Firefox close to adding PWA support for Linux, but macOS remains complicated

Chromium-based browsers such as Edge and Chrome deliver a smooth experience thanks to PWAs (Progressive Web Apps). However, Firefox only supports this feature on Windows at the moment. That’s changing soon.

PWAs basically turn regular websites into standalone programs that you install once on your system. After that, you can launch them directly from your system without needing to open the web browser separately. It feels like real desktop software, and these web apps even have a custom icon.

For apps that you use regularly, such as Gmail or X, you don’t have to clutter up your browser tab menu and address bar anymore.

Mozilla’s developers have been actively working on Linux integration for PWAs, and early versions have already begun appearing in Firefox Nightly builds. A Mozilla employee, u/drubino-mozilla on Reddit, shared this information in a reply.

The feature creates proper web apps that sit on your desktop, and the feature is expected to land in the stable version soon.

Unfortunately for macOS users, it doesn’t look like PWAs will launch anytime soon. The team wants to get the experience right, especially with app behavior for the dock and menu bar, before pushing it out. At the moment, the release timeline for PWAs on macOS is unclear. The same Mozilla employee confirmed that they’re still “working on it.”

All in all, decluttering the address bar by turning websites into apps does improve the user experience, and Linux users will eventually no longer have to use third-party tools like the PWAsForFirefox extension.

This platform-by-platform approach is still going to be frustrating for macOS users, though, since it could still take multiple months more.

Speaking of platforms, Firefox is paying attention to the mobile version as well. Did you know that you can now shake your Android phone to summarize web pages in Firefox? We covered that here.

In other Firefox news, the company is bringing native Compact Mode back to the browser. You can read about that here.

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