iPad Why won’t IOS Firefox browser let me close tabs from the tab bar?

[dockgaze]

I like IOS Firefox on my iPad Air4 with MKB, it’s even synced to my M1 mini desktop Firefox. BUT I DON’T USE IT because closing individual tabs from the tab bar only works sporadically, whether I’m on trackpad or direct to screen touch. I keep waiting for Firefox to fix this BUT THEY NEVER DO. Is it me - am I missing some secret step??? (shouldn’t be that hard or an issue, it is 2022 you know). I can go to the tabs page I know, but it’s not like that on any other browser.

 

[sparksd]

No secret step - that's just their chosen implementation on the iPad.

 

[bondr006]

I tried both Firefox and Chrome and don't care for either of them on iOS. I used FF for 7 years and then switched to Chrome for 4 years on my laptop, and now I use Safari on all my devices and much happier. Safari just works. You can transfer everything over from FF to Safari. I even have all my favorite add-ons/extensions in Safari that I was used to in FF and Chrome. Do yourself a favor and switch to Safari. There is a reason FF is loosing so many users and market share.

46 million people have left Firefox since 2018

That figure comes from Firefox's own Public Data Report and is highlighted in a Reddit thread by u/nixcraft (via itsfoss). It reveals that the browser had 244...

www.techspot.com

Firefox is bleeding users — 46 million lost in three years

We live in a Chromium world now

www.tomsguide.com

 

[sparksd]

I tried both Firefox and Chrome and hated them both on iOS. I used FF for 7 years and then switched to Chrome for 4 years, and now I use Safari on all my devices and much happier. Safari just works. You can transfer everything over from FF to Safari. I even have all my favorite add-ons in Safari that I was used to in FF and Chrome. Do yourself a favor and switch to Safari. There is a reason FF is loosing so many users and market share.

46 million people have left Firefox since 2018

That figure comes from Firefox's own Public Data Report and is highlighted in a Reddit thread by u/nixcraft (via itsfoss). It reveals that the browser had 244...

www.techspot.com

Firefox is bleeding users — 46 million lost in three years

We live in a Chromium world now

www.tomsguide.com

I use Safari on my iPads & phone and Edge on my Windows devices (no Macs here). I like Safari primarily for the Favorites bar.

 

[bondr006]

I use Safari on my iPads & phone and Edge on my Windows devices (no Macs here). I like Safari primarily for the Favorites bar.

Yeah, I still use Chrome on my Windows machines, but Safari on all my Apple devices. I wish Apple would make Safari for Windows. They used to but didn't have enough market share to justify keeping it in development.

 

[Fravin]

Yeah, I still use Chrome on my Windows machines, but Safari on all my Apple devices. I wish Apple would make Safari for Windows. It used to but didn't have enough market share to justify keeping it in development.

You should stop using Chrome. In Windows I like to use Edge. It’s not perfect and fluid as Safari but it’s not that bad.

 

[MBAir2010]

the culprit is those 3 dots on top were only Safari works properly on the iPad ios15
chalk one up for Tim Cooks!

 

[trenzterra]

It works fine for me on Firefox.

In general, most other browsers for iPad are crap because they don't let you adjust the text scaling and as a result the font size is comically large. Only Safari and Firefox (even then, only accessible through a keyboard shortcut) allows you to do so.

 

[dockgaze]

No secret step - that's just their chosen implementation on the iPad.

Well that’s just a damn shame. Beyond me how that’s a ‘chosen implementation’ . . . especially while providing an ‘X’ on each tab on the tab bar, which is just there for decoration?? I do like Safari and will be making the complete switch. Occasionally I do like the feature rich iCab too.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I use Safari across all my devices, mac too. But I use Firefox on the mac to browse my email and all my various work related sites as I need to do lots of photo uploading and an awful lot of implementations only really reliably work on Firefox (or Chrome but **** that).

 

[bondr006]

You should stop using Chrome. In Windows I like to use Edge. It’s not perfect and fluid as Safari but it’s not that bad.

Edge and Chrome are both built on the Chromium open-source browser using the Blink rendering engine. They even use the same add-ons and extensions.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Edge and Chrome are both built on the Chromium open-source browser using the Blink rendering engine. They even use the same add-ons and extensions.

And the same terrible data gathering telemetry. If one needs Chromium one should choose a through and through open source version such as Brave.

 

[sparksd]

Well that’s just a damn shame. Beyond me how that’s a ‘chosen implementation’ . . . especially while providing an ‘X’ on each tab on the tab bar, which is just there for decoration?? I do like Safari and will be making the complete switch. Occasionally I do like the feature rich iCab too.

