Facebook Home is pretty neat, but probably the coolest feature in the tweaked Android app is Chat Heads. The unfortunately-named feature is essentially the company’s vision of what messaging on mobile should be, across any platform. Without taking users out of the experience they’re already in, Chat Heads appear above wherever you are on your phone, be it looking at Instagram photos or perusing through your Facebook News Feed. They’re there when you need them, and disappear when you don’t.
The UI of a Chat Head is precisely as it sounds. A bubble portrait of your friend’s face will appear on your screen, which you can tap on to bring up your conversation—this all happens without actually bouncing into a messaging app. The conversation overlay simply opens up over the screen you were looking at last. Neat. You can rearrange Chat Heads and position them however and wherever. Swipe them away and they’re gone.
There are many other aspects of Facebook Home, which we detailed in full before, worth noting. It’s not really an app as much as it is an experience. People, not apps, Zuckerberg said upon unveiling Home. There’s a Cover Feed for all the latest posts from friends, notifications and app launcher, too. If you want an always-on, deep connection with Facebook, Home is what you’ve been waiting for.
It completely supplants the typical Android experience and embeds users right into the growing Facebook universe, almost as if that’s all that matters. For some users it does. Facebook Home comes preloaded on the HTC First, and will also be available as a free download in the Google Play store on April 12 for HTC One X/One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III and Note II handsets.
