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Firefox Preview/GeckoView Add-Ons Support

199 points by Vinnl 7y ago

Vinnl 7y ago
And here's the Issue for supporting uBlock Origin: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630
- cyborgx7 7y ago
  I might switch from the current Firefox for Android (Fennec) when it supports uBlock Origin. I'm not giving up adblocking anymore. It would also help to have it available on F-Droid.
  - silon42 7y ago
    For me, it's uMatrix which I use more often as a general javascript blocker.
    - vanderZwan 7y ago
      It's really ridiculous how much faster websites are with those two add-ons installed. Actually, faster isn't the right way to describe it, "how much dead weight the internet has these days" feels much more apt.
      - djsumdog 7y ago
        Oddly enough, I always ran into performance issues when running uMatrix. I'd turn off JavaScript by default though and only selectively enable it. That seems like it should speed things up, but I'd often experience the opposite, both on Vivaldi and Firefox.
        vanderZwan 7y ago
        Did you also install the add-on to skip AMP sites? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html
        jimbo1qaz 7y ago
        By default, uMatrix blocks Google Analytics, whereas uBlock Origin stubs it. If both are installed (in my case), uMatrix often wins out. If Google Analytics is blocked, many sites will spend 2 seconds on a white screen waiting for Google Analytics to load.
        gorhill 7y ago
        uMatrix is very low overhead so my first suspicion would be artificial delays introduced when some JavaScript resources are blocked; [1] is an example of this. The artificial delay does not occur in uBlock Origin because it uses a replacement script for the blocked one causing the issue. [1] https://www.theverge.com/ https://www.theverge.com/
      - smt88 7y ago
        > dead weight That's a generous way to describe it. I'd describe it as "invaders inside the Trojan horse".
    - coldpie 7y ago
      I use NoScript, but yeah, same idea. I absolutely cannot use a browser that doesn't have a good JS blocker. It's crazy how much more usable the web is with a JS blocker. Those fucking "give us your email address!" and "this site uses cookies!" pop-ups? Gone. Ad blocking isn't enough these days. Please don't kill my JS blocker, Firefox.
    - slightwinder 7y ago
      uBlock can work that way with medium mode too. Though it's still a bit less specific in it's permission than uMatrix, because you can't choose the type of content.
  - yorwba 7y ago
    Firefox Preview actually ships with a built-in adblocker. I'll still install uBlock Origin once it becomes available (e.g. I like zapping annoying elements), but browsing with Firefox Preview is already quite pleasant.
    - Sphax 7y ago
      Are you talking about the tracking protection?
      - yorwba 7y ago
        They call it "tracking protection." As a side effect, it blocks ads. I guess they wouldn't block ads that don't track you, but those seem to be rare. Edit: Is my experience unusual? News websites that are normally encrusted with ads (e.g. using Firefox for Android without any add-ons) turn refreshingly ad-free in Firefox Preview.
        fwn 7y ago
        You might get some accidental adblocking on some news sites through tracking protection, but with reader mode I probably wouldn't really notice. I mostly use ublock origin to block ads in search, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Reddit. AFAIK none of those are blocked by the current Firefox tracking protection.
        yorwba 7y ago
        Ads on Google Search and YouTube aren't blocked. I didn't find any ads to test on Instagram or Facebook without logging in, and didn't feel like creating an account just to check out their ads. Ads on Reddit did get blocked. They're probably using third-party adtech, unlike the others. I guess my browsing habits are unusual, since the only website among these I've visited since switching to Firefox Preview is Reddit.
        dolessdrugs 7y ago
  - phreack 7y ago
    I'd love to go into Firefox, but my deal breakers are ad blocking, having a bottom navigation bar, and intuitive and easy to use text reflow. It's getting there, but not quite yet, so I'm stuck with Opera for now which I don't fully trust but is 100% more convenient.
    - Nagyman 7y ago
      The navigation (address bar) is at the bottom now.
    - nolok 7y ago
      Funnny the seemingly small things we trip over. While still using Chrome on desktop, I switched to Firefox on mobile because of their add-on and specifically ublock origin support. My biggest issue with it ? When at the top of the page, dragging from top to bottom doesn't trigger a refresh of the page like in other browsers and many apps. I know it's a very petty complaint, but somehow it's major for me. Still staying with it though, adblocking is even more mandatory on mobile than on desktop ...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
