Firefox OS Simulator – previewing version 3.0 ✩ Mozilla Hacks

Three months ago we were proud to release the 1.0 version of the Firefox OS Simulator. We’ve made a lot of progress since, and version 2.0 came out about a month ago (latest official version). Now, moving forward, we’d like to present and introduce you to a preview of the upcoming 3.0 version!

We discussed whether we should talk about this new version yet, since it’s a bit rough around the edges, but we decided to give it a go for two reasons:

We’re Mozilla. We do things in the open, and we share our progress. Because we want you to know what’s going on and to be able to come along with us in the process
It gives you an unique opportunity to test it out, give feedback, contribute and much more before it’s released

New features in the preview

We’ve listened to the feedback and have tried to target the most common features being requested and well-needed. New features include:

Push to Device
Rotation simulation
Basic geolocation API simulation
Manifest validation
Stability fixes for installation and updates to apps
Newer versions of the Firefox rendering engine and Gaia (the UI for Firefox OS)

Push to Device

This means that if you have an existing device supporting Firefox OS, connected via USB, you will be able to push apps installed in the Firefox OS Simulator directly to that device.

Please note:

Remote debugging has to be enabled on the device, via
Settings > Device information > More Information > Developer > Remote debugging
On Linux (at least Ubuntu), you must create the file /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules as root and then add a manufacturer-specific entry for the device as described by Android’s Setting up a Device for Development. Example for one of our test devices:entry:
SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}==" 19d2", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
Not complete Windows support yet. Planned to make it into the final release.
Make sure you have the latest version of Firefox OS on your device (especially due to recent fixes like bug 842725)

Rotation simulation

There’s now a feature to rotate the simulator, get events and more, to adapt your contents to both portrait and landscape. Supports the mozorientationchange event.

Basic geolocation API simulation

The simulator now also supports geolocation, so you can test it in your app, and read out longitude and latitude values.

Coming soon: an enhancement that lets you specify the geolocation to provide!

Manifest validation

When you add an app to the Firefox OS Simulator, it also does a quick validation of your manifest file for errors and warnings, including problems that prevent installing the app in the Simulator, usage of APIs that the Simulator doesn’t yet simulate (not all APIs in there yet), and missing properties that are required by the Marketplace or devices.

Downloading the preview

We have all the versions of the Firefox OS Simulator on our FTP server, under its working name r2d2b2g. Here are the direct links to the installation files (installs as an extension in Firefox)

Once installed, it will be available in Firefox in the Tools > Web Developer menu:

Give us feedback!

Please let us know in the comments here or by filing a bug. Hopefully you will like the improvements and they will benefit you with developing apps!

Getting started with Firefox OS & building Open Web Apps

To get started, we have had a number of articles here on Mozilla Hacks previously:

Additionally we have some other resources:

61 comments

Comments are now closed.

x I’m tc wrote on March 13th, 2013 at 9:20 am:

Congratulations.
Vincent wrote on March 13th, 2013 at 11:28 am:

The Linux version of the emulator doesn’t work on the last Ubuntu, using Firefox 19.0.2 and with a precedent version of the emulator installed (then removed and reinstalled, same result).
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 13th, 2013 at 12:11 pm:
  
  Please file a bug and we’ll look into it.
Sankalp wrote on March 13th, 2013 at 1:36 pm:

Hi.
I am really intrigued by your OS !
It’s resplendent !
Do you any plans to launch it in India anytime soon ?
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 13th, 2013 at 5:01 pm:
  
  Thanks! We announced the first countries recently. Don’t know at this time which other countries will be covered.
Igor Costa wrote on March 13th, 2013 at 6:13 pm:

Robert

One suggestion to the team, why not adopt Ripple simulator to work together with Firefox OS Apps?
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 2:10 am:
  
  What the Ripple Simulator supports, comparing with Firefox OS Simulator, is, to my knowledge, vastly different. Different products, rendering engines and APIs. It would be interesting to see how it would benefit us to use that.
Flaki wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 4:50 am:

Hey! Last time I installed the FFOS Simulator was the very first (1.0) version just as it came out. It was quite a disappointment, using it was like hell on earth on my (yes, pretty outdated) notebook. Nonetheless, I kept the addon disabled for quite some time, thus 2.0 slipped my attention, now just yet I updated to 3.0pre3, and I am honestly, truly *astonished*.

Yesterday I had the chance to meet the Geekzphone Keon in person and was really, really pleased by the fluidity and speed of the Firefox OS on such an inferior hardware (in terms of recent 4core-several-gigs-of-memory devices out there), and just yet, the simulator is on par with that!

Excellent work, keep it up!
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 5:42 am:
  
  Thank you. We’re very happy to hear that you think it has improved, and that you are excited about Firefox OS!
cray wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 5:05 am:

Hi,

Which locales are present in image?

