After 1M downloads, Facebook’s Home is getting big updates starting today

MENLO PARK, Calif. — Today at Facebook HQ, the company is announcing that one month after its launch, Facebook Home has seen 1 million downloads, and those early users — mostly male early-adopter types — have shown some interesting usage behavior: a 25 percent increase in feedback and in time spent in the app, Facebook execs said.

“Facebook is already the most-used app on mobile devices, so we’re really excited we can bump that up by 25 percent,” a rep said in a press lunch at the company’s headquarters.

We also got a preview of some new features coming to Facebook Home from Facebook product director Adam Mosseri:

• Chat Heads improvements that make chatting more seamless with fewer steps.
• A new, full-screen interface for your dock of apps that can be accessed more simply through a single swipe.
• Sub-folders within the app dock, kind of like you see in the iOS app launcher.
• More “Blue’s Clues” pop-up prompts to educate users on new features.

Facebook is launching an updated version of the Home app and the Android app today. Facebook reps say to expect new Home updates once a month. Today’s launch will focus mostly on bug fixes, not the new features listed above.

“It’s important for us to not launch features until they’re absolutely ready,” said Mosseri, so expect to see live versions of these features in the months to come.

A spokesperson also said Facebook is transitioning from a “mobile first” to a “mobile best” philosophy. While mobile engineers are part of every team now, he noted that improving mobile experiences and making them competitive and world-class is the next step.