So the tabs aren't closing when you hit the "X"? I'm not seeing that on either 2021 12.9 or Mini 6 - I tap the "X" and the tab closes, no issues. Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app?

 

[bondr006]

Yeah, I still use Chrome on my Windows machines, but Safari on all my Apple devices. I wish Apple would make Safari for Windows. They used to but didn't have enough market share to justify keeping it in development.

You should stop using Chrome. In Windows I like to use Edge. It’s not perfect and fluid as Safari but it’s not that bad.

Edge and Chrome are both built on the Chromium open-source browser using the Blink rendering engine. They even use the same add-ons and extensions.

And the same terrible data gathering telemetry. If one needs Chromium one should choose a through and through open source version such as Brave.

Yeah, I definitely don't like Chrome or Edge. I was just responding to @Fravin as I don't see the advantage of switching from Chrome to Edge on my Windows machines when they are essentially the same browser. My ideal browser is Safari, which I wish Apple would start developing for Windows again. I personally like everything about Safari and would love if it was cross platform like iTunes. It would definitely be ideal for synching purposes on all my computers.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I didn't say I like Chrome or Edge

I realised, that's why I said 'one' rather than 'you'. I was agreeing with you but also mentioning the flaws of Google and Micorosft's bastardisation of open source Chromium for other readers.

 

[bondr006]

I realised, that's why I said 'one' rather than 'you'. I was agreeing with you but also mentioning the flaws of Google and Micorosft's bastardisation of open source Chromium for other readers.

I love being in agreement with other knowledgeable forum members. Thank you for your input.

I apologize for appearing disagreeable.

I am just so disillusioned with internet browsers for Windows it makes me want to spit. After using Safari on all my Apple devices, it is hard to be happy with something lesser. I would be a very happy if Apple would decide to start developing Safari for windows again. I cannot think of one thing I do not like about Safari. It just works so smoothly between all my Apple devices.

 

[bondr006]

Just to be clear why I don't like FF or Chrome....It is not because they don't have the features and tools I like, it is because having too many tabs open can bring a machine with a Quad Core 9th gen i7, 16gb ddr4 ram, and an 1tb Samsung 860 EVO ssd to its knees. And the longer you have all the tabs open while using the browser, the more memory its sucks. You can open up the Task Manager and actually watch the memory drain grow higher and higher. It is even worse on my lesser machines. I hate that. I wish I could find a Windows browser that let's me use the add-ons and extensions that I am used to with several tabs open, and not suck so much memory.

 

[sparksd]

Just to be clear why I don't like FF or Chrome....It is not because they don't have the features and tools I like, it is because having too many tabs open can bring a machine with a Quad Core 9th gen i7, 16gb ddr4 ram, and an 1tb Samsung 860 EVO ssd to its knees. And the longer you have all the tabs open while using the browser, the more memory its sucks. You can open up the Task Manager and actually watch the memory drain grow higher and higher. It is even worse on my lesser machines. I hate that. I wish I could find a Windows browser that let's me use the add-ons and extensions that I am used to with several tabs open, and not suck so much memory.

That's why I switched from Chrome to Edge - Edge seems less of a resource hog but they are all pretty bad.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Safari is where I do the bulk of my broswing and all devices have loads of tabs and it's always fine. I keep Firefox for work so it really just has about 10 pinned tabs and a few 'working' open tabs - limited like this it stays under control. I use tor if I need privacy, medical information etc, and I use Brave plus Mullvad VPN if I want to torrent or stream from unofficial places.

 

[dockgaze]

So the tabs aren't closing when you hit the "X"? I'm not seeing that on either 2021 12.9 or Mini 6 - I tap the "X" and the tab closes, no issues. Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app?

Yup. Just tried reinstalling again. Syncs up fine. Same non reactive behavior on tabs . . . . no exit/deletion of tab on hitting the ‘X’. Adios ios FF I guess.

 

[BhaveshUK]

Not fully on topic, but slightly on topic given we’re talking about Firefox and other browsers on iPad.

From my understanding, all browsers on iPad have to use Safari WebKit rendering because of Apples artificial limitations. This is one area I heavily criticise Apple for — my belief is Firefox, Chrome, and Edge on iOS devices would be far different than their current iterations if they had the freedom to be. My perspective is they’re being intentionally limited by Apple so people who only use Apple devices will naturally use Safari on every device for a unified, “superior” experience.

 

[cupcakes2000]

Not fully on topic, but slightly on topic given we’re talking about Firefox and other browsers on iPad.

