Over the last several months, Mozilla has been shipping a version of its browser called Firefox Preview. Firefox Preview is a completely redesigned version of Mozilla’s mobile browser that will supersede the existing Firefox for Android versions. From tomorrow, users of Firefox for Android Nightly will experience the redesigned Firefox for the first time and in the coming weeks and months, it’ll arrive on the beta and stable channels.
The new Firefox is built using GeckoView and includes a whole new UI. The redesign is noticeably faster than the existing Firefox for Android browser and it includes better security controls, similar to those we see in the Firefox browser on the desktop. With Mozilla starting from scratch, it has had to try its best to become feature comparable with the existing version; recently it gave users the option to move the URL bar, and change the default search engine to a custom selection.
One feature that’s still missing from the revamped browser is add-on support, with that said, Mozilla is actively working to include the feature in the browser so hopefully, it’ll be available by the time it graduates to the beta or stable channels. With the launch onto the nightly channel tomorrow, Mozilla will get even more feedback on its work and be able to refine it further ready for prime time.
According to the current schedule, the brand new Firefox for Android will go into beta in spring and will then land in the stable channel in the first half of the year. If you don’t mind using cutting edge technology, Firefox Preview is still available in the Play Store right now but it isn’t as feature-complete as the stable Firefox for Android browser.