Facebook Wants to Be Your Smartphone “Home” (Screen)

Debunking widespread speculation that Facebook was planning to launch an actual branded phone, a “Facebook Phone,” the company instead announced the launch of “Facebook Home.” Maybe it’s just semantics – (not to quote the movie “ET”) “phone” or “home” – but Facebook Home essentially achieves the same end-goal, but via different means and wider distribution potential.

Facebook Home essentially Facebook-izes the valuable smartphone real estate, the home screen.  It’s has more user interface than a set of apps, and via deep integration with Android OS raises to the surface a host of Facebook content experiences. Among the features highlighted during Facebook’s event yesterday is “Coverfeed,” which provides users with live Facebook feeds on the home screen with ability to interact with content (all without having to launch an app or unlock their phones. Messaging is also front and center, and seamlessly integrated (SMS and Facebook Messenger), and includes new people icons called “chat heads.” Overall, the experience is centered not surprisingly on the social and friend relationships, and not the apps. This includes how notifications are displayed and associated with people versus an app (i.e., number overlaid on the Facebook logo). Then there’s the advertising, which naturally is key to monetization and has to be a part of the “home” experience.

Facebook Home is available beginning April 12th, out of the box and optimized, including special features, for HTC’s First smartphone available from AT&T, and Android app for download available from “Google Play.” It will work on a number of additional handsets from HTC and Samsung, with others expected to follow, as well as extension to Android tablets in the coming months. There are also a number of wireless carrier and OEMs participating in the Facebook Home Program, which will work with the company to optimize their Facebook Home development efforts.

The irony in the Facebook Home announcement is that Facebook is leveraging the very openness of the Android OS to build and optimize an experience that puts it front and center in the mobile consumer’s smartphone experience, and much like Android architect Google has already done. Case in point: according to our Connected Intelligence SmartMeter, seven of the top ten apps used in February among Android users (based on reach) were Google apps. Facebook engagement far outweighs that of individual Google properties – with active Android smartphone users opening the Facebook app nine times a day and spending nearly a half-hour per day in Facebook. While it may be comparing apples to oranges, daily Facebook engagement is two to three times higher than popular Google apps like Google Voice, YouTube, and Gmail, and the differential is even greater for other Google experiences. Overall, Facebook usage represents 15 percent of total daily app time (3.2 hours) and 9 percent of total daily time spent on the phone (5.2 hours). What Google has in its favor is aggregate engagement across a host of branded properties that is on par, or slightly higher, than that of Facebook properties (including Instagram).

So, the bigger questions coming out of Facebook Home are: Do consumers want to Facebook-ize their smartphones? What does it mean for Google? What about Microsoft and Apple? It’s really too early to tell on the first, but we do know that Facebook is widely used across all age groups. Younger audience members are increasingly relying on social media for communications (including messaging) and social search/discovery, and by surfacing these features, there is certainly an opportunity for Facebook to further engagement and mobile ad monetization opportunities. Regarding the second, it’s a bit of a double-edged sword for Google, for even if Facebook Home surfaces Google Search, it may be subjugated to Facebook features. But the app runs on Google’s Android, and thereby showcases what experiences can be built and delivered on the platform. Lastly, there’s Microsoft and Apple. By showcasing these new capabilities on Android, Facebook puts the spotlight on both Microsoft and Apple. While Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 is certainly customizable, the platform is still looking to gain significant traction and momentum in the U.S. market, and this announcement may not help its cause. However, while not customizable to this extent, Windows Phone 8 already has a deep integration with social media via the “People Hub” feature. Apple by comparison is more restrictive and non-customizable, and makes us all wonder what the next iOS will look like.

Overall, the real impact depends on adoption, and how many mobile consumers want to make Facebook Home their new Home. If this announcement had come two or three years ago, the impact would have been significant. But now, there is a suspicion that perhaps, just possibly Facebook is beginning to wane in appeal. Further, for many users Facebook is like a dirty little secret and while we may indeed use it nine or more times per day, we hardly want to advertise that fact by ceding the prime real estate to the experience.