Do you use https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/gaia-l10n/ for Firefox OS translations?
1. Myk Melez wrote on March 18th, 2013 at 11:55 pm:
  
  Hi cray,
  
  Sorry for the delay responding. We just use the localizations already present in the Gaia repository. We don’t add any localizations from other places. However, I recently discussed adding such localizations, and I’m going to investigate the work required to do so. Thus there may be additional localizations in future versions of the Simulator!
  
  -myk
Gsbriele Vidali wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 6:48 am:

I read that mozilla planned to use snapdragons only, very much like winphone did. Why don’t you consider adopting mediatek cpu too ?
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 8:48 am:
  
  We’re not building the hardware, we’re building the software.
Philip Casey wrote on March 14th, 2013 at 5:05 pm:

Amazed that the FFOS emulator loaded my music (I know how many tracks I have for the first time) and photos. Couldn’t play the music. It’s really coming on with a whoosh.

But Bing? Oh dear.

That prejudice aside, fantastic work, for which thanks. Great to be able to track progress with an emulator.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 15th, 2013 at 2:38 am:
  
  Thanks, glad you like it!
nishan wrote on March 16th, 2013 at 7:58 am:

Hy Robert,
i read your blog and Hacking Gaia for Firefox OS, part 1.
i love hacking and wanna make a career in open source …but dont wnna caught like kevin metnick :D,mainly i do red hat linux.. Good to see firefox as OS after using it as browser
Great Team work …!!
what will be my next step :) please guide me
i know html and C..what other programming languages i should learn because i learned everything over the internet and thanks to google for finding your blog.
regards,
nishan limbu
country – nepal.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 18th, 2013 at 2:57 am:
  
  Thanks!
  I’d recommend to look deeply into HTML5 & JavaScript, since that will be a major part of many things going forward.
  
  I also think Rebecca has a good outline in A Baseline for Front-End Developers.
Ken Saunders wrote on March 17th, 2013 at 12:48 am:

Curious, why not add a beta channel on AMO to (potentially) get more feedback, testers, etc?

“46,948 users”
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 18th, 2013 at 2:54 am:
  
  It could be an option, going forward. We’ll see what happens!
Zakir wrote on March 18th, 2013 at 7:06 pm:

Will Firefox OS broswer have full screen browsing meaning when we enter a URL it will show its loading after that it will be full screen no URL on Screen just when we enter URL it shows some andriod browsers have that.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 1:06 am:
  
  Currently it shows the URL bar at top, but when you scroll down, it gets hidden/scrolled up.
Carter wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 3:15 pm:

I was on the Mozilla website and noticed that Verizon was not a partner of Firefox OS. Does this mean that it will not be carrying Firefox OS? If so, is there a way that it will carry it in the near future?
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 4:23 pm:
  
  Firefox OS devices will initially be released in emerging markets. Countries and partners are listed in the press release. When it comes to possible future partners, nothing more has been announced at this time.
Dean wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 3:29 pm:

Message says “cannot continue install” because it can’t find a file! I am running Win7x64 and latest FF version…………ideas?
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 4:24 pm:
  
  Please file a bug for that.
  1. gabriele wrote on March 20th, 2013 at 3:52 am:
    
    What if I find a bug inside the os ?
    While trying latest os emulator I noticed that g+ app opens g+ in full desktop version instead of its mobile counterpart
    1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 20th, 2013 at 6:05 am:
      
      Please file a bug for that as well – it will be routed accordingly.
Carter wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 3:39 pm:

when I attempted to play a game in the game apps section, it would either have a massive picture or a tiny one. Not only that, but it also had the pull down thing, ah what’s it called. The notifications window, it got in the way. Is it the actual thing having an issue, or just my emulator? I am running this on Mountain Lion. Thanks!
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 4:25 pm:
  
  Nothing is intended to get in the way. Please file a bug to describe it more.
monster1612 wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 4:08 pm:

There should be an option to lock FirefoxOS with a picture password, like Windows 8.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 19th, 2013 at 4:25 pm:
  
  Thanks for the suggestion.
Zakir wrote on March 20th, 2013 at 7:44 am:

will Firefox OS have HERE Drive(+), HERE Transit and HERE City Len other than HERE Maps.

we would love that.
Daniel wrote on March 20th, 2013 at 8:29 am:

Is there any way to install this addon in Mozilla Seamonkey? I do not want to have to go and download Firefox just to try Firefox OS.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 20th, 2013 at 1:26 pm:
  
  Not sure Seamonkey is supported.
zakir wrote on March 21st, 2013 at 5:28 pm:

will Firefox OS have HERE Drive(+), HERE Transit and HERE City Len other than HERE Maps.

we would love that.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 22nd, 2013 at 2:40 am:
  
