14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla is already working on its very own Metro version of Firefox for Windows 8 and a new report claims that the company is still on track to release it later this year.
gHacks.net writes that Firefox 26 will be the first version of Mozilla’s popular browser that will bring a Metro version for Windows 8 users. This release is expected to be unveiled on December 10, after reaching the Aurora channel on September 18 and the Beta one on October 31.
While no details have been provided for the time being, the Metro version of Firefox will be specifically aimed at tablet users, as Internet Explorer 10 is currently the only browser available for them.
While PC users can still switch to the traditional desktop environment and launch Firefox in the classic way, Metro fans have no other option than to stick to Internet Explorer.
It’s not yet clear that the Metro client will come with the same feature package as the desktop version, but the application will most likely lack specific options, especially because the Modern environment is a rather limited experience.
A nightly build of Mozilla Firefox for Windows 8 is already available for testing purposes, but browsing the web in Metro mode is rather slow as compared to the traditional desktop performance.
The release of Firefox Metro, on the other hand, could only be good news for Microsoft, as the tech giant continues to bet big on the Windows Store and Modern apps.
The company wants more big names to develop Metro apps, so in addition to Mozilla, Facebook is also working on its very own social networking client to access profiles straight from the Modern UI.
No details are available on the Facebook client, but word is that it could be here by October when Windows 8.1 is set to go live.