12 ms·

A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

138 points by sohkamyung 7y ago

severine 7y ago
Doesn't work in my (widely used) Android version. I'm a long time Firefox user and feel abandoned.
- lorenzhs 7y ago
  "Requires Android 5.0 and up" according to the Play Store listing. Android 4.x is from 2013 and had its last update in 2014. It hasn't received security patches since October 2017. Why should Mozilla continue to support such an ancient version?
  - severine 7y ago
    Because millions of people are using it and can't change easily? It's not that I don't get your point, but the amount of Android 4.x that I encounter is really big, maybe it's my humble environment, but still.
    - myrion 7y ago
      All of the 4.x versions together make up just over 10% of Androids used, according to Google. Pretty much every single 5.x version has a bigger share. It's reasonable to give that up if it makes development easier / the end result more secure, imo. Edited to ask: why is switching not easy? Even cheap phones come with far newer versions these days...
      - seren 7y ago
        Not to be snarky, but Firefox itself is probably below 10% market share globally, so according to that logic, developers should not bother testing compatibility or performance with Firefox (but I agree with your overall point or sentiment !)
      - squiggleblaz 7y ago
        Ten per cent sounds significant to me. If you were saying "oh, all 4.x versions make up just over 1% of Android versions" it's probably fair. New phones are not without costs even when they're cheap. It is better for everyone to use your phone until it stops working. And if you come from a place where a nice job lands you $150/mo a cheap phone is still expensive.
      - ekianjo 7y ago
        New phones have less features than old phones. No removable batteries, audio jacks becoming extinct, its almost as if manufacturers are making them completely disposable once the battery runs out.
      - severine 7y ago
        Only about 250 million Android 4.x users, mostly relatively poor, then: https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/android-statistics/ https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/android-statistics/ I thought Mozilla would consider us important if only for that 10%. You know, 10% is quite important: Firefox has less than 10% of the desktop/laptop users, less than 1% of mobile users.
  - squiggleblaz 7y ago
    Firefox: "Consider ways to reduce your digital carbon footprint" Also Firefox: "Throw out your perfectly fine phone and buy a new one! Do not think about the slave labor and environmental/climate costs that will go into producing it." (I feel critical of Firefox in this thread, but I wouldn't dream of using Chrome. Mozilla are at least half decent and aim towards ethical behavior. But it would be nice if they let us do the things they recommend.)
    - lorenzhs 7y ago
      I don't consider a phone that hasn't received security updates in 2.5 years "perfectly fine". I'm all for extending the life of older devices, don't misunderstand me, but that requires software updates. My phone is probably much older than those of most HN'ers (been using it for over 3 years now) and I used my last laptop for 7 years. But I don't run ancient unsupported software on either. What I'm saying is "you shouldn't run Android 4.x in 2020", not "you shouldn't use a device from 2014 in 2020". Whether it be through better manufacturer support or a custom ROM like LineageOS, these ancient versions need to die.
      - squiggleblaz 7y ago
        In the rest of life, we don't consider security flaws impose an obligation to replace something. For instance, your average home's door - fundamentally a security device! - is flimsy and does not offer much resistance. More durable doors are available, but not normally considered worth it. Considering how many Android 4 devices are still in use today, Google and the manufacturers are behaving incredibly unreasonably in not supporting them. Nothing about Android 4 means it should die, any more in 2020 than in 2014. Google could suddenly grow a conscience and stop being evil tomorrow if they wanted; the fact that they have not updated in in several years does not mean they cannot start updating it again. It is not incumbent on the owners of any phone to discard it. Please do not confuse the intrinsic properties of a product with business decisions. Corporations need to be responsible for the products that they release. Google is no less of a polluter than the company that releases waste chemicals into the local river. (LineageOS is no be all end all. Many devices are not supported at all, and volunteers have no obligation to clean up for lazy private companies with no sense of obligation to the communities that make them their profits.)
  - ZoomZoomZoom 7y ago
    "2014 - Ancient version" Sorry, but this mindset doesn't make a lot of good for the technology. It's not 90s anymore in terms of performance growth. The reason a smartphone from 2014 is considered obsolete is not technical.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - kuschku 7y ago
      If 2014 isn't an ancient android version and okay without updates, then why do you need updates for Firefox? You can just as well keep using the 2014 version of that, too.
      - jerrtik 7y ago
        Apples to oranges and no i won't be using Firefox when Chrome, Brave and Edge still support the "ancient 2014 android version"
        kuschku 7y ago
        Why is it apples and oranges? What makes using a 6 year outdated OS so much different from using a 6 year outdated browser? Both long stopped being supported by many websites and apps.
      - ZoomZoomZoom 7y ago
        >>and okay without updates Who said that? It's exactly the problem. There's no reason 6-year old phone can't get updates, besides forcing the selling of new devices. It's a practice against user interests.
  - jerrtik 7y ago
    > It hasn't received security patches since October 2017. Why should Mozilla continue to support such an ancient version? Because ALL of their big competitors namely Chrome, Brave, Opera, and now Edge, support the "ancient" Android 4.x version.
    - lorenzhs 7y ago
      Brave stopped supporting Android 4.x as well, see https://community.brave.com/t/installing-brave-on-android-without-using-google-play/77470/6 https://community.brave.com/t/installing-brave-on-android-wi.... The last version that supported 4.4 was 1.3.2, they're at 1.6.3 now for Android 5.0+.
      - jerrtik 7y ago
        Not true I have Brave v1.6.2 installed on my 4.4.2 phone Edit: just now i've upgraded to the latest v1.6.3, as you can see brave's still receives updates on a android 4.x
- darkwater 7y ago
  But you can still use the current (that will be old in the future) Firefox. yeah, no security updates but your OS is not getting them either. It sucks, and it shouldn't be that way, I'm with you, but it's the harsh reality. So, blaming only Mozilla for this situation looks a bit unfair from my point of view.
  - severine 7y ago
    Of course, I don't blame Mozilla for all of that. I'd like them to champion disadvantaged users, that's all. I expect more from Mozilla than from the other players in the web/browser/mobile scene, perhaps I'm wrong!
- abrowne 7y ago
  I've been using Firefox Preview on and off since last summer on a low-end phone running 5.1 with no issues due to Android version.
lol768 7y ago
