Firefox OS
Firefox OS, codenamed Boot to Gecko or B2G, is an open-source operating system developed by Mozilla in partnership with Spanish carrier Telefonica. Firefox OS was initially developed for low-cost smartphones for emerging markets, later expanding to smart TVs.
Unlike other operating systems, Firefox OS apps are built using web technologies like HTML5, with special APIs to access hardware features not supported in a regular web browser.
Firefox OS was announced in 2011[1] under the codename Boot to Gecko. At the 2012 Mobile World Congress, Mozilla announced that it's joining Telefonica's 'Open Web Device' project. During the same event Mozilla showed an early version of Firefox OS running on a Samsung Galaxy S II[2]. Later that year, Mozilla officially renamed the OS to Firefox OS, and announced partnerships with carriers Deutsche Telekom and Sprint, as well as manufacturers ZTE and TCL (Alcatel)[3]. A year later, at the 2013 Mobile World Congress, the first consumer devices, the ZTE Open and Alcatel One Touch Fire, were announced[4].
In 2015 Mozilla announced that Panasonic smart TVs will be powered by Firefox OS[5]. It also announced a partnership with manufacturer LG and carriers KDDI, Telefonica and Verizon Wireless to release Firefox OS powered flip and slider phones in 2016. A concept for a smart feature phone UI was shown,[6] but no phones were demonstrated and none were released.[7]
Mozilla discontinued Firefox OS in 2016. Several operating systems based on it exist, most notably KaiOS.
Technical overview
Firefox OS has 3 main parts:
- Gonk - a Linux-based kernel and hardware abstraction layer, which shares some components with Android.
- Gecko - a web rendering engine, which is also used by the Firefox web browser.
- Gaia - the operating system's UI, built with HTML5.
Versions of Firefox OS
| Version | Released | Gecko version |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | February 21, 2013 | Gecko 18 |
| 1.0.1 | September 6, 2013 | Gecko 18 (with security fixes from Gecko 20) |
| 1.1 | October 9, 2013 | Gecko 18 (with security fixes from Gecko 23) |
| 1.1.1 | August 24, 2013 | Gecko 18 (with security fixes from Gecko 23) |
| 1.2 | December 9, 2013 | Gecko 26 |
| 1.3 | March 17, 2014 | Gecko 28 |
| 1.3T[Note 1] | April 8, 2014 | Gecko 28 |
| 1.4 | August 8, 2014 | Gecko 30 |
| 2.0 | September 1, 2014 | Gecko 32 |
| 2.1 | November 21, 2014 | Gecko 34 |
| 2.2 | August 20, 2015 | Gecko 37 |
| 2.5 | November 2, 2015 | Gecko 44 |
| 2.6[Note 2] | July 15, 2016 | Gecko 48 |
Spark
Spark was a project to improve customization on Firefox OS and better differentiate it from its competitors[8]. As Firefox OS apps are built using web technologies, they can be edited on the device itself without rebuilding. As part of Spark, tools that let users edit Firefox OS apps and release their modified versions were to be developed. Its main features included:
- Add-on support throughout the OS.
- Customizer, an app for viewing and editing the source code of an app that could be opened with a simple gesture. It was described as being similar to DevTools in the desktop version of Firefox.
- Hackerplace, a marketplace for distributing modified versions of apps and apps that weren't yet approved for the official Firefox OS marketplace.
- P2P Sharing, an app for sharing apps, add-ons and themes with users nearby.
- Theme Editor, an app for developing themes.
Spark v0.1 was developed and released to beta testers. Spark v0.2 was planned but didn't get released.
Phones that run Firefox OS
This part only includes devices launched with Firefox OS. For development of the OS Mozilla also maintained ports for several phones launched with Android:
- Samsung Galaxy S II[9] (i9100), used in the MWC 2012 demo,
- Google Nexus S,
- Sony Xperia Z3 Compact[10],
- Sony Xperia Z3.
Alcatel
| Phone | Firefox OS version |
|---|---|
| Alcatel One Touch Fire | 1.0.1-1.3 |
| Alcatel One Touch Fire C | 1.3 |
| Alcatel One Touch Fire E | 1.3-2.0 |
| Alcatel One Touch Pixi 3 | 2.0 |
| Orange Klif | 2.0 |
Geeksphone
| Phone | Firefox OS version |
|---|---|
| Geeksphone Keon | 1.0.1-2.2pre |
| Geeksphone Peak | 1.0.1-2.2pre |
| Geeksphone Revolution | 1.3-2.0 |
Huawei
| Phone | Firefox OS version |
|---|---|
| Huawei Ascend Y300II | 1.1 |
LG
| Phone | Firefox OS version |
|---|---|
| LG Fireweb | 1.1 |
| LG Fx0 | 2.0 |
Intex
| Phone | Firefox OS version |
|---|---|
| Intex Cloud FX | 1.3T |
ZTE
| Phone | Firefox OS version |
|---|---|
| ZTE Open | 1.0.1-1.3 |
| ZTE Open C | 1.3 |
| ZTE Open II | 1.3 |
| ZTE Open C2 | 2.1 |
References
- ↑ https://hacks.mozilla.org/2011/07/announcing-boot-to-gecko-b2g-booting-to-the-web/
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2012/2/27/2827659/mozillas-boot-to-gecko-project-the-internet-is-your-phone-hands-on
- ↑ https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/02/mozillas-boot-to-gecko-becomes-firefox-os-scores-support-from-sprint-deutsche-telekom-zte-and-more/
- ↑ https://blog.mozilla.org/ux/2013/03/mwc-2013-firefox-os-success/
- ↑ https://blog.mozilla.org/press/2015/01/firefox-os-unlocks-the-power-of-the-web-as-the-platform-across-expanding-ecosystem-of-partners-and-devices/
- ↑ https://firefoxos.mozfr.org/post/2015/08/Firefox-OS-bientot-feature-phones-intelligents
- ↑ https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/3/1/8129249/mozilla-firefox-os-flip-slider-phone
- ↑ https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox_OS/Spark
- ↑ https://wiki.mozilla.org/B2G/FAQ
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160306230314/https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Mozilla/Firefox_OS/Building_and_installing_Firefox_OS/Compatible_Devices