Firefox Preview 3.0 | Hacker News Reader

Firefox Preview 3.0

support.mozilla.org

242 pointsvidyesh80 comments

Since it took me a little while to figure out what this was -- it's Firefox for Android.

Not the ordinary Firefox for Android, though.

Specifically: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.fe...

"Firefox Preview marks a release of the early version for an experimental Firefox browser for Android. Built on GeckoView, Firefox Preview is a pilot for early adopters, developers, and anyone who wants to help make a better, more private Firefox for Android."

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

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.

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.

And for those who think they'd dislike it: v3 now added an option to move it to the top again.

For me it was the past that annoyed me. Glad they added an option to put it back on to.

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.

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.

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.

I didn't realise how much I'd missed it from other browsers until I tried it. It's a breath of fresh air.

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.

Isn’t the GeckoView part built with Rust?

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/andro...

I admit to being very confused about collections. They just seemed very inconvenient and there's no way to get to normal bookmarks.

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

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

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

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

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"?

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.

IIRC extensions are on their roadmap

Extensions were always going to be added. You have to have a usable browser before you can even use extensions.

That is not true. In February, they were merely "look[ing] at it".

https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/574#issuecomm...

That is a copy of Yaani https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.turkcell.y... or vice verse.

Firefox Preview is open source, https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix

Yani doesn't cite Firefox. I think Turkcell is violating the license.

I assumed I can download and try it right now, similar to Apple’s Safari Technology Preview. Maybe they should call it Firefox Preview for Android.

Yeh, I was initially confused, I thought it was a throw-back link to when they announced Firefox 3 (desktop)

I've been using Firefox Preview since it was announced in June and so far I'm really impressed. It's much faster than "regular" Firefox for Android, and I like the UI better. There have been a few bugs and annoyances as they release updates, and I really miss having a good content blocker like uBlock. Aside from that, I'm just happy that there's finally a fast web browser for Android that isn't Chrome.

same here. also missing ublock.

Subscribe to this issue: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630

I've also found it to be faster than Chrome

I'm liking Preview so far on Android. Especially the bottom bar. There are few more things that would sell it for me as my only browser.

- Extensions, for uBlock Origin.

- Some equivalent of the most convenient features I've ingrained to muscle memory from Brave, like pull-to-refresh, tapping a word to see a search/lookup box or swiping left/right on the address bar to change tabs.

- Or at least the ability to search DDG or Google from highlighted text (I've tried doing this so many times but it isn't implemented yet).

- The file picker on GitHub crashes.

Of course these will probably be addressed eventually.

It doesnt have extensions? Hard pass then.

> There are few more things that would sell it for me as my only browser.

It is a preview, so the important question is what does Mozilla have to do to encourage people to test it? In my books, two major things need to be done:

- Give it a more meaningful name. People need to know about it and remember to follow it's development until they feel it is ready for them to test.

- Focus upon the distinguishing features that compel people to use Firefox instead of another browser.

For example: I am waiting until Firefox Preview has add-on support prior to testing it. I would much prefer to put up with an incomplete rendering engine or incomplete add-on support than live without add-ons altogether. Add-ons would allow me to use Firefox Preview normally, switch to the release version of Firefox when needed, then submit meaningful feedback. Without add-ons, I would simply reach for the release version of Firefox by default and Firefox Preview would soon be forgotten soon after installing it.

Now everyone is going to have a different must have feature. That's fine. This is a development preview, so different people are going to come on line at different times based upon what it offers. Which leads me to ...

... the name bit. I originally heard about Firefox Preview several months back, never bothered to test it for the reason stated above, then promptly forgot about it since the name did not scream, "hey, major Firefox improvements are coming down the pipe, remember me for when you're ready!" Not only is the name non-memorable, but I likely saw dozens of headlines for it in the since then and did not even realize it. Something as simple as "Firefox for Android Preview" or "Firefox for Android Technology Preview" would have alerted me that it is something that I am interested in tracking. (While I use the desktop version of Firefox, I have no interest in following articles on its updates.) Since the name didn't distinguish the product, it has been effectively out-of-sight and out-of-mind.

It took some while for me to get used to it but now I actually prefer what is essentially "click menu twice" that Firefox Fennec uses over pull to refresh.

I just need my add-ons :)

Heard there is a hack to try them already, does anyone know how?

You probably want to follow this issue https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630

Or those User Stories https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44

cool, that looks like progress!

