Firefox Reality is one of the best VR web browsers on the market today. This app is capable of giving users 3D VR content inside of your VR headset as well as 2D internet access. This app has been available on multiple VR, AR, and mixed reality headsets in the past. Today Firefox announced that this app will be available on the Oculus Quest in the very near future. This is exciting news for Oculus owners that have been caught up in the madness of side loading on the Quest.
Not only is this amazing virtual web browser being added to the store for the Quest, it has been optimized for the Quest itself. The standalone headset is going to showcase many new features that are going to be making their way to other VR and AR headsets shortly after the release. One new feature is the ability to work and translate 10 different languages. Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese are some of the new additions, and more are promised to be on the way.
By using the microphones on the Quest you will be able to search the web with your voice. Because you are unable to have access to a physical keyboard while wearing the headset, typing with the point and shoot control can be very tedious at times. This will give your browsing experience much needed speed and intuitiveness. This is not the biggest update Firefox has made with the Quest, but it seems like it is going to be the most utilized.
Mozilla has also spent time upgrading the privacy for their internet access. They have added a fresh layer of protection against personal data collection and pervasive tracking by ad companies and tech companies alike. This is going to be a much more secure browser than it has been in the past. Firefox is going to enable Enhances Tracking Protection automatically when you download the app, Mozilla knows that privacy shouldn’t be an option you have to opt in for.
All of the new privacy tracking will always be running in the background and will require no extra enabling. This is going to make your experience secure at all times while maintaining the speed and performance you have grown accustom to while using Mozilla Firefox. Whether you’re catching up on sports or using Mozilla Hubs, the experience will be secure, safe, and fast.
The new features that are expected to make their debut within the next few months are multi-window browsing, bookmark syncs, additional languages, and many other functional features.
If you have a Quest and have been caught in the middle of the Virtual Desktop debacle, this could be a great answer for you. A month ago, Virtual Desktop was asked to roll back an update for the Quest. This supposedly was too powerful for the Quest and would impact the performance of the Oculus standalone headset. Now that the owner did, he has now opted in for side loading his futuristic content. When SideQuest (the side loading platform for Virtual Desktop) was contacted about this matter, the owner responded with this statement.
“Originally it was intended to provide a way for us to get our game The Expanse to users of the Oculus Quest headset as our submission pitch was declined by Oculus – something we understood as many more well established apps were also being declined. It then struck me that maybe some of those other developers could also benefit from a super easy side loading process with things like drag and drop and several apps inbuilt,” Harris wrote.
“SideQuest is a side loading tool at heart and actually works with any android device but it has evolved into an unofficial source for apps that you wouldn’t otherwise get on Quest. I would love to see it fill the niche of a testbed for pre-release/alpha/beta testing or for deploying demos for users to try out. I have no plans to monetize SideQuest like a traditional app store as I don’t want to affect the Oculus bottom line and I would love to work with Oculus to become an alternative route for apps and games that have been declined or otherwise or just want to test cutting edge features. I think there has been a lot of discussion around games being declined and I would love if SideQuest could provide a more positive spin for Oculus and Facebook in those scenarios. I guess i see it as a stepping stone to an application for the full oculus store down the line.”
This dispute is sure to continue moving forward, and until it is resolved, Firefox is going to be a safe and secure bet for web browsing on the Oculus Quest. As always, this app is going to be free and should be released shortly inside of the Oculus Quest Store.
