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Mozilla simplifies its Firefox lineup on Android
Only three releases remain for its main browser: Firefox, Firefox Beta, and Firefox Nightly
If you thought the Google Chrome lineup was complicated with its stable, beta, dev, and Canary channels, you haven't looked into Firefox for Android. For a while, we had stable Firefox, Firefox Beta, Firefox Nightly, Firefox Preview, and Firefox Preview Nightly (not to mention the separate Firefox Focus) — truly a mess if you're just looking for the latest version of the completely rewritten new Firefox. That's finally changing, as Mozilla is starting to simplify its lineup, leaving only three versions: Firefox, Firefox Beta, and Firefox Nightly.
Firefox Preview 5.0 and Beta 76 bring back support for Progressive Web Apps, add more extensions
Closing the feature gap with classic Firefox
Mozilla is still in the process of rewriting Firefox on Android with a faster codebase and modern enhancements, but as with any overhaul project, sometimes it takes a while to bring back features that the previous version offered. The newest versions of Firefox Preview and Firefox Beta (the latter of which recently switched to Preview's codebase) re-introduce functionality that was already available on the old Firefox browser, but there are a few new changes as well.
New Firefox Beta based on redesigned Preview version is rolling out widely (APK download)
The new Firefox for Android is almost ready for prime time
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However many versions of Firefox you think there are on the Play Store, I can almost guarantee there are more. One of the numerous Firefox builds is getting a major update, and that signals big changes for the other versions. The Firefox Preview app that first launched last year is now moving into the Nightly channel. In the coming months, the old Firefox could be a thing of the past.
The new Firefox will have limited extension support when it launches
Mozilla shares its add-on support and migration plans for Firefox Preview
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- It took a little longer for the new Firefox Beta to roll out widely, but as we covered, the revamped version is now available to many on the Play Store, and you can get it over at APK Mirror.
Mozilla has been working on its almost completely rewritten Firefox for Android app for about a year already. At the moment, the open-source project is receiving finishing touches so it can enter the stable release channel in spring. The company has now communicated that the browser won't get full add-on support at launch and will only work with about 100 recommended extensions.
The release of Firefox 57 'Quantum' last year included several major changes to the browser's structure, including a new CSS engine known as Quantum CSS (formerly called 'Stylo'). Simply put, Quantum CSS is the browser component that figures out what styles should be applied to what elements. Because modern sites often use thousands of lines of CSS with many overriding styles, the feature was designed to take advantage of multiple CPU cores, giving Firefox 57 a performance boost over previous versions.
You like to be on the latest and greatest, right? Firefox beta for Android has been updated to v50, so that would qualify as both late and great, if you're a user of Firefox on your phone. It includes a new video playback component and (more importantly) simplified panels.
Shortly after Firefox 46 went stable, the beta for version 47 is now available. As is typical for browser updates, the changes are minor and eclectic, but a few this time around can decrease the amount of mobile data you consume by a hair or two.
Much like Chrome releases, Mozilla's updates for Firefox are rarely mindblowing. Instead, we get a constant stream of smaller changes that slowly but surely upgrade all aspects of the user experience. The latest beta release for Firefox, v46, falls right in line with this pattern. The highlight of the update is that the browser will display recently visited webpages even when you are offline, using data stored in cache.
Mozilla, keeping pace with their regular rapid release schedule, released an update for Firefox Beta today. v39 graduated to stable, sending v40 to the beta channel. With some focus on changes to the desktop version, there aren't major user-facing changes in this Android update. Still, there should be some performance enhancements along with a nice UI improvement for navigating forward and backwards through a tab's history.
It may have become the underdog now compared to the ubiquity of Chrome, but Firefox isn't letting that excuse hinder its improvement and development. The latest beta of Firefox for Android proves that by fixing some issues, adding support for requested regional features, and enhancing performance thanks to a few HTML5 additions.
Earlier this year, Mozilla introduced Firefox Accounts, an easier way to sync all the good stuff like your passwords, bookmarks, history, and open tabs across multiple devices. This is far from Firefox's first rodeo, as the browser has had support for syncing data since Chrome was a baby, but this introduces in a further degree of ease-of-use and consolidation that users have come to expect. Now the functionality has found its way into the latest version of the Firefox Beta Android app.
The latest version of the Firefox Beta has hit the Play Store, and it introduces a change to the new tab page that is sure to liven up your mobile browsing experience. As usual, top sites are presented as thumbnails on the default screen, but version 26 makes your history, bookmarks, and reading list all accessible with just a few swipes. It's an intuitive and attractive experience that easily trumps that offered in the stable version of the browser.
Firefox Beta users, listen up. It's time to whip out your phone and check for updates. The slightly less stable version of Mozilla's mobile browser has made the leap to version 25, and it's picked up a few new features along the way. The most visible new feature is a new guest browsing mode that lets you safely hand the phone over to grandma without her getting a closer look at your browsing history than either of you ever wanted.