If anyone developing this is here: I don't like the drawer above the URL/search bar which contains the share and bookmark buttons. The bar is visually-distracting, and it's much easier to tap on the vertical three dots menu and tap on a bookmark button there. I've never been a fan of "share", but that could probably be moved inline with the URL/search bar (either the share or bookmark button, and the other button going in the menu).

Is there going to be an option for the URL/search bar to automatically hide similar to how it does on Firefox for Android when you scroll? That would be a nice feature to have.

(Extensions is a must-have if I'm going to switch over!)

Thanks, and great job!

> I don't like the drawer above the URL/search bar

When I tried Preview Nightly a few days ago, that was gone, with the options moved to the menu.

From the linked page:

> An updated browser menu has replaced the Quick Action bar

So the drawer is gone when this is released.

IIRC, the toolbar did auto-hide at first, but they were still running into some bugs so they've disabled it for now. It was also pretty weird with the bottom bar, given that it disappeared if you scrolled down.

Extensions are on the roadmap.

I can't find it on F-Droid, hopefully they get it on there soon. The main repo doesn't seem to have the Pocket spyware in the app yet, at least.

"the Pocket spyware"? In what way is the Pocket integration spying on you? I'm not a fan of it either, but isn't it a little of stretch?..

See https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/162 and https://gitlab.com/fdroid/rfp/issues/869.

Apparently these are draft release notes; v3 hasn't been released yet: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/6852#issuecom...

> Open links in private tabs by default

Nice! This is why I use Firefox Focus as a default browser on Android. Would be cool if other browsers (Brave?) implemented this as well.

Firefox Klar[0] is a version of Focus for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland vthat has user activity tracking disabled by default.

[0] https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.klar/

Me too, very glad its here.

I am too used to Safari on iOS allowing that. But none of the regular Android browsers really letting us set that by default. I ended up using Firefox Focus or DuckDuckGo browser but they feel like a very basic browser.

What does it even mean to open them in private tabs by default and why is that a behavior I would want? I use private tabs as a way to keep things out of my browsing history or to check what happens to a page when it does not get any of its normal cookies.

If you are using a different app to browse stuff you don't want in your history, say in the reddit app, this feature means clicking a link in that app will not immediately make it show up in your history.

> Open links in private tabs by default

I'm not sure it's a great idea. I like having my browsing history available and synced between devices. Also, if all private tabs share the same profile, it might be kinda pointless

Its a feature which can be disabled.

It's actually something I adapted to and really came to like about using Firefox Focus (and have missed since switching to Firefox Preview). The main thing about Firefox Focus is it was extremely easy to reopen a page in a different browser or app (Chrome, Firefox, whatever). So some app on your phone would send you somewhere in Focus and you would peek at a website and then decide to transfer to the "real" browser if you actually cared.

I dont think this has any option for "open in app" like Firefox for Android:

https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/4575

So if you use NewPipe or similar, dont install Firefox Preview.

I use this open source app to solve this with any app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.audioattack...

I dont see how this solves the problem.

Use native Android sharing to open a link in an app that has registered it.

Im not installing an app just to get back functionality that was and should be already part of the browser.

Can I download files with it yet without the download failing?

Yes, they fixed that soon

Works for me on firefox preview.

Were you unable to download files which required authentication?

That seems to have been fixed in a previous release.

Useless without add-on support. I'm going to be avoiding Fenix until I can install a proper adblocker.

I've been using it off and on. My only complaint is not being able to use an ad blocker.

How good is the baked-in ad and analytics blocking, compared to uBlock Origin?

First impression: it's fast compared to the regular Firefox for Android.

What I sorely miss is the ability to add tags to bookmarks. Whenever I add bookmarks in mobile, I have to edit them on the desktop version.

Is there a way to set the position of the address bar to the top of the screen instead of the bottom (as there is in Chrome) ?

Yes, there is. Settings > Toolbar > Top.

I don't see Toolbar. Did they nust update it and remove it?

Hmmm... About:Config doesn't work.

Version 3 (which this page is about) hasn't been released yet, apparently, and the option was added there. Might be that you're still on the previous version.

I'll wait for addons and PWA support.

I am unable to add a custom search engine even though it is listed as a feature. Anyone else tried to add one?

I personally haven't tried yet, but at least one other is saying it's not working yet: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5577#issuecom...

Does it support page translation?

If it was ported, could this run decently on a Raspberry Pi?

It would not make any sense to Port Firefox Preview to RPi as the project is built around the Android API and widgets.

Some of the Gecko work to support Firefox Preview could help performance on low spec hardware.

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