Given https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 and https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 are still open, does this represent a regression in supported functionality for nightly users?
- zecg 7y ago
  No ublock origin? Good luck with that, mozilla.
- severine 7y ago
  Definitely. I don't understand how Mozilla doesn't understand that extensions, particularly content blocking (and specifically Ublock Origin) are definitional of what Firefox is and should be.
  - ekianjo 7y ago
    But they love testing! And users! That is all what matters I guess?
    - Vinnl 7y ago
      As a user who's tested Firefox Preview and loved extension support in Firefox for Android: it's been good enough for me to have somewhat naturally transitioned to using it as my main browser. The built-in tracking protection blocks practically everything that I used uBlock Origin for (though I'd still appreciate the real thing coming), I haven't really experienced bugs, and it's really quite snappy. There's certainly still a number of features missing (I'm personally eagerly awaiting the return of the home screen), but it's certainly not as dire as some here make it sound, and it's been progressing pretty rapidly.
  - Koffiepoeder 7y ago
    No this is definitely not a regression. Firefox launched a new app called "Firefox Preview Nightly", so as of right now both Nightly and Preview Nightly exist side by side; regular nightly users are not impacted at this point in time.
Reventlov 7y ago
A few screenshots would be nice… Really, it's a "new browsing experience", and what we have is just a wall of shitty corporate text saying how great it is. Fuck that.
BadOakOx 7y ago
I have Firefox Preview installed on my phone and it is set as my default browser, but I still keep the original Firefox for Android, because: - Preview is missing support for Add-ons. This was a huge advantage of Firefox for Android (for me this means, that I cannot use uBlock.. the built-in ad blocker is good, but uBlock is better) - There are limited settings available in Preview. (e.g. what I am missing a "download images only over wifi" option.)
- squiggleblaz 7y ago
  I also have Firefox Preview installed on my phone. It's set as default but I basically don't use it, because: * Preview lacks support for ad blocking. * For some reason, every time I open a link in Firefox Preview, it goes into "Private" mode and there's no option to stop that from happening. I think it used to ask me, and one time I said "Private" and ever since then it's been in private mode - it asked me every time till I said "Private" and thereafter it's never asked me again. This means I can only use Preview for the links that transiently get opened, because I can't even find the normal tabs without closing Private browsing.
  - input_sh 7y ago
    Settings - Default Launcher - there's a checkbox that you can uncheck to not open random links in private tabs.
    - squiggleblaz 7y ago
      For clarity, that's Firefox Preview Settings not Android Settings. I would probably appreciate being asked since I tend to forget to close things - better to say "i want this tab only transiently, close it some time in the somewhat distant future (but, preferably, keep both transient and permanent tabs available)". Being asked to open it private is almost that. Still leaves me with ad blocking which is probably the third most important feature of a web browser after the ability to parse and render HTML.
      - 7y ago
jonny383 7y ago
If Firefox pushes this before implementing support for extensions (namely uBlock or other ad-blocking / privacy extensions) then Firefox is well and truly toast on Android. Correct me if I am wrong but the only reason non-tech people use Firefox on Android is to block ads. Perhaps this is a push from Mozilla to try and get some search revenue flowing again?
- s5ma6n 7y ago
  For me personally, uBlock (and other extensions) is the only reason I am using Firefox on Android. If this feature is removed, I will either go back to Samsung Browser or check something else.
  - boudin 7y ago
    Web-extentions are comming, i hope that it will be fully functionnal before it replaces the current firefox https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/pull/7280 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/pull/7280
    - squiggleblaz 7y ago
      "Hope" in this case shouldn't be enough unless they also decide to bake ublock origin right in.
      - vanderZwan 7y ago
        I'm a bit torn on the latter idea, actually: as much as I would love it if Mozilla would give such a well-deserved middle finger to the advertising world for their bad behavior, I also think it would create a kind of relationship between gorhill and Mozilla that would result in an unhealthy power dynamic.
  - timvisee 7y ago
    Yes, the same goes for me. Even though I really like these changes, this needs to be added. Will switch to Stable until then, I guess.
qalmakka 7y ago
So... Should I keep using Firefox Preview or from now on Nightly is considered more stable? I really don't get this.
theon144 7y ago
Wow, I am pretty surprised by this decision. I've been using Firefox Preview for a while, and while I do enjoy the new approach, I still regularly encounter bugs, including those that make me lose open tabs or other regressions for which I need to keep Firefox ("regular"?) installed. Not to mention the lack of addons (ad-blockers) and the fact that this announcement is completely useless and void of information. ("Brand new experience", whoa.) What is happening, Mozilla?
- vanderZwan 7y ago
  Note that this is about Firefox Nightly, not Firefox regular: > A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly So related to this decision I would say: nothing special, as far as I can see. They're just moving Firefox Preview to Firefox Unstable. > while I do enjoy the new approach (...) this announcement is completely useless and void of information. ("Brand new experience", whoa.) You're mentioning this yourself: Firefox Preview is a very new experience compared to the current mainstream Firefox for Android browser. You and I may be aware of Firefox Preview's existence, but for those out there who are not this is not a post that is useless and void of information.
  - squiggleblaz 7y ago
    > So related to this decision I would say: nothing special, as far as I can see. They're just moving Firefox Preview to Firefox Unstable. But the implication is that Preview is becoming the trunk from which future releases will be cut. If Preview lacks critical features like ad blocking and is as unstable as the previous commenter implies, it's probably not ready for that yet. (I can't comment on the bugginess, since my Preview was stuck in private mode until like five minutes ago — losing tabs was just part of the deal.)
    - vanderZwan 7y ago
      Well, I agree that that is a reasonable worry - Mozilla is not exempt from fears of mismanagement (especially not after the news of the layoffs).
geek-advised 7y ago
Is it me or this article is really vague? What's the new experience, exactly? Also, I started using Firefox on my Android phone because of 2 reasons: block ads and Google seems to be more and more for-profit and not for-users. And I love Firefox with one exception: when I press a link on another app Firefox doesn't open but gives me a small notification on the bottom the screen saying the tab opened in Firefox. I find this really annoying as I wouldn't press a link if I didn't want to browse it right away.
- ohazi 7y ago
  That feature is called tab queue, and it can be disabled in settings.
  - zwirbl 7y ago
