Firefox For Android Now Available On ARMv6 Devices

Firefox for Android, like all Android apps, is constantly evolving to meet the demands of a more diversified hardware environment. Until now, Mozilla has supported Android 2.2 and devices with ARMv7 processors. Now the non-profit is targeting millions of additional Android phones with its latest update.

Mozilla announced today that Firefox for Android now supports devices with ARMv6 processors. Specifically, the newest version supports “ARMv6 phones with at least 800MHz processor and minimum 512 MB RAM.” Beyond improved device compatibility, the new version of Firefox for Android adds hardware and software decoder support for h.264 video for those running Android 4 or 4.1. Jelly Bean users also get added Explore by Touch functionality.

Initial support for Web apps is also included in the latest release. It’s been known for some time that Mozilla would be opening its own app store, but there hasn’t been much news on it since Mozilla opened the marketplace in the latest Aurora release of Firefox for Android. Now Firefox for Android users can access the Firefox Marketplace, and download some HTML5 apps.

On a final note, the latest version of Firefox for Android includes new accessibility features for the visual impaired. Mozilla say Firefox now integrates seamlessly with TalkBack so that the visually impaired can have what’s on the screen read to them by their phone. It’s a nice addition, and one that many will appreciate.

You can grab the latest version of Firefox for Android from Google Play now. If you want to see more of the technical magic behind the update, check out Mozilla’s release notes. It also outlines a few issues that they’re still having.

By Zach Walton