1821701 - Homepage favicons improvements

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Fenix :: Homepage, enhancement, P2)

Description

[Joe M [:jmahon]]

"Less janky homepage" - favicons improvements:

originally requested here.

• Sometimes, favicons and images that were present before are missing and then get reloaded or images are replaced by similar but different images.
• Generic favicons - often mostly the same color and sometimes the letter doesn’t match the title. Sometimes used when a favicon exists.
• Should also look into the color selection algorithm to make sure we're spreading colors out evenly across placeholder icons, rather than 'randomly' (meaning: would be nice to avoid duplicating colors)

(JM note: it's possible we're misunderstanding what populates the 'letter' placeholder - e.g., is it the domain URL or the page title? Please confirm expectations before trying to change that one.)

Comment 1

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

Tasks should have Severity N/A.

Comment 2

[twhite]

I'm unable to reproduce any 'janky' fav icon behaviour with the Compose Top Sites. The main offender appears to be 'Jump back in' card image, which is being worked on here. Noticed the pocket Stories can sometimes take a moment to load too, but I'm unsure exactly which fav icons this bug pertains too, if UX could provide more context to this it'd be appreciated, thanks!

Comment 3

[twhite]

Joe is this describing a similar/or same problem as this meta bug https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1842103?

Comment 4

[Joe M [:jmahon]]

Hmm it looks like there's a variety of things that are interwoven here, yeah, but I hesitate to say that it's fully duplicate. I'll index this under that meta, as well just for safekeeping.

In terms of reproduction, Verdi would be the person to double check any of this with, he has a better understanding of the original issues that were reported and captured here.

Comment 5

[Verdi [:verdi] Best to slack me]

Attachment: Screenshot_20230907-164613_Firefox Nightly.jpg

In terms of reproduction, Verdi would be the person to double check any of this with, >he has a better understanding of the original issues that were reported and captured >here.

I'm not sure about the missing or changing favicons - haven't noticed this lately. But here's a screenshot from today of 6 generic favicons with 4 of them being nearly identical green.

Comment 6

[twhite]

:verdi thanks the the update. I believe this issue should now be fixed as part of https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1848605. I am not able to reproduce the icon state you have in the screenshot, could you please check if you still see the placeholder favicons please?

Comment 7

[Mark]

I still have placeholder icons for some sites. I tried removing and replacing the shortcuts, it didn't help. When I launch Fenix, reuters.com/world and telegraph.co.uk always lose their favicons. Today's Nightly, Compose Top Sites is enabled.

Comment 8

[Mark]

Attachment: Screenshot_20231009_143352_Firefox Nightly.jpg

Comment 9

[twhite]

Thank you for the update :Mark. I can now reproduce this particular issue on Nightly by closing and re-opening a couple of times.
Update: The issue is actually closing the related tab

Comment 10

[BMO Github Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1821701 - Updated IconDiskCache to use consistent keys for storing and retrieving values (#4058)

Comment 11

[twhite]

I believe the main cause of the 'template' favicons is due to the TippyToppy defined image_urls referencing SVG files which cannot be decoded by AndroidImageDecoder

Comment 12

[BMO Github Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] WIP Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons. (#4166)

Comment 13

[Verdi [:verdi] Best to slack me]

Attachment: Screenshot Firefox Nightly.jpg

This is Nightly 121.0a1 (Build 2015982114) with compose top sites and compose tab tray turned on.

I've got 4 pink icons for 2 different urls. The screenshot in Jump Back In is for the Vox tab but the name and URL is for the support article.

Comment 14

[BMO Github Automation]

Authored by https://github.com/t-p-white
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/commit/9d916549240b3361bea5e395d054880f824b7abd
[main] Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons.

Comment 15

[twhite]

This ticket partially fixes:

Sometimes, favicons and images that were present before are missing and then get reloaded or images are replaced by similar but different images.

As there are a number of issues still at play here, I've broken this issue out to the following issues:

I've got 4 pink icons for 2 different urls.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1863717

The screenshot in Jump Back In is for the Vox tab but the name and URL is for the support article.

I believe this is covered by https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1844750

Should also look into the color selection algorithm to make sure we're spreading colors out evenly across placeholder icons, rather than 'randomly' (meaning: would be nice to avoid duplicating colors)

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1863720

Comment 16

[Mira Lobontiu (Android QA)]

Attachment: 1821701.png

Verified on the latest Fenix Nightly 121.0a1 from 11/10 with Google Pixel 6 (Android 14), and Oppo Find N2 Flip (Android 13).
The top sites & shortcuts icons are displayed with different colors, and are displayed centered. The favicons and images that were present before are displayed, and aren't
replaced by similar images.

Comment 17

[twhite]

Nominating this as a potential patch to uplift to 120. :jmahon wdyt?

Comment 18

[Joe M [:jmahon]]

Thanks so much for digging through this and separating it out into different pieces, Tom.

Just to make sure I understand correctly:

• FIXED - disappearing/inconsistent favicons - this bug
• To Do - duplicate placeholder colors - Bug 1863720
• To Do - "Jump back in" and "Recently loaded" images are empty or incorrect - Bug 1844750
• To Do - Favicon 'letter' placeholder is wonky - Bug 1863717

Is that accurate? If so, sure, this can be uplifted. I just want make sure it's clear what we're actually fixing with this uplift.

Comment 19

[twhite]

No probs, thanks!

Yes, your summary above is accurate 👌

Comment 20

[BMO Github Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons. (backport #4166) (#4469)

Comment 21

[twhite]

Comment on attachment 9363461 [details] [review]
[mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons. (backport #4166) (#4469)

Beta/Release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: Some Homepage icons may appear buggy e.g. appear and disappear
• Is this code covered by automated tests?: No
• Has the fix been verified in Nightly?: Yes
• Needs manual test from QE?: No
• If yes, steps to reproduce:
• List of other uplifts needed: None
• Risk to taking this patch: Low
• Why is the change risky/not risky? (and alternatives if risky): Verified in Nightly, uses a robust third party library for the heavy work
• String changes made/needed:
• Is Android affected?: No

Comment 22

[Dianna Smith [:diannaS]]

Comment on attachment 9363461 [details] [review]
[mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons. (backport #4166) (#4469)

We are out of betas, but can consider this for an RC Mobile respin or a 120 dot release.

Comment 23

[Dianna Smith [:diannaS]]

Comment on attachment 9363461 [details] [review]
[mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons. (backport #4166) (#4469)

Approved for Mobile 120.0rc2

Comment 24

[BMO Github Automation]

Authored by https://github.com/t-p-white
https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-android/commit/23cab565faa5c778fb39236c1e273d9230e3634f
[releases_v120] Bug 1821701 - Added SVG decoding for favicons.

Comment 25

[Adina Petridean QA [:apetridean]]

Attachment: top.JPEG

Comment 26

[Adina Petridean QA [:apetridean]]

Verified on Firefox 120.0.RC2 with Samsung Galaxy A32 (Android 12), and Motorola 9 Plus (Android 11).
The top sites & shortcuts icons are displayed with different colors, centered. The favicons and images that were present before are still displayed, and aren't replaced by similar images.