Firefox could arrive on Windows 10 and also work on phones

Mar 6, 2015 09:34 GMT  ·  By

Mozilla is currently considering launching a universal version of Firefox for Windows 10 that would allow the browser to work not only on PCs but also on tablets and smartphones running the new OS.

In Windows 8, neither Mozilla Firefox nor Google Chrome received Modern versions that ran in the Metro environment, although the latter indeed got a dedicated option in the desktop build that allowed users to use it as a store app on x86 and x64 devices.

But as far as the Metro UI and Windows RT devices were concerned, there was no other choice except Internet Explorer, and Mozilla and Google never actually planned to bring their browsers on this platform.

That could change with Windows 10, as Mozilla is already considering making Firefox a universal app, according to a response offered by a company developer to a user feature suggestion.

“They are at least thinking about it”

It’s a bit too early to discuss such a project, but Mozilla developer Roland Tangalo said that “I am sure they are at least thinking about it,” suggesting that there are chances to get Firefox on PCs, tablets, and phones powered by the new operating system.

“With a Windows 10 universal app Firefox would potentially be able to reach a far greater audience than Windows phone or Windows RT/8/8.1 alone. Firefox is one of the browsers used by millions on the Windows platform daily (32bit and 64-bit as of recently),” the user who requested Firefox for Windows 10 explained.

Just like the UserVoice platform, Mozilla’s support forum calls for users to vote for requests, so the bigger the number of votes, the more chances to get Firefox on Windows 10.

Needless to say, universal apps represent a huge opportunity for developers who want to bring their apps on Windows 10, as Microsoft is working to bring its main platforms closer together and offer a single store across all devices. Apps will share a big part of their code, so making them work on various devices shouldn’t take too much time and resources.