Mozilla the second significant release of the experimental browser Firefox Preview, developed under the codename . The release will soon be published in the catalog (requires Android 5 or newer). The code is available on . After stabilizing the project and implementing all planned features, the browser will replace the Firefox edition for Android, with new releases of which are discontinued starting from .
Firefox Preview The GeckoView engine, built on Firefox Quantum technologies, and the set of libraries , which are already being used to build browsers and . GeckoView is a variant of the Gecko engine presented as a separate library that can be updated independently, and Android Components includes libraries with standard components that ensure the operation of tabs, input autocompletion, search suggestions, and other browser features.
In :
- The ability to place the Firefox Preview search widget on the home screen has been added, as well as the option to add a button for opening private browsing mode and shortcuts for quickly opening websites;
- An option to open links by default in private mode has been introduced;
- Support for background playback of multimedia content has been provided, with an indicator displayed on the start page of each tab showing whether video or audio is playing, which can be clicked to pause or resume playback;
- The ability to send a tab or collection to another device has been implemented;
- Extended controls for clearing various types of browsing data have been provided (you can separately delete open tabs, site data, and collections);
- A long-press handler for the address bar has been added, allowing you to copy or paste content to the clipboard or open a link from the clipboard;
- One-click sign-in to your Firefox Accounts is now possible if an older version of Firefox for Android is already installed on the device;
- When opening a tab in private mode, a pinned notification is displayed, reminding about private mode activity. From the notification, you can immediately close all private tabs or open the browser. A button for closing all private tabs has also been added to the start page;
- A setting has been added to allow you to agree or refuse to participate in Mozilla experiments;
- For unencrypted connections (HTTP), an unsafe connection indicator (strikethrough lock) is now displayed in the address bar;
- A private input mode for various Android keyboards, such as Gboard, Swiftkey, and AnySoftKeyboard, has been added, meaning that the keyboard will not save data during private browsing sessions;
- The settings now include the option to selectively disable the display of recommendations in the address bar not only from search engines but also based on history, bookmarks, and clipboard content.
- Library set updated to version 12.0.0, the browser engine is synchronized with Mozilla GeckoView 70;
- Accessibility features have been expanded to facilitate use by individuals with disabilities.
Key Features of Firefox Preview:
- High performance. It is claimed that Firefox Preview is up to twice as fast as the classic Firefox for Android, achieved through optimizations during the compilation stage based on code profiling results (PGO - Profile-guided optimization) and by including the IonMonkey JIT compiler for 64-bit ARM systems. In addition to ARM builds, GeckoView is now also being built for x86_64 systems;
- Enabled by default are protections against tracking and various parasitic activities;
- A universal menu that allows access to settings, the library (favorites, history, downloads, recently closed tabs), selection of site display mode (displaying the desktop version of the site), text search on the page, switching to private mode, opening a new tab, and navigating between pages;
- A multifunctional address bar with a universal button for quickly performing actions such as sending a link to another device and adding a site to bookmarks. Clicking on the address bar launches a fullscreen hint mode that offers relevant input options based on browsing history and recommendations from search engines;
- Use of the collections concept instead of tabs, allowing users to save, group, and share favorite websites.
After closing the browser, remaining open tabs are automatically grouped into a collection that can later be viewed and restored; - The homepage features an address bar combined with global search functionality, displaying a list of open tabs or, if no pages are open, a list of sessions grouping previously opened sites based on browser sessions.
Source: opennet.ru