    And it is one of the reasons I use FF on Android
  - geek-advised 7y ago
    Oh, I didn't know what's called. Thank you.
  - dmos62 7y ago
    I personally find this feature brilliant.
  - thinkingemote 7y ago
    What is tab queue? Is that the new feature or is that the old feature that gp was complaining about? What are the new features?
    - Vinnl 7y ago
      It's the feature they were complaining about. It's useful if you're in some other apps (e.g. a feed reader) from which you want to open several links in a row, which you then work through in order afterwards within Firefox. Disabling the tab queue means tabs get directly opened again.
jtwigg 7y ago
Firefox preview crashes on my 2019 Android phone when I attempt to upload a file to the web. I hope this is no longer the case...
- jamienicol 7y ago
  It would be great if you could file an issue at https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix if that still is the case.
SwampertX 7y ago
For those complaining there is no adblocker, support for uBlock Origin is already implemented upstream. https://twitter.com/FirefoxPreview/status/1215648005556264962?s=20 https://twitter.com/FirefoxPreview/status/121564800555626496...
- seren 7y ago
  What is "reference browser" in this context ? Is this the repo for Firefox Preview/fenix ? Or an upstream version of Firefox preview ?
  - sciurus 7y ago
    https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser "A web browser reference implementation using Mozilla Android Components. The Reference Browser is not a product intended to ship to end users. Instead it is a Technology Preview for many new mobile components that multiple teams at Mozilla are currently working on It includes the Mozilla Web Platform via GeckoView, a new modern Firefox Accounts and Cloud Sync implementation and the new "Glean" telemetry library. All these components will be foundational for Mozilla's existing and upcoming Android products. The Reference Browser can also be a starting point for your own new browser-like applications. It depends heavily on the Android Components project where most of the actual implementation lives. That project also includes many smaller sample applications."
    - seren 7y ago
      My question was more among the line : What is the relation between https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser and https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix That Readme does not really answer that question.
calpaterson 7y ago
Lots of comments in this thread about why they have implemented this before implementing addons. Based on Mozilla's public project board it looks like they are well underway on implementing add-ons: https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44 https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44 Check the done column
- pwg 7y ago
  The comments here re. "why before addons" is because the marketing-speak (tm) blog post leaves everyone with the impression that this new version is just about to replace the existing FF for Android that does support uBlockOrigin. And as many comments here indicate (and I am with those who feel this way), for a huge swath of FF for Android users, the ability to have uBlockOrigin is the critical reason why they have FF for Android installed in the first place. As in, if there is no uBlockOrigin, there is no remaining compelling reason to run FF for Android. This is a failure of the mozilla marketing droids to understand their customers.
  - calpaterson 7y ago
    > the ability to have uBlockOrigin is the critical reason why they have FF for Android Me too Agreed that the blog post is dross. I still hold out hope though that Mozilla is not as dumb as their dumbest blogpost :)
Zhyl 7y ago
Quite a lot of negativity from HN so far, so I'll add some counter. I've been using the Firefox preview since it was announced and overall have found it to be a vast improvement on the previous incarnation. Tab management is much more intuitive and easier on the thumbs, the URL bar being at the bottom is jarring at first but soon becomes much easier to use, the performance is similar to the Firefox Focus which I had previously switched to from the main Firefox app. Between this version of Firefox and the improvements to servo and webview brought in with v57 on the desktop side, we've seen a massive leap in terms of user experience across the Mozilla portfolio. Granted, addons and notably adblock is an omission, but really when I reflect on what I felt was missing from the Firefoxes of yore, I would always come back to 'look and feel' and 'performance' and I feel like these new releases go a long way to redressing the balance with the competition in my books.
- kstenerud 7y ago
  This is great, and firefox as a product is also great, but I couldn't decipher this information from their wall-of-marketroid-speak. This is a really big problem for a company such as Mozilla, because marketroid speak makes me distrust them, and they're riding on a reputation of trustworthiness.
- barrkel 7y ago
  Of course, the reason I don't use Chrome is due to the stuff Firefox has - ad-blocking on mobile and tree-style tabs on desktop. Chrome's look and feel is specifically what I don't like about it.
- BlackLotus89 7y ago
  > Tab management is much more intuitive and easier on the thumbs It's worse if you have many tabs and the compartmentalisation feature is not flexible enough to be used with many tabs. Oh and the missing preview image is annoying when I'm looking for a site, because it's easier to look for a tab by looking at it then reading every title > the URL bar being at the bottom is jarring at first but soon becomes much easier to use yeah I love the idea and it kind of works. problem is that _it doesn't stay down_ when I want to edit an url I first have to click on the bottom and then at the top as well. I really often want to edit the url I have in my browser and this is so annoying I can't even describe it. > the performance is similar to the Firefox Focus which I had previously switched to from the main Firefox app. No it probably isn't. For me firefox preview has the same slow downs as normal firefox for android. A few seconds to open and then a few seconds to show my tabs (oneplus 5 + ~150 tabs). If I just wanted a fast browser with adblock I would use "Lightning" (available in fdroid), but I want addons. Every other feature is available in every other browser.
Xelbair 7y ago
Add-ons are the only reason i am using Firefox on android. It is slightly slower, and more cumbersome than other alternatives - but add-ons(especially ublock origin) make up for that heavily.
- ntp85 7y ago
  > It is slightly slower, and more cumbersome than other alternatives Except that Firefox Preview in my experience is not. It's even quicker than Chrome or Bromite on my FP3.
bugmen0t 7y ago
This is in Nightly. I know people often times do _not_ expect breakage, because Nightly has been pretty stable for a long time. But that's not a guarantee. Most people will be concerned about lacking Web Extensions support. It's indeed not there yet and this is why this blog post is your heads-up to move to a more stable channel. Web Extensions are being worked on as you can see dependent bugs linked from this meta issue in bugzilla: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1582185 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1582185 And FYI, for me personally the built-in tracking protection has been a decent replacement for my favorite add-ons, so I'm personally quite fine with this change :-)
johnwish007 7y ago
