It is easier than ever to simultaneously chat with several friends using the new Facebook app for iOS. But Apple's iOS "walled garden" makes the new "Chat Heads" feature less useful than the app's Android counterpart. Facebook Home, a collection of apps announced last week, may be an Android-only affair but the social network yesterday updated its iPhone/iPad app with the Chat Heads feature from Home. Chat Heads is more limited on iOS than Android, but it is still a welcome addition. When you install Facebook 6.0 for iOS and receive a Facebook message, you see a bubble in the app’s upper-right corner. Tapping it brings forward recent Facebook-message threads. Each person in your threads gets their own photo bubble. The idea is to let users easily juggle simultaneous Facebook message conversations, and Chat Heads succeeds on that front. On Android devices with Facebook Home or Facebook’s Messenger app installed, conversation bubbles follow users from app to app so they’re always accessible. iOS is a “walled garden” and not an open system like Android, however, so Chat Heads are confined to the Facebook 6.0 iOS app. As of this writing, Facebook Messenger for iOS hasn’t been updated since March 7, and there’s no Chat Heads support. The updated Facebook iOS app adds face emoticons called “stickers,” some of which you get for free, but there’s also a “Sticker Store’” where you can download additional stickers. At the moment, all the stickers in the store are free, but you’ll presumably be able to buy more in the future. The Facebook News Feed also now shows you updates categorized by Music, Photos and Games, a nice touch. One heads up: Facebook 6.0 for iOS is available now, but Facebook says “Chat heads and stickers will be available to everyone over the next few weeks,” so you may have to wait a little while to get in on the fun. (Screen shot by Facebook.) Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Generative AI ICT Partners feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe