Skip to main content

Introducing Firefox OS: What you need to know

intro mm ff osAt its Mobile World Congress press conference, Mozilla offered up the final details on the long-awaited Firefox OS and the phones that will run it. Firefox OS is a smartphone operating system that is as open as the organization’s browser and runs apps made with the language of the Web: HTML5. The first handsets running FOS will come to market in Europe and Latin America first. U.S. denizens will have to wait a year or more for phones specifically aimed at us.

What’s the big deal about Firefox OS? How is it different from or better than Android, iOS, Windows Phone and the rest? Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know.

What is Firefox OS?

Firefox OS as a mobile operating system built on open Web standards. That means it works a lot like a browser or a website. The same code behind those is behind Firefox’s mobile OS. It’s also open source, meaning anyone with the knowledge to do so may help contribute to the code to make it better and build applications for it.

The concept is similar to Chrome OS for computers. The difference is that Firefox is made for smartphones, which are more likely to have near-constant connectivity. Just like Chrome OS, Firefox OS apps are Web-based and made with HTML5 and other Web coding. Mozilla says this will make it easier for developers to create apps because they won’t need to learn new code or deal with major compatibility issues. In the end, that means more apps for consumers and fewer problems with them.

Apps

ff os examplesFirefox OS phones will come with standard apps – dialer, messaging, email, browser, maps – and already has a small but impressive group of apps available to download. Big names like MTV, Disney, Facebook, SoundCloud, EA, Twitter, TimeOut, and more show that Mozilla is going in a good direction in tempting app development partners. Still, the process will be slow going in the beginning, as we saw with Android in the early days and Windows Phone and BlackBerry right now.

Mozilla will launch a Firefox app marketplace to aid discovery but this will not be the only place where people can find, download, and easily install apps. If developers want to offer apps from their own websites, they can. Mozilla also has no problem with other groups setting up alternate app stores.

Offline access?

An issue that comes up when talking about a platform or apps made with Web code is whether that means they will work when the user is without a connection. Thanks to HTML5, they will.

fx os musicHTML5 code allows a Web app to store itself and the data it needs on the device locally. If an app doesn’t require a connection to work (such as streaming music or a search engine), it will work offline just as well as it does online as long as it’s coded to do that. Developers will have to ensure that information users expect to be able to access online is available, but that’s true for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, too.

One advantage of the Web app approach is that it’s possible to use a Firefox OS app without necessarily saving it to your device. It will work just the same, but won’t live in your app drawer forever if you only needed it once.

Using a unique user identifier, those same apps will be able to recognize you across devices, which could translate into apps that seamlessly work across your phone, tablet, and computer down the line.

The devices

In the two years since Mozilla started this project it has gathered an impressive number of hardware partners for the eventual launch. Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs laid out the basic strategy at the press conference, which is to offer smartphones that are a small but significant step up from feature phones. The intended audience is people who want to upgrade but can’t necessarily afford high-end smartphones. Presumably Firefox OS phones will be competitive with or even less than low-end Android products. The handsets aren’t going to be very expensive and won’t sport the kind of specs we expect from flagship phones.

Here’s what we know about the first handsets:

ZTE Open: This phone’s 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 display is modest, as are the internal specs. The Cortex-A5-based Qualcomm processor is clocked at or under 1GHz and backed by just 256MB RAM. There’s only 512MB of internal storage and a 2GB microSD card to bolster it. Connectivity includes 3G, wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPSm and FM radio. Looks like there’s only one camera, a 3.2 megapixel shooter on the back.

Alcatel One Touch Fire: The base specs here are about the same. You get a 3.5-inch display, 1GHz Qualcomm CPU, 256MB of RAM, 512MB of storage, and a microSD card slot pre-filled with a 2GB card (it can take cards up to 32GB). Same wireless radios: 3G, wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio. A 3.2 megapixel camera adorns the back. The 1400mAh battery should provide pretty long battery life for such a little thing. The back will come in a number of bold colors, included Firefox orange.

In the near future, expect announcements from LG and Huawei as well.