I use FireFox Preview on Android, I think its great compared to Chrome.
chrismorgan 7y ago
There is much concern about what’s happening with extensions, and I share it, but I want to say this much: Fenix really is way faster than Fennec. On my low-end phone, I used Fennec so that I can use it as a minimal browser, with fonts disabled, NoScript installed, uBlock Origin installed; also for ideological reasons. I always knew that on pages where I needed to enable scripting it was mostly still a lot slower than Chrome, but I use it anyway. I’ve just tried Fenix out now, and yeah, it’s going through stress tests like loading Reddit’s web interface much, much faster (like, at least twice as fast and five times as interactive). I’ll wait for the extensions story to be polished off. There’s clear progress and intent. I have confidence they’ll pull it off.
joseph2342 7y ago
no ublock, firefox is dead
yorwba 7y ago
I use Firefox Preview as my main browser on Android, but I think pushing adoption by deprecating the regular Firefox for Android is the wrong approach. How are they going to compete with other browsers if they can't even get existing Firefox users to switch to Preview? In particular, Nightly users are already deliberately accepting bugginess to help test new Firefox releases. If they're not using Preview, there's probably a reason for that. > For current Nightly users, it’ll feel like a big exciting upgrade of their browsing experience once they update the app ... is a very optimistic prediction. Add-on support is missing, there are various strange bugs that are no deal-breakers for me personally, but still annoying, and the URL bar at the bottom is confusing to get used to. Forcing the transition before Preview is ready doesn't look like a smart move to me.
_def 7y ago
The bottom placed nav bar is a major ux improvement, I love it!
jeroenhd 7y ago
Firefox preview is an interesting experiment with decent speed and a nice layout. However there are some big blockers for me before I can use this browser. One is bypassing TLS errors (or preferably finally allowing me to use my own certificate authority for some internal services). Right now the issue is on hold and nobody from the Firefox team seems to. Be working on dealing with certificates. The other is the addon issue, but I have faith thst those will work once the preview goes mainstream. If Firefox goes live without those two points, I'm going over to brave. I like Mozilla and I want a second browser engine for the web, but basic functionality like this should not be foregone for the sake of "bringing new experiences".
SanchoPanda 7y ago
Annoying for nightly users, but reasonable for Firefox team to clean up the number of releases out. Though the reason I used nightly was fewer rules around custom extensions, not to be on the bleeding edge.
monetus 7y ago
"If you’re on an older version of Android (pre-5), you will won’t be able to download Firefox for Android." I wonder if it will or won't.
BlackLotus89 7y ago
If the nightly beta is like firefox preview then it's too early for it. 1) addons don't work yet 2) sharing of media files doesn't work https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/3621 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/3621 3) you can't add exceptions for ssl certificates https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/1168 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/1168 And it's all in all more buggy then firefox for me.... I really welcome a new approach, but since in my extensive testing it performed as bad as firefox and had more crashes it will more or less force me either to stick to an older firefox release (mask updates) or use a different browser (maybe install gecko as html framework and use lightning or something) Edit: formatting and added conclusion
- jaynetics 7y ago
  > And it's all in all more buggy I've used it as main browser for a while and have the same impression. For instance it simply crashes when logging in to certain websites, even after a clean install. Probably some bug with cookies. Edit: it also still uses more battery than Chrome for me. Apart of that it's a top browser.
  - BlackLotus89 7y ago
    Yeah I got similar problems. I stopped using it a while and always come back to check out if it got more stable or if my bugs where fixed/features implemented and nothing really changed (I think one or two bugs I reported got solved) I don't really want one of the main applications I use on mobile to crash on me
- RadioactiveMan 7y ago
  > 1) addons don't work yet It'll be interesting to see if this change is going to get rid of extension support or not. I'm a Firefox fan, but uBlock Origin is more important than the browser.
geppetto 7y ago
I've just gave it a try but nightly is still on the older version here. Anyway Firefox Preview is my default browser with Firefox Beta as a backup on Android. Preview is much faster but lacks extensions and many settings. Moreover I'm not sold on the new UI: address bar at the bottom is fine as long as it goes on top for some tasks, history is hard to find and I miss the favorites sites start-page (have to create groups but it's not the same). I use Firefox over Chrome because Google - you know... there's a submission a day about that - and I trust Mozilla much more to be-not-evil and such. So it's kind of a political-ethical thing. On PC performance is on par so it's not a compromising choice. On Android Chrome still has an edge.
drewg123 7y ago
Can somebody please remind me why the mobile firefox is stuck at version 68.x whereas other platforms have moved on to 72?
- RedComet 7y ago
  Because mobile Firefox is now ESR until the new mobile Firefox ("Fenix") is ready.
antonioni 7y ago
Uhh why does everything have to be an experience nowadays?
anotheryou 7y ago
Ugh so what is what and what's the news? There are (among others like ff klar) for android: - firefox (firefox) > old - firefox for android beta (firefox_beta) > old - firefox nightly for developers (fennec_aurora)> old (maybe this one will move to fenix and that's the news?) - firefox preview (fenix)> fenix rewrite - firefox preview nightly for developers (fenix.nightly) > fenix rewrite (app also shows up as "firefox nightly", but with an outline logo) I brackets is the end of the package name (org.mozilla...). They really should get a naming convention on the road. all mozilla apps here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/cluster?clp=igM4ChkKEzcwODMxODI2MzU5NzEyMzkyMDYQCBgDEhkKEzcwODMxODI2MzU5NzEyMzkyMDYQCBgDGAA%3D:S:ANO1ljKzdK8&gsr=CjuKAzgKGQoTNzA4MzE4MjYzNTk3MTIzOTIwNhAIGAMSGQoTNzA4MzE4MjYzNTk3MTIzOTIwNhAIGAMYAA%3D%3D:S:ANO1ljKOMZI https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/cluster?clp=ig... Fenix is nice, but still lacking add-on support (which is a dealbreaker for me)
FeatureIncomple 7y ago
I'm a happy user of Firefox Preview for a while not, and I just want to say to all developers: THANK YOU! It's pretty stable in my experience, and in fact much faster than the main version. Link for those who want to try it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fenix https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fe...
retpirato 7y ago
maybe anybody who decides to try it can comment here what if anything is new?
Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago
As much as I love Firefox, I have quit preview because of a bottom bar. (And this is from someone who had always used bottom tabs in desktop Opera in 00s) It is poorly executed and often obstructs input on websites.

