14 DAY TRIAL // Mozilla has recently released the very first preview builds of Firefox for Windows 10 on ARM, as the company is embracing the ARM64 architecture for its browser.
Just like the other updates that Mozilla rolls out for Firefox, the Windows on ARM build is currently in the nightly development stage, which means it’s still in its early days and lots of bugs are likely to be experienced.
In fact, Mozilla itself warns that this initial release of the application differs from the other nightly builds of Firefox, as it hasn’t even been included in the automated testing process that it typically runs when completing development of a new package.
“Please note that these builds are even nightlier than our normal nightlies on other platforms: they have *not* gone through our usual automated testing process, bugs are almost certain to crop up, etc. etc. That being said, I have been using builds off automation (manually updating them) for several weeks now and have had a pleasant experience,” Mozilla engineer Nathan Froyd said.
Work in progress
Additionally, Froyd warns that although users can already try out the ARM installer, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done for this Firefox flavor.
“There are still a few areas that we know need work: the Gecko profiler is not functional, but should be by the end of the week. The crash reporter does not work. Our top-tier JS JIT (IonMonkey) is not turned on. WebRTC is not turned on. EME (Netflix, etc.) does not work yet,” he said.
Mozilla isn’t the only company that embraced Windows 10 on ARM, and this can only be good news for Microsoft. Google is also likely to be working on such a project for Chrome browser, though for now, there’s no confirmation from the search giant in this regard.
Microsoft has put a lot of effort into getting Windows 10 on ARM right, and the addition of third-party browsers to its app arsenal is certainly a move that helps the platform become more appealing.