Mozilla has launched its new Firefox Reality VR web browser. The new browser is specifically designed as for dedicated browsing in virtual reality, to be used entirely with a VR headset.
According to Andre Vrignaud, Head of Mixed Reality Platform Strategy at Mozilla, designed Firefox Reality forced him and his team to “rethink everything, including navigation, text-input, environments, search and more” when designing the VR web browser. Technically, Firefox Reality is based on the search engine’s current Firefox Quantum, which is significantly faster than previous iterations of Firefox. This is important for Firefox Reality, as it allows the web browser to be snappy and perform smoothly in VR.
Feature-wise, one important feature in Firefox Reality’s is the ability to search the web using just your voice. This features is important, primarily because text input is still limited to virtual keyboards in VR, which can become very tedious.
Additional features include a Movie Mode that allows video content and players to be used in VR. Like the standard Firefox web browser, there is also a privacy mode that allows you to browse site in VR incognito. It also appears that users will be able to resize their browser windows, much like how one typically resizes a browser window on the desktop. The difference here being that you’ll need to do it with the VR controllers that come with the corresponding VR headset.
Mozilla Firefox Reality is free and already available for download via Mozilla’s official page. The browser is designed to work with the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Google DayDream headsets.
(Source: Mozilla Blog)