AndrewDucker 7y ago
Excellent news. I know this worried a few people, and not having them would remove my major reason for using Firefox on mobile. It's a shame it's going to be months until they get there, but hopefully I can continue with the current Firefox on Mobile until then.
- st3fan 7y ago
  Yes you can.
petepete 7y ago
I've used it quite a bit over the last few months. It's a really positive start and does lots of things right, I really love the reader mode. It allows me to bypass all the cookies nagging and just read an article without fuss. I'm not totally sold on the URL bar being at the bottom, and I kind of miss the support for CSS theme-color, but I can see myself switching at some point.
- Vinnl 7y ago
  FYI: regular Firefox for Android also has reader mode. I still quite like Firefox Preview though. I'm not quite sure what you mean by CSS theme-color, but if that refers to preferes-color-scheme: dark, then as far as I can see it supports that? DuckDuckGo is dark for me.
lukaa 7y ago
Firefox Preview is great but I don't understand why it doesn't have night mode and neither one of Firefoxes. Today night mode is standard for almost all of the applications and that's the only reason why I simply can not switch to Firefox completely. Btw, don't say that addons are good for since they only switch text in dark not UI. Even Chrome now allows UI to change to dark not just text.
- amjd 7y ago
  Firefox Preview supports dark mode for UI. You can switch between light, dark or follow the device theme.
  - lukaa 7y ago
    But it doesn't have ability to make text dark so again there is no dark mode.
    - bepvte 7y ago
      Websites are complex, you cannot make a script that edits every page to make it both dark and readable when things like the background could be light colored images and fonts that are permanently dark exist
      - noisem4ker 7y ago
        It's actually feasible for most websites, with surprisingly good results. CSS tricks go a long way, even if the website doesn't support prefers-color-scheme. Give this addon a try (on desktop or mobile Fennec only, obviously): Dark Background and Light Text [0] [0] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-background-light-text/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-backgrou...
      - andrewaylett 7y ago
        https://darkreader.org/ https://darkreader.org/ works really well, in my experience.
    - 7y ago
dessant 7y ago
Meanwhile Mozilla is attempting to prevent users with administrative access from installing private extensions in the release version of Firefox, extensions for which the source code has not been handed over to Mozilla for signing. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1514451 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1514451
- st3fan 7y ago
  Yes whenever Mozilla announces something exciting that could get some positive feedback, be sure to use the opportunity to complain about something unrelated.
  - dessant 7y ago
    Locking down Firefox to not allow installing private extensions is not unrelated to extension support.
    - Spivak 7y ago
      So install the developer edition? Yes it’s a little more annoying for people who want private extensions but you’re forgetting that we’re in a small minority and this change is a massive win for security and privacy overall. This site is full of threads talking about how friends, family, and coworkers’ browsers are riddled with badware that was installed behind their backs.
      - dessant 7y ago
        Again, this change prevents regular users from configuring Firefox the way they want. We should not need to install the developer edition, which is based on Firefox Beta, or an unbranded build that does not auto-update to be able to run local extensions in our browsers. Not even Google is this heavy-handed, they allow installing local extensions in Chrome after users enable an option, although a warning is shown on browser restarts about the presence of external extensions, which can be dismissed. Why not have sensible defaults, then educate and warn users about certain actions, instead of treating them like cattle?
seren 7y ago
I don't use Firefox Preview fully because of lack of login/password sync. After looking at github, I understood that Fenix won't support Firefox Sync for syncing login and passwords, but will rely on Firefox Lockwise, and is the way forward. It this correct ? edit : added a precision regarding firefox sync for passwords
- sciurus 7y ago
  I don't know the specifics of passwords, but Fenix definitely support sync. Open settings and the first menu item you'll see will be "turn on sync". (Disclosure: I work at Mozilla but not on Fenix)
- piotrkubisa 7y ago
