The preview represents a "what if" moment. Its tab thumbnails, full-screen navigation, and charm integration show how desktop browsers tried to adapt to touch. Comparing it to Chrome’s Metro mode reveals different philosophies (Mozilla kept the Awesome Bar, Chrome pushed web apps).
The final builds (version 30 Aurora) removed the Metro option. Users who had the preview installed were migrated back to desktop Firefox automatically.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to finding and downloading the (the touch-optimized version for Windows 8/8.1). firefox metro preview download
Mozilla released the first public preview on . By early 2014, they had pushed builds into the Aurora channel (version 29). Firefox Aurora users could enable a flag to “Launch Firefox in Windows 8 Metro mode.”
However, there was a catch. Browsers like Chrome and standard Firefox ran on the "Desktop" side of the OS. To use them, users had to switch out of the sleek, new Metro interface and revert to the classic Windows desktop. It was a jarring experience. The preview represents a "what if" moment
This article was last updated in May 2026. Information about Windows 8 APIs and Mozilla FTP archives is subject to continued deprecation.
Mozilla officially ended development of the Metro version of Firefox in March 2014, citing low adoption rates [1, 2]. The final builds (version 30 Aurora) removed the
The Firefox Metro Preview was not merely a theme; it was a reimagining of the browser for touch-first devices. It was a hybrid application designed to bridge the gap between the old world and the new.