Often, when you catch somebody peering over your shoulder while you’re engaged with your mobile device, they’re simply being nosey and trying to pry on your business. But there are legitimate reasons for others breaking this delicate social etiquette, namely to check out apps of interest that you may have installed. Rather than commit the ultimate faux pas, and, you know, have a conversation that doesn’t involve some measure of digital intervention, a new service offers a unique, innovative way for you to discover and download apps that somebody has on their device. It’s called #Homescreen, and you can find out more after the leap.
Aside from asking, taking a screenshot and sharing it over Twitter or a similar platform, there’s no particularly good way of sharing a home screen configuration, and even if you do have a freeze-frame of somebody’s iOS icons, you must then proceed through the tiresome rigmarole of manually searching for and downloading the apps in question – this being if you even want them at all.
This is where #Homescreen throws its hat into the ring. Created by Betaworks, the app doesn’t entirely break from convention in that it still requires iOS users to capture screenshots, but thereafter, users can head over to homescreen.is for a comprehensive, interactive look at every app shown. By hovering over an app, you get a full description, after which, you can easily download and install said app or game.
It’s a novel service that also means if you are lurking over at somebody else’s device, they can share the apps with you in a swift, efficient manner, and if #Homescreen does catch on, it could really change the way we explore new content on iOS.
What began as something of an experiment is now a fully-fledged app, and if, like us, you’re always in the market for some new home screen fodder, this is one app you won’t want to pass up on.
#Homescreen is completely free, and at just 0.6MB, leaves all of your storage space for the apps you’ll go on to track down.
(Download: #Homescreen for iPhone on the App Store)
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