1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Mozilla announces Firefox Reality, a browser for augmented and virtual reality

By
Firefox Reality Preview

Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox web browser, has been invested in augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality, and virtual reality (VR) for some time now. Starting with Firefox 5.5, for example, Mozilla has officially supported WebVR, a growing standard that lets anyone experience VR with just a VR headset and a compatible browser. Now, Mozilla is expanding its involvement with a new browser that’s designed specifically for mixed reality and VR.

Recommended Videos

Dubbed Firefox Reality, the new browser is aimed directly at stand-alone AR (mixed reality) and VR headsets. According to Mozilla, the purpose of Firefox Reality is to extend support for mixed reality and VR beyond the smartphones, tablets, and PCs that currently drive the technology, and to make it more accessible as the web continues to grow and advance. The browser expands on Mozilla’s past work on supporting both WebVR and A-Frame, the web framework for building out AR and VR solutions on Vive, Rift, Daydream, GearVR, and desktop.

WebVR is a cross-platform standard for making VR available within any browser, and it works with WebGL to create powerful and efficient 3D experiences. Firefox’s support for WebVR positioned it as another viable VR publishing platform, and now Firefox Reality will catapult the availability of WebVR on stand-alone headsets.

In touting the new browser, Mozilla clearly sees some advantages. First, Firefox Reality will be the first cross-platform browser that’s specifically designed for mixed reality, and it will thus avoid the pitfalls of other closed, platform-specific mixed reality browsing solutions. Second, Firefox Reality will benefit from the speed advantages of Firefox Quantum. And third, Firefox Reality will leverage Mozilla’s commitment to privacy, which the organization concedes is not yet formalized in the mixed reality and VR mediums.

Clearly, Mozilla has work to do in getting Firefox Reality to the market, and the browser’s availability has not yet been established. The company will be providing more information on Twitter, including updates on availability on headsets. In the meantime, interested parties can visit Mozilla’s Mixed Reality Blog for more details and for a demo of Firefox Reality running on the HTC Vice Focus stand-alone VR headset.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
Apple plans ‘living room’ atmosphere for Vision Pro demos

As Apple makes final preparations for the release of the Vision Pro on February 2, more details have been emerging about how the company plans to present the mixed-reality headset to people visiting its retail stores.

With the Vision Pro being the most important product release for Apple since the launch of the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago, the tech giant is leaving nothing to chance. Staff at Apple Stores in the U.S., where the Vision Pro will launch first, have been given special training on how to give shoppers the best possible experience with the headset right from the off.

Read more
Vision Pro discount for Apple employees not so generous

Apple is just hours away from launching preorders for its most important product since the release of the Apple Watch nearly a decade ago.

Preorders begin for the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset at 5 a.m. PT (8 a.m. ET) on Friday, January 19, with shipping starting two weeks later on February 2.

Read more
This is what Apple’s in-store Vision Pro demo will likely be like

Anyone interested in buying Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset will be encouraged to sign up for an in-store demonstration of the device so that Apple can ensure they have the best possible experience with it from the very beginning.

The tech giant is about to launch its most important product since the Apple Watch in 2015, and with many people never having gone near such a device, Apple wants to ensure that the initial experience with the Vision Pro is as good as it can be.

Read more