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A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#82
post #9

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?

WebExtension support in theory is coming in Q1 - https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44 Regardless, Firefox Preview already blocks ads and trackers perfectly fine the built-in tracking protection. I've not seen an ad in the months I've been using it.

Really? Are you sure you don't have some other hosts/vpn based ad blocker? I surely don't use Firefox Preview for much, but I definitely saw an ad on Preview when I was using it yesterday. I forgot why I wasn't using it -- aside from the fact that Firefox normal is in the quick access icons -- and since my phone had just restarted I thought I'd give it a go. But I quickly saw an ad and thought "oh right" and went back to normal Firefox.

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#83
post #79

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

What is "reference browser" in this context ? Is this the repo for Firefox Preview/fenix ? Or an upstream version of Firefox preview ?

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."

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#84
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WebExtension support in theory is coming in Q1 - https://github.com/orgs/mozilla-mobile/projects/44 Regardless, Firefox Preview already blocks ads and trackers perfectly fine the built-in tracking protection. I've not seen an ad in the months I've been using it.

Reddit, Facebook, Amazon, Youtube and Googles search ads aren't affected by the built-in tracking protection at all. That alone are half the pages most non-tech people (like my parents) usually browse.

I remember seeing a list of domains which Firefox tracking protection explicitly whitelists (presumably to avoid breaking these sites’ functionality). Google and Facebook were in there. That told me all I needed to know about this supposed tracking “protection”.

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#85
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I don't understand why you've brought up what the current state of affairs is, the article says: > For current Nightly users, it’ll feel like a big exciting upgrade of their browsing experience once they update the app Which sounds to me like Fennec is going away and the update will replace it with Fenix. >as of right now both Nightly and Preview Nightly exist side by side; regular nightly users are not impacted at t…

> What will happen when the "new experience" the article talks about is launched?

Can't people use the stable version then? I fail to see the issue here.

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#86
post #44

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…

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.

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#87
post #45

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.

> 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.

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#88
post #83
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is "reference browser" in this context ? Is this the repo for Firefox Preview/fenix ? Or an upstream version of Firefox preview ?

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 imple…

My question was more among the line :

What is the relation between

https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/reference-browser

and

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

That Readme does not really answer that question.

Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly

#90
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

That's surely not clear from the blog post. I just read it again and I still can't find it; indeed, the only links to apps are links to the existing Firefox Preview (not even to Firefox Nightly, which is what the article seems to be talking about).

Searching the store turns up both "Firefox Preview Nightly for Developers" and "Firefox Nightly for Developers" which is consistent with your claim but is not necessary supportive of it.

The title refers to an app apparently called "Firefox for Android Nightly" but no such app exists that I can find in the store.

It is possible this is one of the worst public announcements ever. A link to the product they're announcing to would have made a significant difference.

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