We’re just hours away from the most anticipated Facebook event we can recall, where it’s likely the social network will reveal an Android launcher/application named Facebook Home. We’ve already heard a few details about the software, and even seen a render of the HTC First, the phone on which it may make its debut; but the look of Facebook Home has remained a secret.
However, few things stay secret for long on the Internet, and it’s thanks to a new leak, courtesy of @evleaks via 9to5Google, that we’ve been given a sneaky glimpse at Facebook Home’s design in a trio of screen shots. So how does it look? Well, it looks like Android covered by a minimalist skin.
According to the leak, Facebook Home contains links to major Facebook features throughout, and has a, “clean, well thought out” design. The picture on the left above shows the sharing menu in the gallery, enabling you to send images to Facebook-owned Instagram, Facebook itself or through Facebook Messenger. Additionally, links to Google+, Twitter and Picasa are present, showing Home isn’t going to be solely linked to Facebook.
On the right we’ve got a notification page, where a Facebook location check-in sits at the very top, and phone, messaging and Instagram notifications are sensibly put in the center. At the bottom is someone’s face inside a circular button, which we’ll guess is the owner’s Facebook profile picture, and tapping it could instantly open your home page. The third and final picture shows Android’s familiar application selection screen, with the addition of a check-in, photo and a status update shortcut along the top.
Whether these leaks are accurate will become clear very soon, but if they are, we’re struggling to find a reason why anyone will choose this over their regular Android UI. Judging by a last-minute survey, we’re not the only ones, indicating Facebook needs to have something pretty exciting in reserve if Home is going to keep people’s attention after the event.
