Facebook 6.0 for iPhone: Everything You Need to Know

Android users are probably playing with the newly launched Facebook Home for Android users, but iOS users are not left out of a new Facebook update. There are a few interesting new features that make the Facebook experience on the iPhone fresh. Chatting and sharing are made easier and more livelier with a few additions and if you are an avid fan of sharing photos on Facebook, there’s something for you too.

New Facebook App

Some of the features are useful, while the other new features make it fun. Here are 8 new features you are getting with the latest Facebook app update, Facebook 6.0.

1. Chat Heads

You can now chat to your Facebook friends within the Facebook app by swiping from left to right. When you start chatting with them, you’ll notice this new feature called Chat Heads which are these circles with your contact’s profile picture.

Chatheads

You can open multiple Chat Heads when chatting to many friends, tapping on it will open up the chat with that particular person.

Multiple Chatheads

These Chat Heads stay visible as you use the app. The cool thing is that you can tap and drag them around so it does not get in the way with tapping the Like button on your news feed. When you’ve finished chatting, all you have to do is drag the Chat Head to the lower part of your display to close it.

Move Chatheads

2. Send Stickers

Some messaging apps on smartphones have stickers which are like giant emoticons. Now Facebook has them too! You can access it by tapping on the Smiley icon on the text field. Your normal keyboard will then be replaced with these large emoticons.

To go back to your keyboard, tap on the Smiley icon on the text field again.

Stickers

You can also download more stickers at the sticker store. Go to the store by tapping on the basket icon at the bottom, and download the stickers you want to use.

Sticker Store

3. Make Free Calls

You can also make free calls over Wi-Fi now to your Facebook friends who have the Facebook app installed on their smartphone. All you have to do is tap on the information icon when you start chatting with them and then press the Free Call button.

Facebook Free Call

If some of your friends have the free Call button disabled, they have to first update the Facebook app on their device to the latest version. Also, Facebook free calls only supports voice (no video yet) at the moment.

4. Send Voice Message

Besides sharing photos with your Facebook friends via Facebook Message, you can also record your voice and send them short voice messages. All you have to do is tap on the Plus icon and then tap on Record Voice.

Record Voice

Tap and hold the record button while speaking; release your finger once you’re done. The short clip will then be sent to the other person to hear. Kind of reminds you of a walktie-talkie, doesn’t it?

Recording Voice

5. Share Post to FB Pages, Groups, Message

Previously, sharing posts through the Facebook app only allowed you to share it to your own Facebook timeline. The updated app now allows you to share it to places other than your own timeline. All you have to do is tap on the Share button below a post on your news feed.

Facebook Share

You get two options: Edit and Share the post or message it to a friend.

Share Message

If you tap on ‘On your own timeline’, you can see the other options available i.e. share to your friend’s timeline, to a Facebook group you’re in or to a Facebook page that you manage.

Share Options

6. Separate Feeds for Categories

Taking its cue from the desktop Facebook’s latest news feed design, the iPhone app also features different feeds/categories you can opt to display. This can be feeds of groups you’re in or special groups of friends with a common theme, say the school you went to or friends from the same location.

News Feed

7. Photo Filters in Messaging Section

There are also some editing features in the photos that you send to your Facebook friends. After choosing a picture, you are able to crop, brighten and choose from a few filters to add to your picture. This means you won’t have to download so many photo-editing apps for your iPhone if you are content with the limited features they have.

Filters

8 "Shared photos" album

After sharing photos with a friend, all your photos will be saved into a special Shared Photos album. This lets both of you easily track photos that have been sent. To access this, just tap on the information icon when chatting with someone.

Shared Photos

via hongkiat.com http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/facebook-app-for-iphone/