bathroom raiser: Zuckerberg: Home is the 'next version of Facebook,' not heading to iOS anytime soon

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Zuckerberg: Home is the 'next version of Facebook,' not heading to iOS anytime soon

Like what you've seen so far of Home, Facebook's newly announced UI for Android devices? Well, get used to it because, according to Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, it's the "next version of Facebook." The people-centric integration, shown off today on the AT&T-exclusive HTC First, makes your individual user profile the "hub" and relies heavily upon a card-like interface for swipe notifications that can be easily read and dismissed. That Facebook would look to Home, a seemingly mobile-native implementation of the social network, as the framework for its platform going forward is unsurprising -- changes recently made to News Feed were done specifically to adapt it to the smartphone space. Whether or not that means you'll see this new interface take over your desktop anytime soon remains to be seen. But take this as a sure sign that Facebook, oft criticized for lagging behind in mobile, is in major course correction mode.

As for when Home will make the transition to iOS, Zuckerberg seemed less optimistic, telling reporters that Android's openness and lack of direct oversight from Google was the major contributing factor to its unveiling today. A version of Home for iOS would require a "partnership" with Apple, which maintains strict control over its "closed" ecosystem; a pairing that would implicitly see Facebook ceding some control to Cupertino. Frame it in that manner and it's easy to see why Home's First debut is a Google-based affair and may continue to be for the foreseeable future. It does seem likely, however, that Microsoft's Windows Phone platform could play host to Home before even iOS, as Zuckerberg's referred to the live-tile OS as falling "somewhere in between" due to the licenses involved.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google, Facebook