  > I understood that Fenix won't support Firefox Sync Based on my user experience Fenix (Firefox Preview) supports Firefox Sync in terms of bookmarks. I believe history and other data is also synchronized, but I haven't had occasion to test it thoroughly. In my opinion claim that "Fenix won't support Firefox Sync" is a bit too far [0]. I noticed the login/password sync feature has not been implemented yet [1]. I suppose it will might materialize soon, because lack of it could be a huge mistake in terms of usability. [0]: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues?q=firefox+sync+label%3AFeature%3ASync https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues?q=firefox+syn... [1]: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5074 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5074
- rhamzeh 7y ago
  I believe they'll add that soon, but they haven't yet because of either: 1) The code base is not production ready yet, and they don't want an issue to come up which leaks users passwords 2) (More likely) They intend to add support for LockBox, their extension that replaces mediocre password support with a full-fledged password manager. And they need the Add-On support before they can include that. So most probably you'll see this along with add-on support come in the next few months
- mintplant 7y ago
  Firefox Lockwise is built on Firefox Sync and (IIRC) will eventually become the built-in password manager on Firefox desktop.
maaaats 7y ago
> an early version of the new browser for Android that is built on top of Firefox’s own mobile browser engine, GeckoView. Isn't the existing Android browser built on top of Firefox's own mobile browser engine? Or am I reading this wrong?
- jimbo1qaz 7y ago
  GeckoView is different from Gecko, which is already used by Firefox Android. I heard GeckoView is closer to Android's WebView API and designed for easy embedding into apps.
  - warpech 7y ago
    Thank you. I wish that was made clear in the article
  - shakna 7y ago
    You're right, GeckoView [0] is a lot like WebView. GeckoView view = findViewById(R.id.geckoview); GeckoSession session = new GeckoSession(); GeckoRuntime runtime = GeckoRuntime.create(this); session.open(runtime); view.setSession(session); session.loadUri("about:buildconfig"); [0] https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview/ https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview/
    - cpeterso 7y ago
      Yes. GeckoView is currently used in Firefox Preview, Firefox Focus (on Android), Firefox Reality (VR browser), and some Mozilla test apps. There are a few third-party developers already using GeckoView to embed web content in their apps. One advantage of using GeckoView in your app instead of WebView is that you know exactly which Gecko engine version and features are available; you don't have to support old random WebView versions across different Android devices and OS versions.
      - jimbo1qaz 7y ago
        >One advantage of using GeckoView in your app instead of WebView is that you know exactly which Gecko engine version and features are available; you don't have to support old random WebView versions across different Android devices and OS versions. Is this similar to how each Electron app uses a bundled version of Chromium (which takes up disk space), as opposed to web apps which have to run in whatever Chrome version (or other browser) the user has installed? Firefox Focus on Android is quite a large app (132MB installed on my phone), even though on my phone, it uses either Chrome or WebView (bundled Gecko is disabled).
montroser 7y ago
It has that persistent toolbar at the bottom with no way to hide it. I wish I could have those pixels back.
- rehemiau 7y ago
  Isn't there an option to hide it when scrolling down? edit: It's supposed to do that automatically, if it doesn't - I think you could report an issue.
  - mintplant 7y ago
    Firefox for Android (Fennec), yes. Firefox Preview (Fenix), no.
    - Vinnl 7y ago
      Firefox Preview does it by default.
      - mintplant 7y ago
        Still no. Apparently this is temporary until they can properly implement it post-MVP release [0]. [0] https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/2689 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/2689
        Vinnl 7y ago
        Oh thanks, I didn't notice that it stopped doing that. (I didn't really like it anyway - having it appear at the bottom when scrolling up felt weird.)
- Vinnl 7y ago
  It hides itself when you scroll down.
  - cpeterso 7y ago
bibyte 7y ago
AFAIK there are only two browsers for Android that supports extensions. Firefox and Kiwi Browser. Because of scrolling issues with Firefox I switched to Kiwi Browser. It supports all desktop Chrome extensions and uBlock Origin is working perfectly. I might switch to this if it supports all extensions.
- windsurfer 7y ago
  What scrolling issues are you referring to? Perhaps they have been fixed
  - bibyte 7y ago
    Just installed it again to test it and you are right. The scrolling is now as fast as Chromium. Many thanks.
- kgwxd 7y ago
  Kiwi is Chromium based, isn't the future of uBlock Origin in danger there?
mehdix 7y ago
I love that they have moved the whole address bar to the bottom of the screen, where my thumb can reach it easily.
