In a move to focus more on future developments and more important technologies like the Mozilla browser, Mozilla has officially brought an end to its beloved Firefox OS. This only means that Mozilla will no longer be manufacturing and producing anymore Firefox OS powered smartphones.
We have seen plenty of companies looking out to counter Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android OS, for example Nokia’s good old Symbian OS, Samsung’s own Bada OS, Microsoft Windows OS, but none come close enough in terms of popularity and brand value.
There were talks of Mozilla launching a $50 Firefox OS smartphone in India, however the news did not materialize and we saw the launch of Firefox OS smartphones from local players. The first ever Firefox OS smartphone launched in India was way back in 2013 and then successively Spice and Alcatel joined the party.
But all the Firefox OS based phones met with big failures. They were not able to garner any buyers…
The operating system did not enjoy much popularity in the country and worldwide because there was nothing special that could set it apart from the rest. Although the OS had everything in a high-cost branded smartphones these days, but then why not use something you have been used to for so long?
Firefox OS could not disrupt the market, leading to low sales and finally Mozilla deciding to call off the project.
Senior Vice President of Mozilla Foundation’s Connected Devices, Mr. Ari Jaaksi, stated in Mozilla’s blog, “Everything is connected around us. This revolution has already started and it will be bigger than previous technology revolutions, including the mobile smartphone revolution. Internet of Things, as many call it today, will fundamentally affect all of us. We will prototype this future starting right now using technologies developed as part of the Firefox OS project to give us a kick start.”.
Mozilla plans to take it forward from home and learn from the failures, which is commendable for a company this big.
They are going to utilize all the knowledge and learning from the project and build something even bigger in this era of internet. Jaaksi also mentioned, “We will focus on products and technologies that allow people to access and manage their world of connected devices, helping to ensure people are empowered, safe and independent.”
Although Mozilla has not mentioned the future project explicitly, we should be hearing about them pretty soon. 2016 shall be the year of more customizable smartphones, and maybe if Mozilla focuses on getting it right, they might come back with a big bang.
We feel Mozilla is working on integrating the internet with smartphones, which is something we have already seen but not on a very large scale. We hope to hear some good news from Mozilla soon!
The whole point of Firefox OS was to make sure everyone had access to a phone, regardless of cost. If the market is flooded with cheap Androids that had to compete with Firefox OS initially, then Mozilla has still accomplished its purpose.
By re-focusing on a few select markets, it is good systematic shift for Mozilla.