Firefox OS apps run (pretty much) natively on Android

Firefox OS is being ushered in as a low-cost, non-resource hungry smartphone OS, but the architecture of the operating system does have some benefits that could extend to other platforms.

Firefox OS’ apps are basically web applications, that are mostly built-on HTML5 and Jaca Script, so they can be used both on the phone and in a phone’s browser. Because of this, the apps run pretty much natively on Android phones. Hit the jump to learn more.

If you go ahead and install Firefox 29 on your Android smartphone, then you’ll be able to run Open Web Applications without a hitch, and here’s the thing: you can use them even outside of the browser.

This means that the apps get their own launch screen icons on both the home screen and in the application drawer. So you can launch the app independent of your phone’s web broswer. You won’t see a URL bar, back button, nothing to indicate that it’s a web page: it will function like most other Android applications that you would download from the Play Store.

Now they may not be as stable or run as well as dedicated Android apps, but the video below does show the applications running pretty well on a Nexus 5.

Open Web Applications may be a practice that developers may eventually adapt, as it’ll be less work for them. They won’t have to worry about porting their apps and tweaking them to work for different platforms. Now they just need to code it once and be done with it.

Are you excited to try Firefox OS apps on your Android handset? Or is the platform’s app selection too meager right now for you to even bother with it?

Source | Via