7 ms·

What’s the difference with the regular Firefox for Android?

chrysoprace 7y ago
It's a rewrite from the ground up, written in Kotlin. So far I've been really liking it, they've made some quite unique design decisions like the URL bar being on the bottom, stacking tabs in a list and a type of categorised bookmark called "collections". If you like Firefox I'd give it a go. I've never been a fan of the normal Firefox mobile app, but recently switched back from Chrome so I think it's a nice alternative.
- Kipters 7y ago
  The URL bar being at the bottom is what sold it to me. It's the single thing I miss the most from Edge on Windows 10 Mobile.
  - Vinnl 7y ago
    And for those who think they'd dislike it: v3 now added an option to move it to the top again.
  - m-p-3 7y ago
    For me it was the past that annoyed me. Glad they added an option to put it back on to.
  - mFixman 7y ago
    Honestly, I dislike it. I already have visual clutter in the top of my phone with the Android status bar; I don't need more clutter in the bottom.
    - black_puppydog 7y ago
      I think it's just an ergonomics thing. With my fingers being constantly around the bottom third of the screen while browsing, it always felt awkward to reach all the way to the top just to tap the url bar, then go back down to the keyboard again.
      - trynewideas 7y ago
        Jelly browser on LineageOS does the same thing, and the setting to toggle top or bottom is described as "reach mode" for one-handed usage.
  - chrysoprace 7y ago
    I didn't realise how much I'd missed it from other browsers until I tried it. It's a breath of fresh air.
  - brutal_chaos_ 7y ago
    At first the bottom address bar sold FFPreview to me as well. However, the popup soft keyboard makes it bounce around(up&down), which in some instances is really annoying. I'm happy to have learned the address bar can be moved to the top.
- dmix 7y ago
  Isn’t the GeckoView part built with Rust?
  - kbrosnan 7y ago
    Not any more than desktop Firefox. GeckoView is mostly a Java API for interfacing with Gecko, https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/file/tip/mobile/android/geckoview https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/file/tip/mobile/andro...
- readams 7y ago
  I admit to being very confused about collections. They just seemed very inconvenient and there's no way to get to normal bookmarks.
  - mikelward 7y ago
    Turns out bookmarks are still there. Add a bookmark via overflow (three dots) then star at the bottom. Access your bookmarks via overflow (three dots) -> Your Library. I'm not really clear why it has both bookmarks and collections. Edit: how to add a bookmark changed from the bottom shelf to the overflow menu with today's update
  - chrysoprace 7y ago
    I think they're just trying it out as a feature for now. It's a Preview browser so some things won't work 100% (for example a bug[1] is still present in 2.3.0, the latest stable version, requiring me to switch browser for file uploads.) [1] https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/6279 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/6279
realusername 7y ago
It's a complete rewrite and it's much much faster than the normal one.
Leace 7y ago
Extensions doesn't work. Initially they thought it was a great idea but after some backlash Mozilla decided to add some popular ones: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630
- jeltz 7y ago
  The ability to install extensions, especially uBlock Origin, is the only reason I switched to Firefox on mobile so it is good that they have changed their minds. But what do you mean by "add some popular ones"?
  - zaarn 7y ago
    IIRC some known working extensions (uBO) will be installed if you log into Firefox Sync and it's installed on the desktop. The Addon interface is still a WIP afaik.
- jeremija 7y ago
  IIRC extensions are on their roadmap
- throwupaway123 7y ago
  Extensions were always going to be added. You have to have a usable browser before you can even use extensions.
  - anoncake 7y ago
    That is not true. In February, they were merely "look[ing] at it". https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/574#issuecomment-465257697 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/574#issuecomm...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

It's a rewrite from the ground up, written in Kotlin. So far I've been really liking it, they've made some quite unique design decisions like the URL bar being on the bottom, stacking tabs in a list and a type of categorised bookmark called "collections". If you like Firefox I'd give it a go. I've never been a fan of the normal Firefox mobile app, but recently switched back from Chrome so I think it's a nice alternative.

Kipters 7y ago
The URL bar being at the bottom is what sold it to me. It's the single thing I miss the most from Edge on Windows 10 Mobile.
- Vinnl 7y ago
  And for those who think they'd dislike it: v3 now added an option to move it to the top again.
- m-p-3 7y ago
  For me it was the past that annoyed me. Glad they added an option to put it back on to.
- mFixman 7y ago
  Honestly, I dislike it. I already have visual clutter in the top of my phone with the Android status bar; I don't need more clutter in the bottom.
  - black_puppydog 7y ago
    I think it's just an ergonomics thing. With my fingers being constantly around the bottom third of the screen while browsing, it always felt awkward to reach all the way to the top just to tap the url bar, then go back down to the keyboard again.
    - trynewideas 7y ago
      Jelly browser on LineageOS does the same thing, and the setting to toggle top or bottom is described as "reach mode" for one-handed usage.
- chrysoprace 7y ago
  I didn't realise how much I'd missed it from other browsers until I tried it. It's a breath of fresh air.
- brutal_chaos_ 7y ago
  At first the bottom address bar sold FFPreview to me as well. However, the popup soft keyboard makes it bounce around(up&down), which in some instances is really annoying. I'm happy to have learned the address bar can be moved to the top.
dmix 7y ago
Isn’t the GeckoView part built with Rust?
- kbrosnan 7y ago
  Not any more than desktop Firefox. GeckoView is mostly a Java API for interfacing with Gecko, https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/file/tip/mobile/android/geckoview https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/file/tip/mobile/andro...
readams 7y ago
I admit to being very confused about collections. They just seemed very inconvenient and there's no way to get to normal bookmarks.
- mikelward 7y ago
  Turns out bookmarks are still there. Add a bookmark via overflow (three dots) then star at the bottom. Access your bookmarks via overflow (three dots) -> Your Library. I'm not really clear why it has both bookmarks and collections. Edit: how to add a bookmark changed from the bottom shelf to the overflow menu with today's update
- chrysoprace 7y ago
  I think they're just trying it out as a feature for now. It's a Preview browser so some things won't work 100% (for example a bug[1] is still present in 2.3.0, the latest stable version, requiring me to switch browser for file uploads.) [1] https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/6279 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/6279

realusername 7y ago

It's a complete rewrite and it's much much faster than the normal one.

Leace 7y ago

Extensions doesn't work. Initially they thought it was a great idea but after some backlash Mozilla decided to add some popular ones: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630

jeltz 7y ago
The ability to install extensions, especially uBlock Origin, is the only reason I switched to Firefox on mobile so it is good that they have changed their minds. But what do you mean by "add some popular ones"?
- zaarn 7y ago
  IIRC some known working extensions (uBO) will be installed if you log into Firefox Sync and it's installed on the desktop. The Addon interface is still a WIP afaik.
jeremija 7y ago
IIRC extensions are on their roadmap
throwupaway123 7y ago
Extensions were always going to be added. You have to have a usable browser before you can even use extensions.
- anoncake 7y ago
  That is not true. In February, they were merely "look[ing] at it". https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/574#issuecomment-465257697 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/574#issuecomm...
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]