138 points by sohkamyung 7y ago

severine 7y ago

Doesn't work in my (widely used) Android version. I'm a long time Firefox user and feel abandoned.

lorenzhs 7y ago
"Requires Android 5.0 and up" according to the Play Store listing. Android 4.x is from 2013 and had its last update in 2014. It hasn't received security patches since October 2017. Why should Mozilla continue to support such an ancient version?
- severine 7y ago
  Because millions of people are using it and can't change easily? It's not that I don't get your point, but the amount of Android 4.x that I encounter is really big, maybe it's my humble environment, but still.
  - myrion 7y ago
    All of the 4.x versions together make up just over 10% of Androids used, according to Google. Pretty much every single 5.x version has a bigger share. It's reasonable to give that up if it makes development easier / the end result more secure, imo. Edited to ask: why is switching not easy? Even cheap phones come with far newer versions these days...
    - seren 7y ago
      Not to be snarky, but Firefox itself is probably below 10% market share globally, so according to that logic, developers should not bother testing compatibility or performance with Firefox (but I agree with your overall point or sentiment !)
    - squiggleblaz 7y ago
      Ten per cent sounds significant to me. If you were saying "oh, all 4.x versions make up just over 1% of Android versions" it's probably fair. New phones are not without costs even when they're cheap. It is better for everyone to use your phone until it stops working. And if you come from a place where a nice job lands you $150/mo a cheap phone is still expensive.
    - ekianjo 7y ago
      New phones have less features than old phones. No removable batteries, audio jacks becoming extinct, its almost as if manufacturers are making them completely disposable once the battery runs out.
    - severine 7y ago
      Only about 250 million Android 4.x users, mostly relatively poor, then: https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/android-statistics/ https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/android-statistics/ I thought Mozilla would consider us important if only for that 10%. You know, 10% is quite important: Firefox has less than 10% of the desktop/laptop users, less than 1% of mobile users.
- squiggleblaz 7y ago
  Firefox: "Consider ways to reduce your digital carbon footprint" Also Firefox: "Throw out your perfectly fine phone and buy a new one! Do not think about the slave labor and environmental/climate costs that will go into producing it." (I feel critical of Firefox in this thread, but I wouldn't dream of using Chrome. Mozilla are at least half decent and aim towards ethical behavior. But it would be nice if they let us do the things they recommend.)
  - lorenzhs 7y ago
    I don't consider a phone that hasn't received security updates in 2.5 years "perfectly fine". I'm all for extending the life of older devices, don't misunderstand me, but that requires software updates. My phone is probably much older than those of most HN'ers (been using it for over 3 years now) and I used my last laptop for 7 years. But I don't run ancient unsupported software on either. What I'm saying is "you shouldn't run Android 4.x in 2020", not "you shouldn't use a device from 2014 in 2020". Whether it be through better manufacturer support or a custom ROM like LineageOS, these ancient versions need to die.
    - squiggleblaz 7y ago
      In the rest of life, we don't consider security flaws impose an obligation to replace something. For instance, your average home's door - fundamentally a security device! - is flimsy and does not offer much resistance. More durable doors are available, but not normally considered worth it. Considering how many Android 4 devices are still in use today, Google and the manufacturers are behaving incredibly unreasonably in not supporting them. Nothing about Android 4 means it should die, any more in 2020 than in 2014. Google could suddenly grow a conscience and stop being evil tomorrow if they wanted; the fact that they have not updated in in several years does not mean they cannot start updating it again. It is not incumbent on the owners of any phone to discard it. Please do not confuse the intrinsic properties of a product with business decisions. Corporations need to be responsible for the products that they release. Google is no less of a polluter than the company that releases waste chemicals into the local river. (LineageOS is no be all end all. Many devices are not supported at all, and volunteers have no obligation to clean up for lazy private companies with no sense of obligation to the communities that make them their profits.)
- ZoomZoomZoom 7y ago
  "2014 - Ancient version" Sorry, but this mindset doesn't make a lot of good for the technology. It's not 90s anymore in terms of performance growth. The reason a smartphone from 2014 is considered obsolete is not technical.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - kuschku 7y ago
    If 2014 isn't an ancient android version and okay without updates, then why do you need updates for Firefox? You can just as well keep using the 2014 version of that, too.
    - jerrtik 7y ago
      Apples to oranges and no i won't be using Firefox when Chrome, Brave and Edge still support the "ancient 2014 android version"
      - kuschku 7y ago
        Why is it apples and oranges? What makes using a 6 year outdated OS so much different from using a 6 year outdated browser? Both long stopped being supported by many websites and apps.
    - ZoomZoomZoom 7y ago
      >>and okay without updates Who said that? It's exactly the problem. There's no reason 6-year old phone can't get updates, besides forcing the selling of new devices. It's a practice against user interests.
- jerrtik 7y ago
  > It hasn't received security patches since October 2017. Why should Mozilla continue to support such an ancient version? Because ALL of their big competitors namely Chrome, Brave, Opera, and now Edge, support the "ancient" Android 4.x version.
  - lorenzhs 7y ago
    Brave stopped supporting Android 4.x as well, see https://community.brave.com/t/installing-brave-on-android-without-using-google-play/77470/6 https://community.brave.com/t/installing-brave-on-android-wi.... The last version that supported 4.4 was 1.3.2, they're at 1.6.3 now for Android 5.0+.
    - jerrtik 7y ago
      Not true I have Brave v1.6.2 installed on my 4.4.2 phone Edit: just now i've upgraded to the latest v1.6.3, as you can see brave's still receives updates on a android 4.x
darkwater 7y ago
But you can still use the current (that will be old in the future) Firefox. yeah, no security updates but your OS is not getting them either. It sucks, and it shouldn't be that way, I'm with you, but it's the harsh reality. So, blaming only Mozilla for this situation looks a bit unfair from my point of view.
- severine 7y ago
  Of course, I don't blame Mozilla for all of that. I'd like them to champion disadvantaged users, that's all. I expect more from Mozilla than from the other players in the web/browser/mobile scene, perhaps I'm wrong!
abrowne 7y ago
I've been using Firefox Preview on and off since last summer on a low-end phone running 5.1 with no issues due to Android version.

