Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, shuttered most of its web-focused XR development back in 2020. At the time, the company’s web-based social VR app Hubs was spared from the chopping block. Now, after a new organization-wide restructuring, all development on Hubs is set to be wound down in May.
Launched in 2018, Hubs is an XR chatroom that runs directly in a browser, giving both VR headset users and standard monitor and smartphone users a place to connect. It’s an impressive ‘no-install-required’ WebXR social app that never gained the sort of traction that better-backed apps garnered over the years, such as Rec Room, VRChat, or Meta’s Horizon Worlds.
The team responsible for Hubs recently announced its shutdown in a blog post, stating that its last day under Mozilla will be on May 31st, 2024. This includes shutdown of Hubs‘ demo server, managed subscription, and community resources.
The team aims to provide a multi-month transition period leading up to shutdown of those services, starting with disabling new subscriptions on March 1st, and concluding all work on Hubs by May 31st. A tool to download user data will be released on April 1st, the company says.
While this means Mozilla won’t be continuing active development or maintenance of Hubs codebases and community resources post-shutdown, since Hubs‘ code is open source, anyone can continue independent development. The company emphasizes that its so-called ‘Community Edition’ of Hubs can run on any platform that supports Kubernetes, which includes a majority of cloud services, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.
Mozilla is shutting down its made-for-VR web browser, Firefox Reality, and handing off the project to third-party team Igalia.
Mozilla launched Firefox Reality back in 2018 on a host of early standalones, including Oculus Go, Lenovo Mirage Solo, and Vive Focus. In the following years, Mozilla also brought it to Quest and PC VR headsets.
Firefox Reality is set to be removed from app stores within the coming weeks, Mozilla says in a blog post, with the newly announced Igalia Wolvic taking its place starting as soon as next week.
Wolvic is based on Firefox Reality’s source code, which includes the same native support for WebXR content and privacy/security that Mozilla has touted in the past with Firefox on other platforms.
Igalia says in a blog post that its first focus is on serving Android-based, standalone XR systems and HarmonyOS tethered systems, which includes Meta Quest, Huawei VR Glass, HTC Vive Focus, Pico Interactive, and Lynx. The company says its also hoping to support Qualcomm and Lenovo XR devices in the future.
“The Firefox Reality project was created […] to give users some choice and ensure that open and unlimited access to the web remains strong on these devices,” said Brian Kardell, Developer Advocate at Igalia. “These ideas are core to what we do at Igalia, so we’re thrilled to be able to carry the torch forward in leveraging that work to create a new browser, Wolvic. Together, we will help to ensure that the web ecosystem remains healthy.”
Igalia is consultancy studio based in Spain that’s focused on maintaining and promoting Free Software. The team says its developing via this GitHub repository, asking for help from the community to file any issues there that may arise.
The Firefox Reality browser project is being continued by an ‘open source consultancy’ as Wolvic.
Firefox Reality is a web browser for standalone VR and AR headsets, a project of the XR division of Mozilla Labs. It first launched on Oculus Go’s store in 2018. In 2019 it launched on Quest and HoloLens 2, and was built-in to HTC Vive Focus. But just a year later in 2020, Mozilla laid off 250 employees including staff working on Firefox Reality.
‘Open source software consultancy’ Igalia says it took over stewardship of Firefox Reality, and is now calling it Wolvic – with a beta release coming next week. It describes Wolvic as “a new branch of the evolutionary tree of the Firefox Reality Browser”. Former Mozilla Labs engineer Imanol Fernandez is among the staff now at Igalia working on the project.
While Firefox Reality is still available on Quest, Go, HoloLens 2, HTC, and Pico devices it hasn’t been updated in quite a while. Igalia says with Wolvic it will give the browser “new investment, updates and nurturing”.
Like Quest’s built in Oculus Browser, Wolvic supports WebXR content, meaning you can use it to enter immersive web experiences and 360 degree videos. It features a Privacy Mode, voice Search, Movie Mode, tab resizing, and Igalia plans to continue to add new features.
A beta will launch next week on Quest and Huawei VR Glass, with support for HTC Vive Focus, Pico Neo, and Lynx planned for future.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
Socialising in virtual reality (VR) has become easier and easier as the years have gone by, with Mozilla dipping its toes in during 2018 with Hubs. Today, the company has announced an update that refreshes the experience with an all-new user interface.
