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Why doesn't Firefox for Android support 32/24-bit colour? When will it be enabled? Why isn't it an option?

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Can anybody explain why this isn't an option? 16-bit colour has massive amounts of banding and it would very nice if there was at least an option to toggle between 16-bit and 24/32-bit colour.

Can anybody explain why this isn't an option? 16-bit colour has massive amounts of banding and it would very nice if there was at least an option to toggle between 16-bit and 24/32-bit colour.

All Replies (3)

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There are future plans, just not at the moment. Our graphics developers are well aware of the issue.

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As for the reason. The number of computations you need to do to draw to the screen increases and the amount of memory used to store the drawables. Lets make a simple assumption and Firefox only needs to

For a Nexus 4

  • 1280 x 768 = 983040 pixels
  • 983040 pixels * 16 bit ~= 1.966 MB
  • 983040 pixels * 32 bit ~= 3.9320 MB

Now this does not sound like much on a Nexus 4. However Firefox for Android supports phones running Android 2.2. The important thing to understand is that doubling the bit depth squares the memory requirements and calculations. This puts quite a strain on the oldest hardware we run on.

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If that's the case make an optional toggle so I can turn it on a fast device such as my HTC One X and turn it off on slower devices.

Frankly put all the browsers I've tried use 32/24 bit colour whereas firefox is the only browser that I've tired that dosen't use the higher bit depth so at the moment I'm forced to use dolphin and so are many others who ask me for browser recommendations. I would prefer to use firefox but I can't at the moment until this is changed. I'm not the only one either.

Anyways keep up the good work mates!