lol768 7y ago

Given https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 and https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 are still open, does this represent a regression in supported functionality for nightly users?

zecg 7y ago
No ublock origin? Good luck with that, mozilla.
severine 7y ago
Definitely. I don't understand how Mozilla doesn't understand that extensions, particularly content blocking (and specifically Ublock Origin) are definitional of what Firefox is and should be.
- ekianjo 7y ago
  But they love testing! And users! That is all what matters I guess?
  - Vinnl 7y ago
    As a user who's tested Firefox Preview and loved extension support in Firefox for Android: it's been good enough for me to have somewhat naturally transitioned to using it as my main browser. The built-in tracking protection blocks practically everything that I used uBlock Origin for (though I'd still appreciate the real thing coming), I haven't really experienced bugs, and it's really quite snappy. There's certainly still a number of features missing (I'm personally eagerly awaiting the return of the home screen), but it's certainly not as dire as some here make it sound, and it's been progressing pretty rapidly.
- Koffiepoeder 7y ago
  No this is definitely not a regression. Firefox launched a new app called "Firefox Preview Nightly", so as of right now both Nightly and Preview Nightly exist side by side; regular nightly users are not impacted at this point in time.

Reventlov 7y ago

A few screenshots would be nice… Really, it's a "new browsing experience", and what we have is just a wall of shitty corporate text saying how great it is. Fuck that.

BadOakOx 7y ago

I have Firefox Preview installed on my phone and it is set as my default browser, but I still keep the original Firefox for Android, because: - Preview is missing support for Add-ons. This was a huge advantage of Firefox for Android (for me this means, that I cannot use uBlock.. the built-in ad blocker is good, but uBlock is better) - There are limited settings available in Preview. (e.g. what I am missing a "download images only over wifi" option.)

squiggleblaz 7y ago
I also have Firefox Preview installed on my phone. It's set as default but I basically don't use it, because: * Preview lacks support for ad blocking. * For some reason, every time I open a link in Firefox Preview, it goes into "Private" mode and there's no option to stop that from happening. I think it used to ask me, and one time I said "Private" and ever since then it's been in private mode - it asked me every time till I said "Private" and thereafter it's never asked me again. This means I can only use Preview for the links that transiently get opened, because I can't even find the normal tabs without closing Private browsing.
- input_sh 7y ago
  Settings - Default Launcher - there's a checkbox that you can uncheck to not open random links in private tabs.
  - squiggleblaz 7y ago
    For clarity, that's Firefox Preview Settings not Android Settings. I would probably appreciate being asked since I tend to forget to close things - better to say "i want this tab only transiently, close it some time in the somewhat distant future (but, preferably, keep both transient and permanent tabs available)". Being asked to open it private is almost that. Still leaves me with ad blocking which is probably the third most important feature of a web browser after the ability to parse and render HTML.
    - 7y ago

jonny383 7y ago

If Firefox pushes this before implementing support for extensions (namely uBlock or other ad-blocking / privacy extensions) then Firefox is well and truly toast on Android. Correct me if I am wrong but the only reason non-tech people use Firefox on Android is to block ads. Perhaps this is a push from Mozilla to try and get some search revenue flowing again?

s5ma6n 7y ago
For me personally, uBlock (and other extensions) is the only reason I am using Firefox on Android. If this feature is removed, I will either go back to Samsung Browser or check something else.
- boudin 7y ago
  Web-extentions are comming, i hope that it will be fully functionnal before it replaces the current firefox https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/pull/7280 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/pull/7280
  - squiggleblaz 7y ago
    "Hope" in this case shouldn't be enough unless they also decide to bake ublock origin right in.
    - vanderZwan 7y ago
      I'm a bit torn on the latter idea, actually: as much as I would love it if Mozilla would give such a well-deserved middle finger to the advertising world for their bad behavior, I also think it would create a kind of relationship between gorhill and Mozilla that would result in an unhealthy power dynamic.
- timvisee 7y ago
  Yes, the same goes for me. Even though I really like these changes, this needs to be added. Will switch to Stable until then, I guess.

qalmakka 7y ago

So... Should I keep using Firefox Preview or from now on Nightly is considered more stable? I really don't get this.

theon144 7y ago

Wow, I am pretty surprised by this decision. I've been using Firefox Preview for a while, and while I do enjoy the new approach, I still regularly encounter bugs, including those that make me lose open tabs or other regressions for which I need to keep Firefox ("regular"?) installed. Not to mention the lack of addons (ad-blockers) and the fact that this announcement is completely useless and void of information. ("Brand new experience", whoa.) What is happening, Mozilla?

vanderZwan 7y ago
Note that this is about Firefox Nightly, not Firefox regular: > A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly So related to this decision I would say: nothing special, as far as I can see. They're just moving Firefox Preview to Firefox Unstable. > while I do enjoy the new approach (...) this announcement is completely useless and void of information. ("Brand new experience", whoa.) You're mentioning this yourself: Firefox Preview is a very new experience compared to the current mainstream Firefox for Android browser. You and I may be aware of Firefox Preview's existence, but for those out there who are not this is not a post that is useless and void of information.
- squiggleblaz 7y ago
  > So related to this decision I would say: nothing special, as far as I can see. They're just moving Firefox Preview to Firefox Unstable. But the implication is that Preview is becoming the trunk from which future releases will be cut. If Preview lacks critical features like ad blocking and is as unstable as the previous commenter implies, it's probably not ready for that yet. (I can't comment on the bugginess, since my Preview was stuck in private mode until like five minutes ago — losing tabs was just part of the deal.)
  - vanderZwan 7y ago
    Well, I agree that that is a reasonable worry - Mozilla is not exempt from fears of mismanagement (especially not after the news of the layoffs).

geek-advised 7y ago

Is it me or this article is really vague? What's the new experience, exactly? Also, I started using Firefox on my Android phone because of 2 reasons: block ads and Google seems to be more and more for-profit and not for-users. And I love Firefox with one exception: when I press a link on another app Firefox doesn't open but gives me a small notification on the bottom the screen saying the tab opened in Firefox. I find this really annoying as I wouldn't press a link if I didn't want to browse it right away.

ohazi 7y ago
That feature is called tab queue, and it can be disabled in settings.
- zwirbl 7y ago
  And it is one of the reasons I use FF on Android
- geek-advised 7y ago
  Oh, I didn't know what's called. Thank you.
- dmos62 7y ago
  I personally find this feature brilliant.
- thinkingemote 7y ago
  What is tab queue? Is that the new feature or is that the old feature that gp was complaining about? What are the new features?
  - Vinnl 7y ago
    It's the feature they were complaining about. It's useful if you're in some other apps (e.g. a feed reader) from which you want to open several links in a row, which you then work through in order afterwards within Firefox. Disabling the tab queue means tabs get directly opened again.

jtwigg 7y ago

Firefox preview crashes on my 2019 Android phone when I attempt to upload a file to the web. I hope this is no longer the case...

jamienicol 7y ago
It would be great if you could file an issue at https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix if that still is the case.

