Last year, Chrome added WebVR support so that one could surf VR enabled websites. However, Mozilla has released its Firefox Reality web browser that is designed from scratch to work on stand-alone virtual and augmented reality (or mixed reality) headsets. It is now available for download in the Viveport, Oculus, and Daydream app stores. The new web browser is aimed at enabling users to surf the internet in a 3D environment and is said to deliver “immersive content experiences.” The new browsers uses the company’s Quantum engine for mobile browsers and users will be able to switch “seamlessly” between surfing the web from 2D to 3D and vice-versa.
Andre Vrignaud, Head of Mixed Reality Platform Strategy at Mozilla says, “We had to rethink everything, including navigation, text-input, environments, search and more. This required years of research, and countless conversations with users, content creators, and hardware partners. The result is a browser that is built for the medium it serves. It makes a big difference, and we think you will love all of the features and details that we’ve created specifically for a MR browser.” The browser also comes with voice search capabilities using microphones that come built into VR and AR headsets so that navigation around the web is easier.
The browser places a higher emphasis on content and as such, when a user boots it up, they will be shown experiences that can be directly viewed on a VR headset. “We are working with creators around the world to bring an amazing collection of games, videos, environments, and experiences that can be accessed directly from the home screen,” states Mozilla. This is the version 1.0 of the browser and version 1.1 is said to be in the pipeline with new features on the way like bookmarks, support for 360-degree videos, logging into a Firefox account and more.