- Nagyman 7y ago
  This is a massive UX improvement for large screens. I wondered how long it would take UX folks to make this change (along with moving app navigation to the bottom generally). Minor aside, they don't seem to support the <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> to colour the address bar.
  - ppseafield 7y ago
    This is something I really appreciated in IE for Windows Phone. It's such a small change, but I found it much more pleasant to use. Especially if a phone has a > 5" screen.
    - nerdponx 7y ago
      Microsoft is really a funny beast. Sort of tangential, but I actually really like the UI in the Edge browser. Unfortunately the interface is laggy, but otherwise I found it very comfortable to use. Also the "save tabs for later" feature is really cool.
  - cpeterso 7y ago
    > they don't seem to support the <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> to colour the address bar. Do you consider that a bug or a feature? :) Some people wouldn't want the website to mess with their app UI. I can file a Firefox Preview bug report.
    - cpeterso 7y ago
      Also, did Firefox for Android (Fennec) support <meta name="theme-color">? Or is this a regression in Firefox Preview?
- 7y ago
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maverick74 7y ago
Well, this means that I won't be able to use it until next year... Lack of add-ons and lack of user specified search engines is a must have to me...
snek 7y ago
fondly thinks back to the launch of firefox preview where hn was convinced that them not explicitly mentioning extensions in their first quarter goals meant they weren't ever going to have them and the end of the world was coming
- Faark 7y ago
  Yes, and you can likely thank the backlash / such comments for this change of heart. Oh, you were implying they always highly valued Addons for their new FF? I don't see anything in this blog post supporting that stance.
  - pcwalton 7y ago
    I don't know anyone who works here who doesn't use addons all the time.
    - Faark 7y ago
      Maybe its just me being disgruntled / fondly remembering the XUL days (pre multi-process in 2008ish was when I was messing around with it) were it felt like addons could anything. The possibilities seem way more restrictive now that there only seems to be a specific list of white-listed api's. Scaling that back even more for performance and (somewhat justified) security reasons seemed like the next natural step. Anyway, I'm thankful for leaving a comment. At the same time, all Addons I've installed right now require "Access your data for all websites", making absolute trust in the developer / reviewer necessary.
  - mook 7y ago
    My understanding (from the outside, so probably wrong) was that a while back they had an expired certificate that broke all add-ons. This caused the existing Firefox for Android (Fennec) to get a bunch of 1-star reviews on Google Play Store, and _that_ (plus the complaints elsewhere) convinced them that not having add-ons in Firefox Preview (Fenix) was a bad idea. Corrections welcome — I've probably missed something somewhere.
anotheryou 7y ago
So what's the trick to install add-ons right now? Either I break things or it works, won't use it without add-ons anyways.
StevePerkins 7y ago
Just started trying out Firefox Preview in response to seeing this post. Firefox has SO many entries in the Google Play store (e.g. regular, Focus, Preview, Nightly, Beta), I didn't really understand what this was. An immediate concern is that the privacy settings are either dumbed-down, or else altogether missing. I'm noticing a trend in Firefox across the various devices and versions: * FIREFOX FOR DESKTOP - The "settings" section allows you to block trackers, 3rd-party cookies, and fingerprinting. * FIREFOX FOR ANDROID - The "settings" section allows you to block trackers and 3rd-party cookies. Fingerprint protection is possible, but hidden. You have to go to "about:config" and know how to enable it manually. * FIREFOX PREVIEW FOR ANDROID - The "settings" section appears to be built for my Mom. It has a toggle for blocking trackers, and that's it. Are more granular (or at least visible and understandable) privacy settings coming in future releases, or is this just the UX direction? Why is Mozilla making it so much harder to enable desktop-class protections on mobile devices?
- mncolinlee 7y ago
  > Are more granular (or at least visible and understandable) privacy settings coming in future releases, or is this just the UX direction? Why is Mozilla making it so much harder to enable desktop-class protections on mobile devices? Yes, that release is imminent. Preview will include all of those settings. You can try them right now by downloading Firefox Preview Nightly.
michaelmrose 7y ago
Are recommended extensions merely curation designed to help users find high quality extensions/themes or are recommended extensions going to ultimately be the only ones available in future versions of firefox mobile?