Mozilla Hubs on desktop and mobile. Image credit Mozilla Hubs
Hubs has been streamlined to be easier and simpler to use whether you’re in VR or joining from a browser. For example, chat has been reworked so you can scroll back through messages if you need to catch up. Plus it’s no longer displayed over the room, having its own sidebar so you can view the entire room unobstructed. Should the chat panel be closed in the desktop version you’ll get quick text notifications.
Another important improvement is tailoring the experience to the individual platforms Mozilla Hubs supports. “In the past, our team took a design approach that kept the desktop, mobile, and virtual reality interfaces tightly coupled,” notes a blog post. “This often meant that the application’s interactions were tailored primarily to virtual reality devices, but in practice, the vast majority of Hubs users are visiting rooms on non-VR devices.” So now the interfaces for desktop and mobile have been separated to make any Hubs room more straight forward to navigate.
All the changes are now live so you can have a play unless you’re a Hubs Cloud customer. The company notes that: “we’re planning to release the UI changes after March 25th, 2021. If you’re running Hubs Cloud out of the box on AWS, no manual updates will be required. If you have a custom fork, you will need to pull the changes into your client manually.”
Whilst great news for Hubs users, it’s fortunate the service survived 2020. Those working at Mozilla last summer saw hundreds losing their jobs due to restructuring, especially on the VR side of things. This has meant products like Firefox Reality v12 aren’t likely to see any updates for the foreseeable future.
As Mozilla continues to support Hubs in the coming months including accessibility and localization updates in the new Hubs client, VRFocus will let you know.
Mozilla announced a redesign for its Hubs web-based social experience that connects people across a wide range of Internet-connected devices including VR headsets.
The design features a new chat experience and different user interfaces depending what kind of device you’re using to connect. The service works across desktops, mobiles and VR headsets with components that make is super easy to set up a room and share with friends. On an Oculus Quest, for example, you can set up a room on another device and get a four character code to enter into the Quest browser and join from standalone VR.
A blog post from Mozilla notes that the user interface for Hubs was very similar across devices even though “vast majority of Hubs users are visiting rooms on non-VR devices.” The newest update separates the mobile and desktop interfaces “and makes the experience of being in a Hubs room more tailored to the device you’re using at any given time. We’ve improved menu navigation by making these full-screen on mobile devices, and by consolidating options and preferences for personalizing your experience.”
Previously, messages sent in Hubs would disappear after a few seconds and were displayed in a way that could obscure the view of a room. “With the new chat sidebar, you’ll be able to see chat from the moment you join the lobby, and choose when to show or hide the panel. On desktop, if the chat panel is closed, you’ll still get the quick text notifications, which have moved from the center of the screen to the bottom-left,” according to the blog post.
For customers of Mozilla’s Hubs Cloud the new interface will release after March 25th, 2021. If you’re running the software on Amazon’s servers without customization, the update should be automatic. There’s a guide to explain how to make the changes if you’re using a forked version of Hubs.
Mozilla laid off hundreds of people in August 2020 with many of the people working on VR losing their jobs. Hubs, however, survived the restructuring and today’s announcements represent some of the first big changes announced for the platform since the layoffs.
The organization behind the Firefox Web browser as well as a series of XR-related projects, including the Mozilla Hubs Web-based social networking work, laid off a significant number of people in a restructuring effort.
Approximately 250 people will lose their jobs and another 60 will be reassigned, according to communications shared by Mozilla Corporation CEO and Mozilla Foundation Chairwoman Mitchell Baker.
The communications suggest there might still be life for the group’s work with Hubs — an innovative social networking effort that used Web-based technologies to create VR spaces you could join with a link from a wide range of devices. Exactly what the Hubs effort might look like after the restructuring remains unclear. A message sent to employees states Mozilla is “organizing a new product organization outside of Firefox that will both ship new products faster and develop new revenue streams. Our initial investments will be Pocket, Hubs, VPN, Web Assembly and security and privacy products.”
A message sent by the Mozilla Hubs Twitter account added “we’re still learning how Hubs will be impacted with the restructuring. . .and we hope to have more information to share about what this means for Hubs and Hubs Cloud soon.”
Today's news was difficult and we're still learning how Hubs will be impacted with the restructuring. Hubs was listed among the projects that will be part of the new portfolio work and we hope to have more information to share about what this means for Hubs and Hubs Cloud soon.
Baker’s communications said that those losing their jobs would receive severance “at least equivalent to full base pay through December 31, 2020”.
“Our pre-COVID plan for 2020 included a great deal of change already: building a better internet by creating new kinds of value in Firefox; investing in innovation and creating new products; and adjusting our finances to ensure stability over the long term.,” Baker explained. “Economic conditions resulting from the global pandemic have significantly impacted our revenue. As a result, our pre-COVID plan was no longer workable.”