  Don’t know at this time, we’ll see.
  1. Gabriele wrote on March 22nd, 2013 at 2:59 am:
    
    2d nav has been done already: http://cnettv.cnet.com/scout-html5-navigation-telenav-hands/9742-1_53-50123867.html
    1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on March 22nd, 2013 at 3:58 am:
      
      Cool, thanks!
    2. Gabriele wrote on March 22nd, 2013 at 4:06 am:
      
      Let me add this solution http://www.evernav.com (iI’m not sure it’s different from scout engine)
2. Gabriele wrote on March 22nd, 2013 at 2:55 am:
  
  By adding 3d html5 layer to this one m.maps.nokia.com, here drive will be available for ffos
Variya Soft Solutions wrote on March 24th, 2013 at 9:57 am:

its pleasant!!
viswaprasath wrote on March 25th, 2013 at 9:08 am:

Vincent did u problem solved ?
I too had same problem in this evening. :( :(
llage wrote on March 29th, 2013 at 8:49 am:

Fast and fluid… Good job guy ;-)
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 1st, 2013 at 1:04 am:
  
  Thanks!
Anirudha wrote on March 30th, 2013 at 9:05 pm:

on my Win7 64 bit machine if I installed the simulator from http://people.mozilla.org/~myk/r2d2b2g/ then it’s work fine.

but If I installed from add-ons manager it’s not working after installed.
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 1st, 2013 at 1:05 am:
  
  Interesting. As described in the blog post, please file a bug.
num wrote on March 30th, 2013 at 9:50 pm:

i dont like this os !!! thinks android always the best
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 1st, 2013 at 1:05 am:
  
  You’re entitled to think that if you want to.
andres wrote on April 3rd, 2013 at 9:48 am:

Hi robert..personally I found very interesting develop for firefoxOS, I like how integrate html5 and how mozilla bet for javascript and html5…now, personally and this is my opinion, I found the interface design very ugly…looks a bit cheap and worse, like a cheap version for android…html5 is amazing for create interfaces, you can create rich interfaces with animations, transitions and unlimited possibilitis, I know than this phone is for low range phones… but why mozilla doesn’t give a biggest efford in create a better interface?…

mozilla has any plan from change or update the visual interface or this will be the final look?…how has been received this interface between the press and the people??…
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 4th, 2013 at 2:28 am:
  
  Glad you like the OS and developing for it!
  When it comes to the UI, the design is described in Gaia Building Blocks. You should ask more in the mailing list for Gaia.
Gabriele wrote on April 4th, 2013 at 4:07 am:

What about support for unity engine ? It looks like they’re interested in it http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/172001-Firefox-OS
1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 5th, 2013 at 1:25 am:
  
  Since everything on the phone is HTML5, it doesn’t sound like a plausible option for Unity.
  1. gabriele vidali wrote on April 5th, 2013 at 1:44 am:
    
    So copper/irr-licht is the only viable option to easily build 3d games here atm
    1. Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 5th, 2013 at 2:20 am:
      
      Well, I’d say it’s relative to what makes it easy to build 3D games, but since WebGL is in there, there should be a number of options.
      1. andres wrote on April 10th, 2013 at 5:12 pm:
        
        and the advances in asm.js could be a door for futures 3d game engines inside fOS like the latest example from unreal inside the navigator???…
      2. Gabriele Vidali wrote on April 21st, 2013 at 4:52 pm:
        
        In regards to unity games, what’s the difference with android?
        FFos : Android = Gaia : Dalvik = html5+js : java
        When games get exported, does gaia require a change of code if compared to android code for the dalvik machine?
        Or html5+js vs java is the main difference between the two os’?
Caspy7 wrote on April 20th, 2013 at 1:38 pm:

I’m frustrated that we can’t install large addons without freezing the browser (this will lead to users hitting “stop” on the script).
Seems that addon installation should be pushed to a separate thread. Know if this is feasible/on someone’s radar?
1. Myk Melez wrote on April 22nd, 2013 at 11:38 am:
  
  Caspy: resolving the problem is feasible, and it’s on our radar. The Simulator issue tracking it is issue #83, and the Firefox bug report is bug 814505. Note that the latest preview build (Windows, Mac, Linux) is 20MB smaller, because we removed non-core apps from Gaia; and we’ll continue slimming it down, which will at least make the problem rarer.
  1. Caspy7 wrote on April 22nd, 2013 at 8:16 pm:
    
    Excellent. Thanks.
Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 22nd, 2013 at 2:09 am:

To Gabriele: Firefox OS is not Android + Gaia, it has a small Linux kernel called Gonk, with Gecko and then Gaia on top of it. Best thing is probably to ask the Unity people what they need to do it.
Robert Nyman [Editor] wrote on April 22nd, 2013 at 2:09 am:

To andres: Yes, long term asm.js could provide an option for that.