199 points by Vinnl 7y ago

And here's the Issue for supporting uBlock Origin: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630

cyborgx7 7y ago
I might switch from the current Firefox for Android (Fennec) when it supports uBlock Origin. I'm not giving up adblocking anymore. It would also help to have it available on F-Droid.
- silon42 7y ago
  For me, it's uMatrix which I use more often as a general javascript blocker.
  - vanderZwan 7y ago
    It's really ridiculous how much faster websites are with those two add-ons installed. Actually, faster isn't the right way to describe it, "how much dead weight the internet has these days" feels much more apt.
    - djsumdog 7y ago
      Oddly enough, I always ran into performance issues when running uMatrix. I'd turn off JavaScript by default though and only selectively enable it. That seems like it should speed things up, but I'd often experience the opposite, both on Vivaldi and Firefox.
      - vanderZwan 7y ago
        Did you also install the add-on to skip AMP sites? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/amp2html
      - jimbo1qaz 7y ago
        By default, uMatrix blocks Google Analytics, whereas uBlock Origin stubs it. If both are installed (in my case), uMatrix often wins out. If Google Analytics is blocked, many sites will spend 2 seconds on a white screen waiting for Google Analytics to load.
      - gorhill 7y ago
        uMatrix is very low overhead so my first suspicion would be artificial delays introduced when some JavaScript resources are blocked; [1] is an example of this. The artificial delay does not occur in uBlock Origin because it uses a replacement script for the blocked one causing the issue. [1] https://www.theverge.com/ https://www.theverge.com/
    - smt88 7y ago
      > dead weight That's a generous way to describe it. I'd describe it as "invaders inside the Trojan horse".
  - coldpie 7y ago
    I use NoScript, but yeah, same idea. I absolutely cannot use a browser that doesn't have a good JS blocker. It's crazy how much more usable the web is with a JS blocker. Those fucking "give us your email address!" and "this site uses cookies!" pop-ups? Gone. Ad blocking isn't enough these days. Please don't kill my JS blocker, Firefox.
  - slightwinder 7y ago
    uBlock can work that way with medium mode too. Though it's still a bit less specific in it's permission than uMatrix, because you can't choose the type of content.
- yorwba 7y ago
  Firefox Preview actually ships with a built-in adblocker. I'll still install uBlock Origin once it becomes available (e.g. I like zapping annoying elements), but browsing with Firefox Preview is already quite pleasant.
  - Sphax 7y ago
    Are you talking about the tracking protection?
    - yorwba 7y ago
      They call it "tracking protection." As a side effect, it blocks ads. I guess they wouldn't block ads that don't track you, but those seem to be rare. Edit: Is my experience unusual? News websites that are normally encrusted with ads (e.g. using Firefox for Android without any add-ons) turn refreshingly ad-free in Firefox Preview.
      - fwn 7y ago
        You might get some accidental adblocking on some news sites through tracking protection, but with reader mode I probably wouldn't really notice. I mostly use ublock origin to block ads in search, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Reddit. AFAIK none of those are blocked by the current Firefox tracking protection.
        yorwba 7y ago
        Ads on Google Search and YouTube aren't blocked. I didn't find any ads to test on Instagram or Facebook without logging in, and didn't feel like creating an account just to check out their ads. Ads on Reddit did get blocked. They're probably using third-party adtech, unlike the others. I guess my browsing habits are unusual, since the only website among these I've visited since switching to Firefox Preview is Reddit.
        dolessdrugs 7y ago
- phreack 7y ago
  I'd love to go into Firefox, but my deal breakers are ad blocking, having a bottom navigation bar, and intuitive and easy to use text reflow. It's getting there, but not quite yet, so I'm stuck with Opera for now which I don't fully trust but is 100% more convenient.
  - Nagyman 7y ago
    The navigation (address bar) is at the bottom now.
  - nolok 7y ago
    Funnny the seemingly small things we trip over. While still using Chrome on desktop, I switched to Firefox on mobile because of their add-on and specifically ublock origin support. My biggest issue with it ? When at the top of the page, dragging from top to bottom doesn't trigger a refresh of the page like in other browsers and many apps. I know it's a very petty complaint, but somehow it's major for me. Still staying with it though, adblocking is even more mandatory on mobile than on desktop ...

