Screenshot of home screen in Odia running Firefox OS in a GeeksPhone Keon developer reference phone

A home screen, homescreen, or start screen, is the main screen on a device or computer program. Home screens are not identical because users rearrange icons as they please, and home screens often differ across mobile operating systems. Almost every

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

has some form of home screen, which typically displays links to

applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

, settings, and notifications.

Common features

Home screens usually consist of a grid of application links or shortcuts that can often be arranged over multiple pages, and serve as the user's main method of accessing phone functions. Home screens also tend to include a

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along an edge of the screen, where application links can be stored and accessed from any page on the home screen. Most operating systems allow users to add folders to the home screen in order to further organize application links. Some home screens may also include a panel where

push notifications Push technology or server push is a style of Internet-based communication where the request for a given transaction is initiated by the publisher or central server. It is contrasted with pull/get, where the request for the transmission of informa ...

are displayed or select system settings can be accessed. In addition to applications links, many home screens are also capable of displaying ambient information, such as live tiles on

Windows Phone Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from the Metro design lan ...

or widgets on Android. Such tiles or widgets may link to applications, however they differ from traditional links in that they show current, dynamic information instead of a static

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

. However, the increased relevance of the information can come at the cost of device battery life,

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, and the ease of recognition afforded by static application icons.

Alternative home screens

Although most home screens have a similar structure, not all are designed in common. Two notable examples of less-common home screens paradigms include

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer qu ...

and

WebOS webOS, also known as LG webOS and previously known as Open webOS, HP webOS and Palm webOS, is a Linux kernel-based multitasking operating system for smart devices such as smart TVs that has also been used as a mobile operating system. Initially ...

. The former is Apple's natural language user interface, which performs functions similar to more traditional home screens such as opening applications, displaying relevant data, and managing phone settings. The latter is notable for its use of entirely dynamic application icons that mimic the current state of the application, similar to

task manager In operating systems, a task manager is a system monitor program used to provide information about the processes and applications running on a computer, as well as the general status of the computer. Some implementations can also be used to t ...

s on other mobile operating systems. Although most mobile operating systems include a default home screen, some devices also allow the user to replace the

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home screen with a different application or third-party home screen, allowing for additional home screen paradigms.

History

One of the first examples of a home screen can be found on the

PalmPilot The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc (then a subsidiary of U.S. Robotics, later 3Com). These devices were launched on March 10, 1997. Accessories and pricing Pa ...

, which debuted in 1997. Early home screens were often less customizable than current iterations. For example, early versions of iOS did not allow users to rearrange applications on the home screen or change the background image. Because home screens often serve as the main method for interacting with mobile operating systems, they tend to change slowly, if at all, across updates to the operating system.

References

{{reflist Mobile operating systems

Common features

Alternative home screens

History

See also

References