Could this be Google Chrome's killer? Sneak peek on "Mozilla Fenix".
They say curiosity killed the cat. I'm very curious about stuff but, I'm no cat. That means being curious is safe for me. ;).
Barely two weeks ago, I published an article about an Android browser developed by Mozilla. Well, after publishing that article, I sought to know about what Mozilla was doing, what they were planning and whatnots. Along the line of my research, I stumbled upon yet another Android browser that the team is working on. Being a curious(not cat) person, I immediately got my hands on the apk file of the browser to check it(the app) out. The browser is 'Mozilla Fenix'. First of all, the name sounds pretty cool. I love when developers come up with code names for stuff. So, I pronounce the browser as "Phoenix". I think that's the original name it should have been. But, I liked the name tweak anyway.
In this article, I won't actually be reviewing the software. And, my reason is simple. The app is not fully developed. There are loads of features yet to be implemented. But, there are indications that would lead to speculations about what features will make the final cut(public release). In essence, I will be reviewing the app in this article indirectly.
Without further ado, let's take a quick, concise, peek at Mozilla Fenix.
Mozilla Fenix; Could this be a breakthrough for Mozilla on Android OS?
In the last article I published about a Mozilla product, that is; Mozilla Lite, I talked about how Mozilla has sort of lost relevance in the Android Sphere. Apparently, Google has a lot to do with this fact. Google Chrome completely overshadowed all other browsers in the market. And the reason, as I stated in my previous article is because Google Chrome comes pre-installed in almost all Android devices. It means that other browsers had to step up and give users a reason to ditch Google Chrome. Unfortunately, no browser has been able to do that. But, with what Mozilla is doing at the moment, I might just switch completely to a Mozilla browser. And, Mozilla Fenix would be my preferred option.
What's so cool about this browser?
User Interface.
Once again, Mozilla shows the strength of their resolve to bring night mode browsing experience to their browsers. Mozilla Fenix is laced with night mode which I really like. I already experienced night mode browsing on Firefox lite, and it was amazing. Seeing it on Mozilla Fenix wasn't a new experience for me, but I felt good about it. Aside from night mode, the general UI of the app is okay. Oh! The navigation bar is located at the bottom too, which is useful for one-handed mode on devices with large screens. But, the cool thing about the navigation bar is that it auto-hides itself. The inability to do this on Firefox lite was one of the issues I had with the browser(Firefox Lite).
Your Library.
I hope you didn't think that the library was referring to were you can keep books? 'Your library' on Mozilla Fenix is where some of the app's menus are grouped. The menus that are on this page are;
- Sessions
- Screenshots
- Downloads
- Bookmarks
- Reading list
- History.
In this version of the software I'm checking out, most of these menus haven't been implemented. Clicking on them would do nothing. Instead, you will get a toast notification that an issue is opened for the implementation of the feature. The menus that are accessible at the moment are bookmarks and history. Those are basic features for a browser. I guess that's why there were implemented really soon.
On the list, you can find two or three menus that are not normally found in browsers. That is; sessions, reading list, and, screenshots(somewhat). I have no idea what the reading list is all about. But, I may have a little idea of what would be the content of the sessions menu. Then for screenshots, I already know what the content of that menu would be. I talked about screenshots when I reviewed Firefox Lite. So it is not a new thing. But, I think only these browsers give you the option to view screenshots directly on the browser.
Variety of search engines.
This feature isn't really uncommon. On various browsers, you might have multiple search engine options. But, I think it's more on Mozilla Fenix. Mozilla Fenix is packing 7 different search engines. On the other hand, Google Chrome is having only four options. Well, the variety of search engines is cool but, we know people are most likely to use Google or Duckduckgo search engine. However, I'm starting to like the Wikipedia search engine. It would be useful for students who always check out Wikipedia for research purposes.
Credit cards and addresses.
This feature is not yet implemented on the browser. But, I'm sure we all know what it means. This feature lets you save your credit card details and addresses and can be used when filling forms that require such details. It is very handy. I use the feature on Google Chrome, and I'm glad it's on Mozilla Fenix too.
I think this is all I can say about the features of Mozilla Fenix for now. Oh! I forgot to talk about some other common features which you'll normally see in a browser. Features such as;
- Multiple tabs
- Bookmarks
- Private browsing etc.