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

AndrewDucker 7y ago

Excellent news. I know this worried a few people, and not having them would remove my major reason for using Firefox on mobile. It's a shame it's going to be months until they get there, but hopefully I can continue with the current Firefox on Mobile until then.

st3fan 7y ago
Yes you can.

petepete 7y ago

I've used it quite a bit over the last few months. It's a really positive start and does lots of things right, I really love the reader mode. It allows me to bypass all the cookies nagging and just read an article without fuss. I'm not totally sold on the URL bar being at the bottom, and I kind of miss the support for CSS theme-color, but I can see myself switching at some point.

Vinnl 7y ago
FYI: regular Firefox for Android also has reader mode. I still quite like Firefox Preview though. I'm not quite sure what you mean by CSS theme-color, but if that refers to preferes-color-scheme: dark, then as far as I can see it supports that? DuckDuckGo is dark for me.

lukaa 7y ago

Firefox Preview is great but I don't understand why it doesn't have night mode and neither one of Firefoxes. Today night mode is standard for almost all of the applications and that's the only reason why I simply can not switch to Firefox completely. Btw, don't say that addons are good for since they only switch text in dark not UI. Even Chrome now allows UI to change to dark not just text.

amjd 7y ago
Firefox Preview supports dark mode for UI. You can switch between light, dark or follow the device theme.
- lukaa 7y ago
  But it doesn't have ability to make text dark so again there is no dark mode.
  - bepvte 7y ago
    Websites are complex, you cannot make a script that edits every page to make it both dark and readable when things like the background could be light colored images and fonts that are permanently dark exist
    - noisem4ker 7y ago
      It's actually feasible for most websites, with surprisingly good results. CSS tricks go a long way, even if the website doesn't support prefers-color-scheme. Give this addon a try (on desktop or mobile Fennec only, obviously): Dark Background and Light Text [0] [0] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-background-light-text/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/dark-backgrou...
    - andrewaylett 7y ago
      https://darkreader.org/ https://darkreader.org/ works really well, in my experience.
  - 7y ago

dessant 7y ago

Meanwhile Mozilla is attempting to prevent users with administrative access from installing private extensions in the release version of Firefox, extensions for which the source code has not been handed over to Mozilla for signing. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1514451 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1514451

st3fan 7y ago
Yes whenever Mozilla announces something exciting that could get some positive feedback, be sure to use the opportunity to complain about something unrelated.
- dessant 7y ago
  Locking down Firefox to not allow installing private extensions is not unrelated to extension support.
  - Spivak 7y ago
    So install the developer edition? Yes it’s a little more annoying for people who want private extensions but you’re forgetting that we’re in a small minority and this change is a massive win for security and privacy overall. This site is full of threads talking about how friends, family, and coworkers’ browsers are riddled with badware that was installed behind their backs.
    - dessant 7y ago
      Again, this change prevents regular users from configuring Firefox the way they want. We should not need to install the developer edition, which is based on Firefox Beta, or an unbranded build that does not auto-update to be able to run local extensions in our browsers. Not even Google is this heavy-handed, they allow installing local extensions in Chrome after users enable an option, although a warning is shown on browser restarts about the presence of external extensions, which can be dismissed. Why not have sensible defaults, then educate and warn users about certain actions, instead of treating them like cattle?

seren 7y ago

I don't use Firefox Preview fully because of lack of login/password sync. After looking at github, I understood that Fenix won't support Firefox Sync for syncing login and passwords, but will rely on Firefox Lockwise, and is the way forward. It this correct ? edit : added a precision regarding firefox sync for passwords

