Everything You Need to Know About Firefox Preview on Android
Mozilla is taking another hit on mobile surfing with the new Firefox on Android . We played around with the recently released public early access build for this new Firefox, currently known as Firefox Preview, and now we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about it – how fast, how secure it is. and the best new features we’ve found.
Why is Mozilla creating a new Firefox app for Android?
Firefox has a significant niche in the desktop browser market, but remains grossly under-represented in the mobile market. This is in part due to the near-ubiquity of Chrome being the default on Android, but even Mozilla admits that mobile Firefox can be much better.
Rather than trying to radically change the course of the current mobile app, Mozilla decided to start with a brand new Firefox app. This new Firefox is based on the open source GeckoView mobile browser software, which Mozilla claims makes Firefox previews twice as fast as the previous version of Firefox Mobile and provides many of the same privacy protection features as the desktop version. , for mobile devices.
We spent some time on the new Firefox preview to see if Mozilla’s claims hold up to any reason, and we figured out for ourselves how different this new Firefox really is.
How Firefox Preview Works
The main features of Firefox Preview are identical to those of any other mobile browser – you can open and switch between multiple tabs, there is a private mode, and you can do a quick search in the URL bar from your preferred search engine (which can be set during installation and changed in the settings menu). Firefox veterans can log in and sync their bookmarks, browsing history, and other settings (depending on your sync settings, of course), but the differences between Firefox Mobile and Firefox Preview quickly become apparent.
New interface
Everyone will notice the smoother interface. Firefox Preview has a much more stripped-down and focused user interface compared to Firefox Mobile. It’s much easier to jump straight to the page, and the homepage doesn’t have featured articles or other clutter that makes Firefox Mobile feel cramped. The new, cropped navigation bar has been moved to the bottom of the app screen and doesn’t get in the way when scrolling and reading the page. In this respect, it is more like using the browser in read mode.
Faster browsing
Firefox Preview as a whole also provides a much faster web experience. One of Mozilla’s biggest claims about Firefox Preview is that it is twice as fast as the current version of Firefox for Android. Firefox Preview certainly seems a little faster, and Mozilla’s Kraken testing tool confirms that it is actually a faster browser overall.
Collections
One of our favorite changes in Firefox Preview is the Collections feature. While this feature is similar to using subfolders to organize bookmarks, Collections differ in that they not only allow you to save pages to separate collections, but you can even save a page with processes in progress, such as an online shopping cart or specific search results – there will be added later. The browser will prompt you to add pages to your collections and allow you to share collections with others.
Tracking protection
Users have the option to adjust their privacy and tracking protection settings the first time they launch their browser, and they can adjust them anytime from the settings menu, but we recommend sticking to the default Firefox Preview settings for two reasons. First, the default browser does not allow websites and ads to track your online activity, which means more privacy. Secondly, blocking trackers and similar content helps reduce website load times.
Dark mode
Another cool feature to look out for is dark mode. Many apps have dark mode, but it’s not present in the current Firefox Mobile browser, so this is a welcome update. Firefox Preview can be locked in light or dark mode, or set to dynamically change themes based on your phone’s display settings. Personally, I prefer to have dark mode on whenever possible, and Firefox Preview’s slightly magenta tint over dark mode is a nice visual contrast to dark modes in other apps.
How to get Firefox Preview on Android
Anyone with a compatible Android device can download the latest Firefox Preview from one of the following locations:
While we’re impressed with the Firefox preview, the usual warnings about installing and using beta software apply: you’re likely to run into bugs, and features, settings, and optimizations may change as new versions are released. There have been no glitches in our experience, but there is always the potential for bugs when beta testing apps. If you have any problems, please report them to Mozilla on their Github Bug Board or submit a bug description to[email protected] .
In addition to the bug warnings, Mozilla also says it will continue to optimize and update Firefox Preview until the end of the year, and that the final release, slated for release in the fall, will have even more new features and updates compared to this early pre-build.