Well, you already know the importance of those features. I can't talk about them in this article.
Like I said before, the app is still under development and a lot of stuff are missing. But with what I've seen so far, the browser has the potential to put up a strong competition with Google Chrome. But, how would that be possible, seeing that the browser has almost the same features as Google Chrome?
Well, to capture the eyes of end-users, Mozilla implemented a feature which gives users the ability to save browsing sessions.
Mozilla Fenix sessions.
As soon as you open a webpage on any browser, you have started a browsing session. You can open several webpages or tabs during a session. When you are done and you close the browser, that's the end of the session. Or, when you close a tab, that's the end of your session on that particular page. Most browsers come with the ability to retain browsing sessions even after you exit the browser. That is; when you are browsing, maybe with several tabs opened, and you exit the browser. On relaunch, those tabs you left open would still be available to you. What this means is that the browser automatically saved your browsing session. But, what if you could do it differently? What if you could save your browsing sessions and be able to keep them for as long as you desire? That would be cool right? I know you think it would be cool too. Lemme try to make a brief but concise illustration;
I opened my browser, and I'm surfing through various websites on different tabs. I'm done checking out those websites for the time being but, I'll love to check them out later. The way that could have been possible is by bookmarking the webpages individually. But, on Mozilla Fenix, I can save the session. The saved session is a compilation of all the tabs I opened, and all the stuff I did in that session. This saved session would be available for as long as I want it. I'm in love with this feature, and its a good reason for me to switch to the browser when the app is fully developed.
Summary.
Mozilla might just have a breakthrough with this browser. For sure, they have got a very enthusiastic end-user in me. I can't wait for the final version to be released. But, I have no idea how soon the app would be released. There are speculations that the browser is just an experiment. That Mozilla Fenix is the sample app the developers use to test for new features before they port them to the main Firefox browser. There are other people who say that Mozilla Fenix would replace Mozilla Firefox. None of these speculations is certain. But from my own analysis, I think Mozilla Fenix would be a separate browser from Firefox. Whatever the developers decide doesn't really matter. What matters is that there would be a browser with the features I've talked about in this article.
Mozilla Fenix would make an amazing browser. Not just because of its 'saved sessions' feature. I also found out that the app has zero tolerance for pop-up ads and lots of other minor but important features. I'm excited, and I can't wait to get my hands on a fully working release.
Thanks for reading!
Links
Project repository: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix
App download link: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/mozilla/firefox-fenix/fenix-1-0-1914-release/fenix-1-0-1914-2-android-apk-download/download/
Resources:
The content of this post was created based on my knowledge of the project, and mostly from my experience. The images used are screenshots of the platform on my device. Other images gotten elsewhere have their source links provided just below them.
You can read this article for more insight.
Hello, @harry-heightz!
Thank you for another nice contribution to Utopian. This is a very useful tool, and I'm glad you decided to promote this project with a comprehensive and very informative blog post. Keep up the good work.
As always, you did a really good job in terms of content. The post is extensive and detailed, and even contains valuable insights about your personal knowledge and views. I like all the information provided, and I think that you did a great job in highlighting the similarities and differences between Google Chrome and Mozilla Fenix. Thank you for your efforts.
That said, even though your writing has improved a lot, the post did have minor issues of style and proofreading. I'd be happy to provide a few examples in a follow-up comment, if you wish.
To summarize, you managed to compose a very interesting blog post, and I enjoyed reading your work. I look forward to your next contribution.
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Thanks for your review @lordneroo. Please I'd love to know my mistakes.
Hello, Harry!
I will cite a few examples for you:
This actually has to do with punctuation, and this sentence should read: "I'm very curious about stuff, but I'm no cat." The comma should be placed before the word but in this case. However, the truth is that there are cases in which you can use a comma right after the word but. Not in this one though.
I think you meant to write: "Those are basic features for a browser. I guess that's why they were implemented really quickly." (Soon would do if you were talking about something that hasn't happened yet.)
This would be a better sentence for natives: "On the other hand, Google Chrome offers only four options."
This sentence should read: "Like I said before, the app is still under development and a lot of stuff is missing." (Stuff is a collective noun; it represents a group of objects. It is uncountable.)
I hope you will find this comment useful.
Thanks, @lordneroo. I found the comment useful.
Thank you for your review, @lordneroo! Keep up the good work!
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