sciurus 7y ago
I don't know the specifics of passwords, but Fenix definitely support sync. Open settings and the first menu item you'll see will be "turn on sync". (Disclosure: I work at Mozilla but not on Fenix)
piotrkubisa 7y ago
> I understood that Fenix won't support Firefox Sync Based on my user experience Fenix (Firefox Preview) supports Firefox Sync in terms of bookmarks. I believe history and other data is also synchronized, but I haven't had occasion to test it thoroughly. In my opinion claim that "Fenix won't support Firefox Sync" is a bit too far [0]. I noticed the login/password sync feature has not been implemented yet [1]. I suppose it will might materialize soon, because lack of it could be a huge mistake in terms of usability. [0]: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues?q=firefox+sync+label%3AFeature%3ASync https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues?q=firefox+syn... [1]: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5074 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5074
rhamzeh 7y ago
I believe they'll add that soon, but they haven't yet because of either: 1) The code base is not production ready yet, and they don't want an issue to come up which leaks users passwords 2) (More likely) They intend to add support for LockBox, their extension that replaces mediocre password support with a full-fledged password manager. And they need the Add-On support before they can include that. So most probably you'll see this along with add-on support come in the next few months
mintplant 7y ago
Firefox Lockwise is built on Firefox Sync and (IIRC) will eventually become the built-in password manager on Firefox desktop.

maaaats 7y ago

> an early version of the new browser for Android that is built on top of Firefox’s own mobile browser engine, GeckoView. Isn't the existing Android browser built on top of Firefox's own mobile browser engine? Or am I reading this wrong?

jimbo1qaz 7y ago
GeckoView is different from Gecko, which is already used by Firefox Android. I heard GeckoView is closer to Android's WebView API and designed for easy embedding into apps.
- warpech 7y ago
  Thank you. I wish that was made clear in the article
- shakna 7y ago
  You're right, GeckoView [0] is a lot like WebView. GeckoView view = findViewById(R.id.geckoview); GeckoSession session = new GeckoSession(); GeckoRuntime runtime = GeckoRuntime.create(this); session.open(runtime); view.setSession(session); session.loadUri("about:buildconfig"); [0] https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview/ https://mozilla.github.io/geckoview/
  - cpeterso 7y ago
    Yes. GeckoView is currently used in Firefox Preview, Firefox Focus (on Android), Firefox Reality (VR browser), and some Mozilla test apps. There are a few third-party developers already using GeckoView to embed web content in their apps. One advantage of using GeckoView in your app instead of WebView is that you know exactly which Gecko engine version and features are available; you don't have to support old random WebView versions across different Android devices and OS versions.
    - jimbo1qaz 7y ago
      >One advantage of using GeckoView in your app instead of WebView is that you know exactly which Gecko engine version and features are available; you don't have to support old random WebView versions across different Android devices and OS versions. Is this similar to how each Electron app uses a bundled version of Chromium (which takes up disk space), as opposed to web apps which have to run in whatever Chrome version (or other browser) the user has installed? Firefox Focus on Android is quite a large app (132MB installed on my phone), even though on my phone, it uses either Chrome or WebView (bundled Gecko is disabled).

montroser 7y ago

It has that persistent toolbar at the bottom with no way to hide it. I wish I could have those pixels back.

rehemiau 7y ago
Isn't there an option to hide it when scrolling down? edit: It's supposed to do that automatically, if it doesn't - I think you could report an issue.
- mintplant 7y ago
  Firefox for Android (Fennec), yes. Firefox Preview (Fenix), no.
  - Vinnl 7y ago
    Firefox Preview does it by default.
    - mintplant 7y ago
      Still no. Apparently this is temporary until they can properly implement it post-MVP release [0]. [0] https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/2689 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/2689
      - Vinnl 7y ago
        Oh thanks, I didn't notice that it stopped doing that. (I didn't really like it anyway - having it appear at the bottom when scrolling up felt weird.)
Vinnl 7y ago
It hides itself when you scroll down.
- cpeterso 7y ago

bibyte 7y ago

AFAIK there are only two browsers for Android that supports extensions. Firefox and Kiwi Browser. Because of scrolling issues with Firefox I switched to Kiwi Browser. It supports all desktop Chrome extensions and uBlock Origin is working perfectly. I might switch to this if it supports all extensions.

windsurfer 7y ago
What scrolling issues are you referring to? Perhaps they have been fixed
- bibyte 7y ago
  Just installed it again to test it and you are right. The scrolling is now as fast as Chromium. Many thanks.
kgwxd 7y ago
Kiwi is Chromium based, isn't the future of uBlock Origin in danger there?

mehdix 7y ago

I love that they have moved the whole address bar to the bottom of the screen, where my thumb can reach it easily.