SwampertX 7y ago

For those complaining there is no adblocker, support for uBlock Origin is already implemented upstream. https://twitter.com/FirefoxPreview/status/1215648005556264962?s=20 https://twitter.com/FirefoxPreview/status/121564800555626496...

seren 7y ago
What is "reference browser" in this context ? Is this the repo for Firefox Preview/fenix ? Or an upstream version of Firefox preview ?
- sciurus 7y ago
  https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser "A web browser reference implementation using Mozilla Android Components. The Reference Browser is not a product intended to ship to end users. Instead it is a Technology Preview for many new mobile components that multiple teams at Mozilla are currently working on It includes the Mozilla Web Platform via GeckoView, a new modern Firefox Accounts and Cloud Sync implementation and the new "Glean" telemetry library. All these components will be foundational for Mozilla's existing and upcoming Android products. The Reference Browser can also be a starting point for your own new browser-like applications. It depends heavily on the Android Components project where most of the actual implementation lives. That project also includes many smaller sample applications."
  - seren 7y ago
    My question was more among the line : What is the relation between https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser and https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix That Readme does not really answer that question.

calpaterson 7y ago

Lots of comments in this thread about why they have implemented this before implementing addons. Based on Mozilla's public project board it looks like they are well underway on implementing add-ons: https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44 https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44 Check the done column

pwg 7y ago
The comments here re. "why before addons" is because the marketing-speak (tm) blog post leaves everyone with the impression that this new version is just about to replace the existing FF for Android that does support uBlockOrigin. And as many comments here indicate (and I am with those who feel this way), for a huge swath of FF for Android users, the ability to have uBlockOrigin is the critical reason why they have FF for Android installed in the first place. As in, if there is no uBlockOrigin, there is no remaining compelling reason to run FF for Android. This is a failure of the mozilla marketing droids to understand their customers.
- calpaterson 7y ago
  > the ability to have uBlockOrigin is the critical reason why they have FF for Android Me too Agreed that the blog post is dross. I still hold out hope though that Mozilla is not as dumb as their dumbest blogpost :)

Zhyl 7y ago

Quite a lot of negativity from HN so far, so I'll add some counter. I've been using the Firefox preview since it was announced and overall have found it to be a vast improvement on the previous incarnation. Tab management is much more intuitive and easier on the thumbs, the URL bar being at the bottom is jarring at first but soon becomes much easier to use, the performance is similar to the Firefox Focus which I had previously switched to from the main Firefox app. Between this version of Firefox and the improvements to servo and webview brought in with v57 on the desktop side, we've seen a massive leap in terms of user experience across the Mozilla portfolio. Granted, addons and notably adblock is an omission, but really when I reflect on what I felt was missing from the Firefoxes of yore, I would always come back to 'look and feel' and 'performance' and I feel like these new releases go a long way to redressing the balance with the competition in my books.

kstenerud 7y ago
This is great, and firefox as a product is also great, but I couldn't decipher this information from their wall-of-marketroid-speak. This is a really big problem for a company such as Mozilla, because marketroid speak makes me distrust them, and they're riding on a reputation of trustworthiness.
barrkel 7y ago
Of course, the reason I don't use Chrome is due to the stuff Firefox has - ad-blocking on mobile and tree-style tabs on desktop. Chrome's look and feel is specifically what I don't like about it.
BlackLotus89 7y ago
> Tab management is much more intuitive and easier on the thumbs It's worse if you have many tabs and the compartmentalisation feature is not flexible enough to be used with many tabs. Oh and the missing preview image is annoying when I'm looking for a site, because it's easier to look for a tab by looking at it then reading every title > the URL bar being at the bottom is jarring at first but soon becomes much easier to use yeah I love the idea and it kind of works. problem is that _it doesn't stay down_ when I want to edit an url I first have to click on the bottom and then at the top as well. I really often want to edit the url I have in my browser and this is so annoying I can't even describe it. > the performance is similar to the Firefox Focus which I had previously switched to from the main Firefox app. No it probably isn't. For me firefox preview has the same slow downs as normal firefox for android. A few seconds to open and then a few seconds to show my tabs (oneplus 5 + ~150 tabs). If I just wanted a fast browser with adblock I would use "Lightning" (available in fdroid), but I want addons. Every other feature is available in every other browser.

Xelbair 7y ago

Add-ons are the only reason i am using Firefox on android. It is slightly slower, and more cumbersome than other alternatives - but add-ons(especially ublock origin) make up for that heavily.

ntp85 7y ago
> It is slightly slower, and more cumbersome than other alternatives Except that Firefox Preview in my experience is not. It's even quicker than Chrome or Bromite on my FP3.

bugmen0t 7y ago

This is in Nightly. I know people often times do _not_ expect breakage, because Nightly has been pretty stable for a long time. But that's not a guarantee. Most people will be concerned about lacking Web Extensions support. It's indeed not there yet and this is why this blog post is your heads-up to move to a more stable channel. Web Extensions are being worked on as you can see dependent bugs linked from this meta issue in bugzilla: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1582185 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1582185 And FYI, for me personally the built-in tracking protection has been a decent replacement for my favorite add-ons, so I'm personally quite fine with this change :-)

johnwish007 7y ago

I use FireFox Preview on Android, I think its great compared to Chrome.

