Internet Explorer 10 is currently the only browser available for fans of the Metro interface, this side of the test version of IE 11. But word is that Firefox is soon set to join the party.
Mozilla is hard at work on its very own Metro flavor of Firefox for Windows 8, and though the development is taking its sweet time, a new report claims that the company is still on track to release the web browser with a Modern UI later this year.
More specifically, Firefox 26 will be the first version of the company’s popular browser that will bring support for the Metro interface for Windows 8 (or Windows 8.1, for that matter) users.
The release date is expected to be on December 10 — the build is on track to arrive on the Aurora channel on September 18 and the Beta channel on October 31.
Complete details are scarce for the time being, but it is said that the Metro version of Firefox will be aimed squarely at tablet users. In other words, expect full support for touch, along with large, visible icons and a slim feature package.
Or at least not the same features that the desktop version of Firefox offers.
PC users can, obviously, still switch to the traditional desktop environment and launch Firefox in the classic way, but Metro fans currently have no other option than to stick with Internet Explorer. A Metro version of Google Chrome is a country mile away.
A nightly build of Mozilla Firefox for Windows 8 is currently available for testing purposes, but as you would expect, it is full of bugs and offers a rather slow and sluggish performance.
All Comments
I’ll check it out, but I really don’t like the way Metro IE works. I much prefer my browser to work like desktop browsers always have. Then again maybe it’s something you have to get used it. Almost every review I’ve watched or read is with people who like how Metro IE works.
That’s wrong. UC Browser is an alternative browser for Metro.