Facebook’s iOS apps get a taste of Home with Chat Heads

Facebook is bringing some elements of Home, its Android skin, to its iOS apps today, starting with Chat Heads, its amazingly not annoying pop-up system for message notifications.

Today’s updates for the Facebook apps for iPhone and iPad also include Stickers (more on that later) and a new, more consistent look for News Feed.

Facebook Home itself is a bit too all-encompassing to pass muster with the Apple gatekeepers. The Home experience essentially makes your Facebook news feed your phone’s home screen, hiding all the other apps in a neat little drawer. (Read our full review on Home for Android to get the big picture.)

Chat Heads is just one component of Home. It puts a cute, round pop-up bubble onto your screen anytime someone sends you a Facebook Message (or a text message or an IM, depending on your settings).

We were fully expecting Chat Heads to be annoying when we first saw the feature previewed. But after a few days of trying Chat Heads on Facebook Home (and on other Android phones), it was shockingly not awful.

Chat Heads is part of the latest iPhone and iPad Facebook app update. Stickers are another element of the new apps. You can add Stickers to any message just by tapping the smiley icon; you can also get more Stickers from the Sticker Store — all of this Stickers stuff is news to us.

Here’s a sneak peek at Chat Heads and Stickers, as well as a look at the new News Feed on iPad: