason being Samsung is the most popular Android manufacturer, and Mark Zuckerberg confirmed so right on stage with the image you see below. Samsung will be a launch partner as well as HTC and a few others.
Facebook outlined (as you see above) the HTC One, HTC One X and X+, as well as the Galaxy S III, upcoming Galaxy S 4, and then the Galaxy Note II. At least these are the initial devices they’ll support. Then according to what we’ve learned live at the event Huawei, Sony, ZTE, Lenovo and more will all partake in the fun.
It looks like a few recent HTC and Samsung devices will all get first dips, and the rest will eventually be supported in future updates. Mark Zuck promised monthly updates with more device support, bug fixes, and new and improved features to arrive at a rapid pace. Sadly there’s no tablets involved. They think the experience will be amazing on 7 and 10-inch displays, but need a few more months to perfect that – so stay tuned for more details.
Hands-on is coming up quick so don’t go anywhere. Are you sold yet? Or will you stick to Twitter and Google+?
I think it looks cool. I’ll install it on my Note II but the first time I see an ad on my home screen I’ll uninstall it.
Amen
Exactly.Also, Hopefully this home screen replacement is an option we can bypass.
Do you realy want your device is controlled by one social network and what your friends post on facebook and is not controlled by yourself.
What will happen if for example a kind accidently plays with your device and sees a post of your friend on your homescreen that is not kiddy friendly?
It will only be available for ICS and JB. And for the phone, will they have a fast upgrade process when a new Android version is released?
So what’s the deal here for people on custom roms? will there be an aosp compatible version? I guess when an aosp device gets it? I’d be curious to try this out for a day or so.
I suppose if you have a Galaxy S II (GT-I9100) it will be considered too old to have FB Home installed because of it’s 480 x 800 display as it’s optimised for HD displays?