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Here’s what Facebook learned from the failed Home experiment

Published Nov 14th, 2013 4:00PM EST
Facebook Home Failure Lessons

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No one was interested in Facebook Home — not smartphone owners, not smartphone vendors. Facebook even had to provide disgruntled Home users with a step-by-step guide to disable the software entirely. It stands to reason that the bungled launch would have turned Facebook off to the idea entirely, especially in light of how dominant its mobile app has become, but according to Facebook mobile engineering VP Cory Ondrejka, the company has “a better understanding of where to take Home in the future.”

In an interview with AllThingsD, Ondrejka explained that Home has continued to add new features since launch, and has generally given the company a better understanding of Android development. Facebook has all but given up on having Home preinstalled on devices, but the company plans to continue improving the software while focusing on the Facebook app, which remains one of the most used apps on both the iOS and Android platforms.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.