Nagyman 7y ago
This is a massive UX improvement for large screens. I wondered how long it would take UX folks to make this change (along with moving app navigation to the bottom generally). Minor aside, they don't seem to support the <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> to colour the address bar.
- ppseafield 7y ago
  This is something I really appreciated in IE for Windows Phone. It's such a small change, but I found it much more pleasant to use. Especially if a phone has a > 5" screen.
  - nerdponx 7y ago
    Microsoft is really a funny beast. Sort of tangential, but I actually really like the UI in the Edge browser. Unfortunately the interface is laggy, but otherwise I found it very comfortable to use. Also the "save tabs for later" feature is really cool.
- cpeterso 7y ago
  > they don't seem to support the <meta name="theme-color" content="#000000"> to colour the address bar. Do you consider that a bug or a feature? :) Some people wouldn't want the website to mess with their app UI. I can file a Firefox Preview bug report.
  - cpeterso 7y ago
    Also, did Firefox for Android (Fennec) support <meta name="theme-color">? Or is this a regression in Firefox Preview?
7y ago

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maverick74 7y ago

Well, this means that I won't be able to use it until next year... Lack of add-ons and lack of user specified search engines is a must have to me...

snek 7y ago

fondly thinks back to the launch of firefox preview where hn was convinced that them not explicitly mentioning extensions in their first quarter goals meant they weren't ever going to have them and the end of the world was coming

Faark 7y ago
Yes, and you can likely thank the backlash / such comments for this change of heart. Oh, you were implying they always highly valued Addons for their new FF? I don't see anything in this blog post supporting that stance.
- pcwalton 7y ago
  I don't know anyone who works here who doesn't use addons all the time.
  - Faark 7y ago
    Maybe its just me being disgruntled / fondly remembering the XUL days (pre multi-process in 2008ish was when I was messing around with it) were it felt like addons could anything. The possibilities seem way more restrictive now that there only seems to be a specific list of white-listed api's. Scaling that back even more for performance and (somewhat justified) security reasons seemed like the next natural step. Anyway, I'm thankful for leaving a comment. At the same time, all Addons I've installed right now require "Access your data for all websites", making absolute trust in the developer / reviewer necessary.
- mook 7y ago
  My understanding (from the outside, so probably wrong) was that a while back they had an expired certificate that broke all add-ons. This caused the existing Firefox for Android (Fennec) to get a bunch of 1-star reviews on Google Play Store, and _that_ (plus the complaints elsewhere) convinced them that not having add-ons in Firefox Preview (Fenix) was a bad idea. Corrections welcome — I've probably missed something somewhere.

anotheryou 7y ago

So what's the trick to install add-ons right now? Either I break things or it works, won't use it without add-ons anyways.

StevePerkins 7y ago

Just started trying out Firefox Preview in response to seeing this post. Firefox has SO many entries in the Google Play store (e.g. regular, Focus, Preview, Nightly, Beta), I didn't really understand what this was. An immediate concern is that the privacy settings are either dumbed-down, or else altogether missing. I'm noticing a trend in Firefox across the various devices and versions: * FIREFOX FOR DESKTOP - The "settings" section allows you to block trackers, 3rd-party cookies, and fingerprinting. * FIREFOX FOR ANDROID - The "settings" section allows you to block trackers and 3rd-party cookies. Fingerprint protection is possible, but hidden. You have to go to "about:config" and know how to enable it manually. * FIREFOX PREVIEW FOR ANDROID - The "settings" section appears to be built for my Mom. It has a toggle for blocking trackers, and that's it. Are more granular (or at least visible and understandable) privacy settings coming in future releases, or is this just the UX direction? Why is Mozilla making it so much harder to enable desktop-class protections on mobile devices?

mncolinlee 7y ago
> Are more granular (or at least visible and understandable) privacy settings coming in future releases, or is this just the UX direction? Why is Mozilla making it so much harder to enable desktop-class protections on mobile devices? Yes, that release is imminent. Preview will include all of those settings. You can try them right now by downloading Firefox Preview Nightly.

michaelmrose 7y ago

Are recommended extensions merely curation designed to help users find high quality extensions/themes or are recommended extensions going to ultimately be the only ones available in future versions of firefox mobile?