Is Facebook Home coming to Apple?

A senior Facebook executive has confirmed the company is in talks with Apple to bring its Home launch screen to the iOS operating system.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Adam Mosseri, director of product for Facebook, said the negotiations were ongoing, and that nothing was yet confirmed.

Facebook’s Home software, which is currently Android only, replaces the launch screen on Android phones with a Facebook page showing status updates, pictures, and chats. A feature called Chat Heads allows the user to conduct conversations with other Facebook users, or via SMS, regardless of the app they are using on the phone.

It would be a major coup if Facebook was able to convince Apple to allow it to offer a similar feature on iOS. Appe’s model, which is a heavily curated walled garden – in contrast to the virtual free for all with Android.

Apple’s model controls the look and feel of iOS devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, which allows a high degree of familiarity for users moving between Apple devices.

Android, which is developed by Google but given away free, gives handset manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung and others, a high degree of freedom in terms of the overall look and feel of the operating system. Most Android handset manufacturers provide customised launch screens, while carriers add proprietary widgets and other small apps.

None of this customisation is possible with the Apple system. If Apple did allow Facebook to offer a Home-like launch screen for iOS, it would represent a significant departure for Apple in terms of look, feel and control.

Apple has had a rocky relationship with Facebook in the past. The failure of Apple’s Ping music social network, which was embedded in the iTunes music software, was largely attributed to Facebook’s refusal to allow Ping users to post updates from inside iTunes.

Since then the relationship has warmed somewhat, and Facebook, along with Twitter, are the two Apple-anointed social networks users can access system-wide from within iOS. This means users can post from virtually any app inside iOS without needing to fire up a dedicated Facebook or Twitter app.

The launch of Facebook home, which is available for a limited number of Android phones, including the HTC One, and selected Samsung handsets, effectively hijacks the Google operating system, and turns the Android phone into a Facebook phone – without the need for Facebook to develop a handset, operating system and carrier relationships.