Facebook Home for Android: everything you need to know

"We want not just to have apps that people use, but be as deeply integrated as possible, where other apps can build on top of Facebook," Zuckerberg said.

HTC First would certainly fit into that category.

A batch of images leaked of Facebook Home yesterday. The images show an all-color UI with an expected focus on photos.

It seems almost like your photos take up the entire screen, with bubbles of info - missed calls, Instagram alerts and messages - floating above.

Android Police previously got its hands on the below system dump for "the Facebook phone," and while the information may make you go "eh," it does give us details about what we might see later.

HTC Home

ET would approve of this Home phone [Image credit: Android Police]

Is the HTC First the Facebook phone?

We've been here before, of course. The concept of a Facebook phone isn't new, while HTC Myst is a name that's been rumoured for some time as a follow-up to the HTC ChaCha, which had a specific Facebook button.

Myst could be a codename, though. On Tuesday, @evleaks posted the generic image of what was claimed to be the HTC First, though the rendering was suspiciously generic.

Some analysis conducted by The Verge discovered that the HTC First logo was likely Photoshopped onto the image (you can also see a faint line bordering the words, as well) - not exactly a great sign of authenticity.

Is the HTC First real?

Is the HTC First real?

All that @evleaks has to say about the phone is: "HTC first, 2013."

According to the build.prop specs from Android Police and previous leaks from @evleaks, it seems the handset codenamed Myst is destined for U.S. wireless carrier AT&T. Its skin is the old Sense 4.5 and it runs Android 4.1.2. There's a 4.3-inch 320ppi display with 720p resolution, on which you can see the snaps you take with either the 5MP rear camera or 1.6MP front camera.

Facebook ChaCha

Facebook launched the ChaCha with HTC in 2011

It looks as though the phone lacks an SD Card, though it has 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. The processor is pegged as a dual-core 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960.

That's a mid-range handset if ever we've heard of one, but it's probably the level of specification we'd expect from a Facebook-orientated handset.

Facebook Home details

Facebook Home apps

Yesterday's images matche with the phone shown yesterday, so at least @evleaks gets points for consistency.

There's little in the way of distinctive markings to say whether this is an HTC phone - or device made by any specific manufacturer - or simply a generic rendering.

You may remember that before the Galaxy S4 was announced, an image supposedly of the phone popped up online (posted by @evleaks, no less) before it was found that it represented a false hope. We get a glimpse at what might be the app launcher, and while it looks like any Android app center, you'll notice the Status, Photo and Check In options along the top.

Facebook Home apps

Another leaked image presumably shows a photo and the various share options users can hit to get their pic on their various social networks - Instagram, Messenger, Picasa, Google+, Twitter, Messaging and, of course, Facebook - as well as Gmail, texts or trash.

We'll know if all the images - and all the leaks - are legit later today. Tune into TechRadar for the lowdown on Facebook Home, HTC First, or whatever it is Facebook has in store.

Contributor

Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.