From my understanding, all browsers on iPad have to use Safari WebKit rendering because of Apples artificial limitations. This is one area I heavily criticise Apple for — my belief is Firefox, Chrome, and Edge on iOS devices would be far different than their current iterations if they had the freedom to be. My perspective is they’re being intentionally limited by Apple so people who only use Apple devices will naturally use Safari on every device for a unified, “superior” experience.

Perhaps. But if they all use the same engine, there should be no reason why Safari is better.

 

[trenzterra]

Yep they all use webkit although it's incredibly frustrating that nearly every other browser doesn't allow you to adjust text scaling.

I'm forced to use Edge from time to time to access company resources and hate it that I can't zoom out.

 

[BhaveshUK]

Perhaps. But if they all use the same engine, there should be no reason why Safari is better.

Yes and no.

I agree with you that theoretically there’s no reason Safari should be any better on iPad if every browser uses the same rendering engine. And I think that’s the defence Apple have been happily able to hide behind to justify the decision. Yet, I still think ultimately the consumer is losing the most, and that’s why I take issue with the artificial limitations.

Let me use a strange analogy. You are the head of a car manufacturer. You are able to design the outside of the car how you wish, and you can also add a few bells-and-whistles to furnish the interior. But you are not allowed to have any choice in how the actual internals function, such as the engine. In fact, no car manufacturer is given that right. Every car in the world functions the exact same. I know it sounds a bizarre situation I’ve just created, but it’s the situation that is happening on a small scale with iOS and the web browser situation. Let’s see how both businesses and consumers lose.

• As a business, I cannot create the product I want, nor can I provide the customer experience I want for my customers. I’m a business owner myself. Every day I’m thinking how I can provide my clients with the best experience, and if I was forcibly unable to do that, I’d feel incredibly disheartened. Being forcibly restricted would mean I could not provide my best product or experience to clients. This is a reality that app developers are facing every day.

• And as a consumer, my experience is worse because I lack choice. I actually had this problem just the other day. I had to fill in a travel visa online form, but the form would not load correctly on iPad. I could not solve this issue on iPad by downloading a competitor browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, because they are being forced by Apple to provide the same rendering experience as Safari. Instead, I was forced to go to my Mac where Apple have been unsuccessful in imposing the same iOS restrictions due to the Macs legacy. I was able to download and open Chrome which displayed the online form correctly. On iPad, I as a consumer was being limited by the restrictions Apple have placed on other browsers to avoid competitors providing a better experience than they are able or choose to provide.

 

[dockgaze]

Yes and no.

I agree with you that theoretically there’s no reason Safari should be any better on iPad if every browser uses the same rendering engine. And I think that’s the defence Apple have been happily able to hide behind to justify the decision. Yet, I still think ultimately the consumer is losing the most, and that’s why I take issue with the artificial limitations.

Let me use a strange analogy. You are the head of a car manufacturer. You are able to design the outside of the car how you wish, and you can also add a few bells-and-whistles to furnish the interior. But you are not allowed to have any choice in how the actual internals function, such as the engine. In fact, no car manufacturer is given that right. Every car in the world functions the exact same. I know it sounds a bizarre situation I’ve just created, but it’s the situation that is happening on a small scale with iOS and the web browser situation. Let’s see how both businesses and consumers lose.

• As a business, I cannot create the product I want, nor can I provide the customer experience I want for my customers. I’m a business owner myself. Every day I’m thinking how I can provide my clients with the best experience, and if I was forcibly unable to do that, I’d feel incredibly disheartened. Being forcibly restricted would mean I could not provide my best product or experience to clients. This is a reality that app developers are facing every day.

• And as a consumer, my experience is worse because I lack choice. I actually had this problem just the other day. I had to fill in a travel visa online form, but the form would not load correctly on iPad. I could not solve this issue on iPad by downloading a competitor browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, because they are being forced by Apple to provide the same rendering experience as Safari. Instead, I was forced to go to my Mac where Apple have been unsuccessful in imposing the same iOS restrictions due to the Macs legacy. I was able to download and open Chrome which displayed the online form correctly. On iPad, I as a consumer was being limited by the restrictions Apple have placed on other browsers to avoid competitors providing a better experience than they are able or choose to provide.

That’s all fine and good, yes (you’re comparing mac to ios) . . . . but it still doesn’t explain why tabs don’t close when clicking the ‘X’ on the ios FF tab bar. To use your analogy, it’s not because of the engine “limitations” - it’s a bells/whistles and outside (the engine) function that other ios based browsers don’t have a problem with.