Mozilla makes Firefox launcher for Android

Mozilla makes its own Firefox launcher for Android. The software can run on all Android devices and is separate from the native Firefox OS mobile operating system. The launcher is aimed at discovering apps with which Mozilla wants to earn money.

Although the launcher is separate from Firefox OS, it works much the same. If you search for a certain term in the search bar, you will find results from apps already installed, from new apps that the user can still download and from search engines and Wikipedia. By default, the launcher shows some shortcuts to apps that the user rarely uses or can still install. The launcher also adapts those shortcuts to the time of day or the user’s location, TechCrunch writes.

For the launcher, Mozilla has partnered with EverythingMe, which already makes such a launcher and recently received tens of millions of euros in funding. In any case, the launcher runs on multiple versions of Android: the screenshot on Mozilla’s blog shows the launcher on Android 4.4, while the screenshot of the real test version was taken at the most on Android 4.3.

The companies share the profits that come from the launcher; if a user buys an app or clicks on an ad from the launcher, both get a little money. It is still unknown when the launcher will be released.