Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Firefox 55 joins Chrome, Microsoft Edge in supporting browser-based WebVR

By

firefox 55 adds webvr support
Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr
WebVR is a growing industry standard that aims to bring virtual reality (VR) to web browsers, as well as provide an easy way for developers to create and distribute VR content. Google recently added WebVR support to its dominant Chrome browser, and it rolled out the WebVR Experiments site to highlight new experiences available to browser users. Now, Mozilla has joined in the fun, adding WebVR support in its latest browser release, Firefox 55.

Firefox users who own an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headset can now use Mozilla’s browser to experience VR on the web. All three of the major web browsers now support WebVR, with Microsoft’s addition of support for the standard in its Edge browser in Windows 10. Note that Chrome’s support is limited to Android devices, and for now Edge must be placed in developers mode in Windows 10 Creators Update or later to view WebVR content.

Recommended Videos

A blog post from Mozilla introduced WebVR support at the beginning of June 2017. It highlighted a Web VR workshop where developers learned more about integrating content in browsers and highlighted vendor and community collaboration in creating the WebVR specification. Going forward, all browser developers will be working together to ensure that WebVR support is consistent across all platforms, and Mozilla invites developers to visit the A-Frame school to learn how to create interactive WebVR content.

Related

In addition to WebVR support, Firefox 55 also brings its Firefox Screenshots feature. Firefox Screenshots has been in beta since July 2017, and its public debut adds built-in screenshot capabilities to Firefox. The feature allows users to easily grab an entire web page or select a portion of the screen, and then download an image to their device or share it on social media.

Firefox 55 will be automatically installed on Wednesday, August 8, and you can download it here if you’re in a hurry. Once the new version is installed, you will also receive the usual performance and security updates to go along with these two major features. Note that Mozilla is promising a major update in Firefox 57, to be released November 14, which will bring the new Photon UI to the second-place browser.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
Nvidia may keep producing one RTX 40 GPU, and it’s not the one we want
The Alienware m16 R2 on a white desk.

The last few weeks brought us a slew of rumors about Nvidia potentially sunsetting most of the RTX 40-series graphics cards. However, a new update reveals that one GPU might remain in production long after other GPUs are no longer being produced. Unfortunately, it's a GPU that would struggle to rank among Nvidia's best graphics cards. I'm talking about the RTX 4050 -- a card that only appears in laptops.

The scoop comes from a leaker on Weibo and was first spotted by Wccftech. The leaker states that the RTX 4050 is "the only 40-series laptop GPU that Nvidia will continue to supply" after the highly anticipated launch of the RTX 50-series. Unsurprisingly, the tipster also reveals that the fact that both the RTX 4050 and the RTX 5050 will be readily available at the same time will also impact the pricing of the next-gen card.

Read more
Valve adds DLSS 3 to SteamOS backend, but don’t expect an Nvidia Steam Deck
Ghost of Tsushima running on the Steam Deck.

Valve has made a significant update to its Proton compatibility layer, which is the basis of the Linux-based SteamOS operating system on the Steam Deck. The update brings several improvements and bug fixes, but it also adds support for Nvidia's coveted DLSS 3 Frame Generation.

The update for Proton Experimental rolled out on November 12, and it was spotted by Wccftech. Proton is the bedrock for gaming on Linux, and up to this point, Nvidia users haven't had access to some of the best features of Team Green's latest graphics cards on Linux. The latest update not only supports DLSS 3 Frame Generation, but also Nvidia's Optical Flow API. Optical Flow is critical for DLSS 3 Frame Generation, though the dedicated hardware for the feature has been around since Nvidia's Turing GPUs.

Read more
This $3,390 Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is only $1,690 today
Engineer, wearing a hard hat, works on the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s as another engineer works in the background.

The Lenovo ThinkPad is one of the best workplace laptops money can buy, and has been for many years. From one generation to the next, Lenovo continues to bring improvements and new features to its longstanding ThinkPad lineup. When new ThinkPad models are released, older units tend to go on sale, and every once in a while, you’ll catch an exciting doorbuster discount on some premium hardware. That leads us to this offer:

Right now, when you purchase the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s through the manufacturer, you’ll pay $1,690. Usually, this model retails for as much as $3,390.

Read more