Facebook updating Home after one million downloads in a month
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Facebook's Home app has been installed just one million times since its launch last month, remaining a minor access point for the social network's increasingly mobile active user base.
The Home app could have been a boon for HTC — HTC was one of two handset manufacturers whose devices were supported at launch — and might yet turn out to be, but so far the app and the HTC First smartphone that debuted alongside Home have been slow movers.
Home was installed 500,000 times in the first two weeks after launch and the rate has not accelerated since. US carrier AT&T this week announced it would almost give the HTC First away on a two-year contract with an upfront cost of 99 cents. It was originally on sale under contract for $99.
Home offers supported Android devices a Facebook family of apps that puts the social network's feeds and Messages at the forefront of the user interface.
It's also thought Facebook has added Home support for the HTC One and, unofficially, the Samsung Galaxy S4. According to Android Central, while the S4 doesn't have official Home support, users can get access to it by selecting the 'Use Home anyway' option on the Facebook app. Facebook promised at the launch of Home that both the S4 and HTC One would get Home support eventually.
The Home app now has over 8,400 one star reviews on Google Play compared with just over 2,800 five star reviews.
Facebook has pored over the 1 star reviews, according to director of product Adam Mosseri, who told media on Thursday that complaints centred on missing features, such as folders for apps, and the inability to rearrange apps.
A software update was expected to go live on Google Play on Thursday, however at the time of writing it had not been published.
Facebook users are increasingly coming to rely on its mobile site and apps as a primary point of interaction, with monthly mobile active users up over the last year 56 percent to 751 million. The growth rate for mobile only active users is even faster, which have more than doubled since the first quarter of 2012 to 189 million in the last quarter. Facebook has 1.1 billion users.