chrismorgan 7y ago

There is much concern about what’s happening with extensions, and I share it, but I want to say this much: Fenix really is way faster than Fennec. On my low-end phone, I used Fennec so that I can use it as a minimal browser, with fonts disabled, NoScript installed, uBlock Origin installed; also for ideological reasons. I always knew that on pages where I needed to enable scripting it was mostly still a lot slower than Chrome, but I use it anyway. I’ve just tried Fenix out now, and yeah, it’s going through stress tests like loading Reddit’s web interface much, much faster (like, at least twice as fast and five times as interactive). I’ll wait for the extensions story to be polished off. There’s clear progress and intent. I have confidence they’ll pull it off.

joseph2342 7y ago

no ublock, firefox is dead

yorwba 7y ago

I use Firefox Preview as my main browser on Android, but I think pushing adoption by deprecating the regular Firefox for Android is the wrong approach. How are they going to compete with other browsers if they can't even get existing Firefox users to switch to Preview? In particular, Nightly users are already deliberately accepting bugginess to help test new Firefox releases. If they're not using Preview, there's probably a reason for that. > For current Nightly users, it’ll feel like a big exciting upgrade of their browsing experience once they update the app ... is a very optimistic prediction. Add-on support is missing, there are various strange bugs that are no deal-breakers for me personally, but still annoying, and the URL bar at the bottom is confusing to get used to. Forcing the transition before Preview is ready doesn't look like a smart move to me.

_def 7y ago

The bottom placed nav bar is a major ux improvement, I love it!

jeroenhd 7y ago

Firefox preview is an interesting experiment with decent speed and a nice layout. However there are some big blockers for me before I can use this browser. One is bypassing TLS errors (or preferably finally allowing me to use my own certificate authority for some internal services). Right now the issue is on hold and nobody from the Firefox team seems to. Be working on dealing with certificates. The other is the addon issue, but I have faith thst those will work once the preview goes mainstream. If Firefox goes live without those two points, I'm going over to brave. I like Mozilla and I want a second browser engine for the web, but basic functionality like this should not be foregone for the sake of "bringing new experiences".

SanchoPanda 7y ago

Annoying for nightly users, but reasonable for Firefox team to clean up the number of releases out. Though the reason I used nightly was fewer rules around custom extensions, not to be on the bleeding edge.

monetus 7y ago

"If you’re on an older version of Android (pre-5), you will won’t be able to download Firefox for Android." I wonder if it will or won't.

BlackLotus89 7y ago

If the nightly beta is like firefox preview then it's too early for it. 1) addons don't work yet 2) sharing of media files doesn't work https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/3621 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/3621 3) you can't add exceptions for ssl certificates https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/1168 https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/1168 And it's all in all more buggy then firefox for me.... I really welcome a new approach, but since in my extensive testing it performed as bad as firefox and had more crashes it will more or less force me either to stick to an older firefox release (mask updates) or use a different browser (maybe install gecko as html framework and use lightning or something) Edit: formatting and added conclusion

jaynetics 7y ago
> And it's all in all more buggy I've used it as main browser for a while and have the same impression. For instance it simply crashes when logging in to certain websites, even after a clean install. Probably some bug with cookies. Edit: it also still uses more battery than Chrome for me. Apart of that it's a top browser.
- BlackLotus89 7y ago
  Yeah I got similar problems. I stopped using it a while and always come back to check out if it got more stable or if my bugs where fixed/features implemented and nothing really changed (I think one or two bugs I reported got solved) I don't really want one of the main applications I use on mobile to crash on me
RadioactiveMan 7y ago
> 1) addons don't work yet It'll be interesting to see if this change is going to get rid of extension support or not. I'm a Firefox fan, but uBlock Origin is more important than the browser.

geppetto 7y ago

I've just gave it a try but nightly is still on the older version here. Anyway Firefox Preview is my default browser with Firefox Beta as a backup on Android. Preview is much faster but lacks extensions and many settings. Moreover I'm not sold on the new UI: address bar at the bottom is fine as long as it goes on top for some tasks, history is hard to find and I miss the favorites sites start-page (have to create groups but it's not the same). I use Firefox over Chrome because Google - you know... there's a submission a day about that - and I trust Mozilla much more to be-not-evil and such. So it's kind of a political-ethical thing. On PC performance is on par so it's not a compromising choice. On Android Chrome still has an edge.

drewg123 7y ago

Can somebody please remind me why the mobile firefox is stuck at version 68.x whereas other platforms have moved on to 72?

RedComet 7y ago
Because mobile Firefox is now ESR until the new mobile Firefox ("Fenix") is ready.

antonioni 7y ago

Uhh why does everything have to be an experience nowadays?

anotheryou 7y ago

Ugh so what is what and what's the news? There are (among others like ff klar) for android: - firefox (firefox) > old - firefox for android beta (firefox_beta) > old - firefox nightly for developers (fennec_aurora)> old (maybe this one will move to fenix and that's the news?) - firefox preview (fenix)> fenix rewrite - firefox preview nightly for developers (fenix.nightly) > fenix rewrite (app also shows up as "firefox nightly", but with an outline logo) I brackets is the end of the package name (org.mozilla...). They really should get a naming convention on the road. all mozilla apps here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/cluster?clp=igM4ChkKEzcwODMxODI2MzU5NzEyMzkyMDYQCBgDEhkKEzcwODMxODI2MzU5NzEyMzkyMDYQCBgDGAA%3D:S:ANO1ljKzdK8&gsr=CjuKAzgKGQoTNzA4MzE4MjYzNTk3MTIzOTIwNhAIGAMSGQoTNzA4MzE4MjYzNTk3MTIzOTIwNhAIGAMYAA%3D%3D:S:ANO1ljKOMZI https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/cluster?clp=ig... Fenix is nice, but still lacking add-on support (which is a dealbreaker for me)

FeatureIncomple 7y ago

I'm a happy user of Firefox Preview for a while not, and I just want to say to all developers: THANK YOU! It's pretty stable in my experience, and in fact much faster than the main version. Link for those who want to try it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fenix https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fe...

retpirato 7y ago

maybe anybody who decides to try it can comment here what if anything is new?

Andrew_nenakhov 7y ago

As much as I love Firefox, I have quit preview because of a bottom bar. (And this is from someone who had always used bottom tabs in desktop Opera in 00s) It is poorly executed and often obstructs input on websites.