Tablet & Mobile UI - tab bar for Android

[dantheclamman]

Firefox Fennec had a great tabbed interface on tablets. When Fenix came, we regressed to a stretched out phone UI. After years of stagnation, Android tablets are rising again, thanks to foldables and new initiatives from Google. Firefox is missing out by not including a tabbed interface for Android tablet users, particularly because FF has best in class syncing abilities. Android power users are enthusiastic recommenders of their favorite browsers, so it would be huge advantage over Chromium based competitors!   

[crazyramen]

Laptops are beinig replaced by tablets more and more. Firefox needs to catch up with that in terms of UX compatibility. I need an improved fullscreen mode for Android 13L's "productivity mode." One that has a persistent search bar and is snap-resizeable like the desktop app. Essential it just needs a proper desktop UX for me to come back. I'll be switching back to Chrome in the meantime on all my devices.

[Nugget]

List tabs like desktop browser on Android devices for foldable displays

Hello, Google Chrome on Android has this ability where when opened on a foldable device, it shows tabs as if using a desktop browser.

Can we have this implemented as a setting somewhere or as an add-on please?

[Jon]

(Note: similar ideas have been merged into this thread)

[Pandora]

Any updates on this issue? It has been more or less a year since the original post, 3 years since the rewrite which removed the tablet ui and the same time since the top github post about this was created. Is it even been worked on or considered? Because something as essential as this just hinders from the user experience by a lot.

[cheseona]

pleqse do something

nothing change until now

[ElGonzales]

I am using a android tablet right now the first time in my life and I just ran into the same problem. Nice tab bar in Chrome but nothing in FF. I am using FF everywhere else but on a tablet I can't "work" or even surf the web for fun things this way.

[Skywind]

A couple of weeks ago, a Chinese developer of FF shared his opinions on a Chinese IT forum concerning the issue of tablet UI. Long story short, Mozilla lacks enough human resources to deal with this issue. As Mozilla is non-profit and many of us are not their sponsors, I don't think the tablet UI would make a comeback in the near future. Switching to other browsers will be a much wiser choice when browsing on a Android tablet.

[dantheclamman]

                          I have switched browsers on my tablet. But I think most people aren't like me and continue to use Firefox on their other devices. Most people just switch browsers on all their devices so they can have sync. Mozilla Corporation is a for profit entity under the nonprofit umbrella of Mozilla Foundation. They do have the resources to deliver the tablet UI if they decided it was worthwhile.       

[crazyramen]

Their hand will be forced soon enough. Google seems to be pushing Android tablets in the productivity direction (even if their own pixel tablet is very much NOT productivity oriented) with the new tablet versions of Android. I hope they start standardizing/requiring specific design elements and indicating tablet optimization in the app store.

Maybe that's all a pipe dream, but wether or not that happens, Firefox shouls be ahead of the curve on that front to secure a position as one of the few tablet friendly browsers. 

[Fidorulz]

Use chrome on my phone but on tablet Firefox works so much better but I miss the tab toolbar so much. This is a feature pretty much all other browsers have even ones with smaller user bases vs Firefox.

There are add ons for this for the desktop version but this tab thing has been something people have asked for for years.

I'm sure some phone users would appreciate this option as well

[hellequin967]

I use Firefox ony work desktop but Vivaldi for personal use simply because I only use a tablet/phone combo for personal use and the phone UI on tablet just isn't great.

I struggle that here we are in 2023 with lager screens,tablets and flip phones that firefox for Android still doesn't have tab mode for larger screens.

[Serenova]

I am also all for this and I hope that firefox impliments it soon.

Literally not having desktop style tab view on my tablet/phone is the 1 thing keeping me from using Firefox all the time.

I've got a Samsung Tablet that I love using in DeX mode. Other browsers show desktop style tabs when open - Brave, Samsung Internet, Kiwi Browser, Chrome (which I'm trying to avoid due to new updates), and other's all show desktop style tabs when opened horizontally.

I've also got a Samsung Fold 4 for my phone. And when my phone is opened to the larger screen, not having those tabs at the top makes Firefox seem clunky.

i 100% would love for this idea (which as obviously been wanted for a while) to be added to Firefox. I'd use Firefox all the time as my browser of choice if it did.

[EcoNomad]

using Firefox on my ChromeOS tablet is a nightmare. in portrait mode it's okay but in landscape mode it's a mess. i wish there was a better UI and added gestures. while they're at it add better keyboard support since alot of android tablets are coming with keyboard and keyboard accessories. If implemented I could add Firefox on every device I have.

[NeatNit]

If anyone is crazy enough to add this yourself, I'll just leave this here: https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/setup/contributing_code.html

Mozilla is clearly not going to do this themselves any time soon. I know it's a big undertaking, but maybe someone would be willing to try it?

[Kuuh]

This is needed. The UI, the keyboard shortcuts, mouse support with context menus by right click, even webpage scale is missing in Fenix.