Firefox Reality, Mozilla’s made-for-VR web browser, has been available on standalone devices for some time now, featuring support for Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, HTC Vive Focus, and Pico standalones. Now Mozilla has brought its WebXR-capable browser to PC VR headsets with its new PC Preview version.
Like with its standalone headset variant, Firefox Reality PC Preview supports standard 2D web browsing, 360 video, and immersive content.
Alongside native support for WebXR and WebVR content, Mozilla says the browser also contains “the same privacy and security that underpin regular Firefox on the desktop.”
If you’re viewing this article using Firefox Reality (download link below), you’ll be able to do some pretty cool stuff like chat with people in social VR through Mozilla Hubs, explore the nearly endless 3D objects hosted on Sketchfab, and take a tour of a host of immersive content through the Hello WebXR! app. Just click the links, pop on your VR headset (if you’re not already using it) and jump in.
Firefox Reality PC Preview is available for download via Viveport, which includes support for SteamVR headsets such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive Cosmos, and Valve Index. Last year Mozilla mentioned it was working with Valve to bring a version to Steam.
The company says in a blog post that it has plans to both expand to other VR platforms as well as deliver updates that add more functionality and stability.
Mozilla has released a major revamp of its WebXR Viewer app on iOS, bringing support for the latest version of the WebXR standard, which allows AR and VR experiences to run from the web on the iPhone and iPad.
Mozilla released its initial WebXR Viewer app on iOS back in 2017. It was a simple developer-focused tool that implemented Apple’s ARKit tracking alongside an early version of the WebXR standard to support web-based AR and VR experiences that can run directly within a browser. The app was essentially a stopgap for developers to be able to test WebXR experiences on iOS devices in lieu of the default iOS browser, Safari, which hadn’t implemented WebXR support.
While the original app was a very simple single-page browser where you could paste a URL to load and test a WebXR experience, the latest version is a complete rewrite of the application which is now based on the Firefox iOS app. This means the browser looks, feels, and behaves pretty much like Firefox on iOS—including tabbed browsing, history, private browsing, etc—making it much more like a regular brownser than the original.
Image courtesy Mozilla
The WebXR Viewer 2.0 also implements the latest version of the WebXR standard, which means developers can work with the latest capabilities, including some cutting edge experimental features which are still being fleshed out among those guiding the standard’s development.
While the app is still experimental, and mostly designed as a testbed for developers, Blair MacIntyre, Principal Research Scientist at Mozilla’s XR team, makes it clear that one key reason for rebuilding the app with the Firefox iOS codebase is to test the WebXR implementation for potential future inclusion in the actual Firefox iOS browser.
In the near future, we’re interested in continuing to experiment with more advanced AR capabilities for WebXR, and seeing what kinds of experimentation developers do with those capabilities. Most AR use cases need to integrate virtual content with meaningful things in the world; putting cute dinosaurs or superheros on flat surfaces in the world makes for fun demos that run anywhere, but genuinely useful consumer and business applications need to sense, track, and augment “people, places, and things” and have content that persists over time. Enhancing the Immersive Web with these abilities, especially in a “webby” manner that offers privacy and security to users, is a key area Mozilla will be working on next. We need to ensure that there is a standards-based solution that is secure and private, unlike the proprietary solutions currently in the market that are siloed to create new, closed markets controlled by single companies.
[…]
Toward this end, we moved this implementation into the Firefox for iOS code-base to see how this approach to implementing WebXR would behave inside Firefox, with an eye towards (possibly) integrating these features into Firefox for iOS in the future. Would the WebXR implmentation work at all? (Yes.) Would it perform better or worse than in the old app? (Better, it turns out!) What UI and usability issues would arise? (Plenty.) While there is still plenty of UI work to do before moving this to a mainstream browser, we’re quite happy with the performance; WebXR demos run better in this version of the app than they did in the previous one, and the impact on non-WebXR web pages seems minimal.
Mozilla, it seems, has picked up the mantle of bringing a fully-featured browser with WebXR support to iOS.
While Apple had shown some support for the older WebVR standard in the past, in recent years the company has been moving in its own direction for web-based AR content. So far this is largely limited to the ‘AR Quick Look‘ functionality which allows Safari to pull 3D models from a webpage and place them into an AR view with minimal interactive capabilities.
It’s a smoothly implemented feature, but highly limited in potential use-cases compared to WebXR, especially because it isn’t device or browser-agnostic; it only works on iOS devices.
