Owners of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One flagship Android handsets can now get a taste of how their phone feels with a Facebook skin.
The Facebook Home launcher and suite of apps for the Android OS is now available to use on the top Google-based handsets of the moment.
Facebook silently added Home support for the HTC One and Galaxy S4 on Friday by allowing users of the main Facebook app to select a ‘Use Home Anyway’ option in the settings. The social network has since confirmed the roll-out.
Android Central also reports that while Sony Xperia ZL has also been enabled, as the company seeks to keep the downloads flowing.
The extended availability brings the total to 8 devices, following its initial arrival on the Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC One X, HTC One X plus, and the dedicated HTC First handset.
Just yesterday Facebook announced that the skin, which includes a Cover Feed that constantly updates with statuses and photos from your friends and the Chat Heads messaging platform, had reached a million downloads.
Despite the social network’s positive spin, that’s a desperately low tally considering the company’s gigantic user base. It also doesn’t account for those users who may have installed and uninstalled the app after taking it for a test drive.
Facebook Home itself is languishing on just two stars on the Google Play store, while there seems to be little demand from Android users for the suite to be rolled out to their device.
In another blow this week, the HTC First, the first handset to arrive with Facebook Home built in, was dropped from $99 upfront to £0.99 on contract with its exclusive carrier in the United States AT&T.
The HTC First will arrive in the UK this summer on the EE network, but it seems unlikely there’ll be a stampede for the mid-range device..
Have you installed and stayed the course with Facebook Home on your Android device? Let us know why in the comments section below.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
