14 DAY TRIAL // With all this rumbling about an iOS version of Facebook Home, few have stopped to think whether it’s even technically possible to port the platform to Apple’s mobile operating system.
For those who aren’t very familiar with the service, Facebook Home slaps a new “home” screen on a smartphone, filling it up with Facebook stuff as well as an applications launcher for the various utilities, games and other items stored on the handset itself.
Although rumor has it that Facebook Inc. and Apple Inc. are engaging in discussions to bring Home to the iOS lockscreen, the reality is simpler than that. Much simpler.
According to Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, iOS customers are soon to get a taste of Facebook Home. But not in the way bloggers will have you believe.
“We are going to continue to develop for both,” said Sandberg, referring to Google’s Android operating system, and Apple’s own iOS which powers hundreds of millions of iDevices around the world.
“It is true that Android is enabling us to provide a more immersive Facebook experience than we can on other operating systems,” she said.
“Home is based on the openness of Android. It allows users to customize in ways that Apple does not,” added Sandberg.
The Facebook COO then dropped the bombshell, “We are going to release a new version [of our mobile app] on iOS, very soon … You will see some of the features from Home will be launched with Apple.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Sandberg admitted that the iOS experience would be a stripped down version of the Android one, the main reason being: “You cannot develop on Apple with the same openness as you can on Android.”
So that’s putting one rumor to rest. No one has to worry about Facebook Home taking over their precious iOS lockscreen, although many users wouldn’t mind this scenario one bit.