These first specs tell us that Firefox is meant to be a lightweight OS, thus no need for hugely powerful processors or even a ton of RAM – or so we hope. If the phones are underpowered, that won’t serve the consumers, even if said consumers aren’t spending a lot of money. It also appears that Firefox apps won’t take up a lot of space what with so little internal storage. This makes sense given that they’re web apps, but it does call into question how much people will be able to store locally.

Availability and pricing

The first Firefox OS handsets will be available to buy starting in June of this year. And the first countries to get them are Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, Spain and Venezuela. No, you don’t see the U.S. on that list. Mozilla says that that won’t happen until 2014.

For those lucky enough to live where the handsets are available soon, there’s a robust list of telecoms involved, too: América Móvil, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Three Group, KDDI, KT, MegaFon, Qtel, SingTel, Smart, Sprint, Telecom Italia Group, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, TMN, and VimpelCom.

Specific prices for the phones haven’t been announced yet. However, Mozilla’s CEO said that they would be just above feature phone costs and offered unlocked. An affordable phone not tied to one carrier is something to be excited about.

Stay tuned for hands-ons with the devices and more Firefox OS news.

Editors' Recommendations

K. T. Bradford
Former Digital Trends Contributor
K. T Bradford is a lover of gadgets and all things geek. Prior to writing for Digital Trends she cut her teeth on tech…
Buying an iPad Mini today? You need to know about this deal
The Apple Pencil attaches to the iPad mini magnetically.

If you've had an eye on iPad deals for the latest model of the Apple iPad Mini for a while now, this may be the offer that you've been waiting for -- a $100 discount from Best Buy on the tablet's Wi-Fi, 64GB model, slashing its price to $400 from $500. It's still pretty popular years after its release, so we don't expect stocks of the device for this sale to last long. If you're thinking about taking advantage of this bargain, you better push through with your purchase as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad Mini 2021
The latest generation of the Apple iPad Mini was released in 2021, but it's still featured in our roundup of the best iPads because it's the model that you should buy if you want a smaller and more compact version of Apple's tablets. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is smaller than the screens of its peers, but it's still big enough to enjoy watching streaming shows and browsing websites, while allowing you to use the device with one hand. Unlike its predecessor, there's no Home button, so the Touch ID sensor is instead built into the power button at the side of the Apple iPad Mini 2021.

Read more
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9 heavily discounted today
The Surface Pro 9 in laptop mode on a table.

Microsoft's Surface devices are well known for their versatility and performance, but they command premium prices. That's why there's always high demand for Surface Laptop and Surface Pro deals, as who doesn't want to enjoy a discount when making a huge investment? If you're interested, Best Buy is offering the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 at $300 off, which brings its price down to $1,000 from $1,300, and the Microsoft Surface Pro 9 at $540 off, which lowers its price also to $1,000 from $1,540, ahead of the arrival of the consumer versions of the Surface Laptop 6 and Surface Pro 10. You need to push through with your transaction as soon as possible if either of these bargains caught your attention, as we're not sure how much time is remaining before they disappear.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 -- $1,000, was $1,300

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 is a traditional Windows 11 laptop that's powered by the 12th-generation Intel Core i5 Evo processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, and 8GB of RAM. It won't match up to the performance of the best laptops, but it's going to be more than enough to handle daily tasks for work or school. The laptop features a 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen with vibrant colors and sharp details, a battery that can last up to 18 hours on a single charge, and a 512GB SSD that provides ample storage space for your files. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 also comes with a 720p webcam and dual far-field Studio Mics for clear video calls.

Read more
We have some bad news about the Google Pixel 9
A render of the Google Pixel 9 smartphone in black.

When the first wave of Google Pixel 9 series leaks arrived on the scene a few weeks ago, what really got us excited was the camera upgrade for the entry-level model. The leaked renders envisioned a triple-lens rear camera setup for the Pixel 9 that added a periscope-style telephoto snapper at the back alongside a radical design change.

Well, it seems those changes will remain a pipe dream, at least in 2024. OnLeaks, in collaboration with 91Mobiles, has shared alleged renders of the Pixel 9, claiming that the triple-camera devices in those leaked renders actually depicted the pricier Pixel 9 Pro and a new Pixel 9 Pro XL variant.

Read more