842911 - mini-app mode button on Samsung tablet can block content

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox for Android Graveyard :: General, defect)

Description

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

Attachment: Screenshot of the issue

The mini app mode button appears on top of content and the keyboard on a Samsung tablet.

Comment 1

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

Attachment: screen shot of the issue

Comment 2

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Isn't this "mini app mode button" part of the OS? We do not have any code to show a button ourselves. We only enable it. Why is the OS being stupid? Does the button show for other "multi-window" apps?

Comment 3

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

No idea. I filed this based off forum feedback.

Comment 4

[Andrew Truong [:feer56] [:andrewtruong] [:atruong]]

If we enable it,  can't we disable it?  Or did I read wrong?  By 'us' is that the user or the developer?

Comment 5

[Brad Lassey [:blassey] (use needinfo?)]

(In reply to Feer56 (Andrew T.) from comment #4)
> If we enable it,  can't we disable it?  Or did I read wrong?  By 'us' is
> that the user or the developer?

by "we enable it" mark means that we support the mini app mode that samsung introduced.

Comment 6

[Karen Rudnitski [:kar]]

Let's remove this capability for now (since it's not a good UI) and fix this when there is time to fix it (this shouldn't take priority over other higher priority items).

Comment 7

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Wes - Let's get a backout patch and try to push up to Fx20 (beta)

Comment 8

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Attachment: patch

Straight backout of bug 810415

Comment 9

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Comment on attachment 726415 [details] [diff] [review]
patch

[Approval Request Comment]
Bug caused by (feature/regressing bug #): bug 810415
User impact if declined: floating button on many samsung devices
Testing completed (on m-c, etc.): none
Risk to taking this patch (and alternatives if risky): low, but i have no device to test
String or UUID changes made by this patch: none

Comment 10

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Landed on inbound
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/mozilla-inbound/rev/28db68d1a57a

But the trees closed before I could get aurora and beta landed

Comment 11

[Wesley Johnston (:wesj)]

I really think we should leave this in. I haven't heard anything from users of these devices leading me to think this is just expected behaviour on these devices (QA hasnt answered our questions with regard to this). Given usage patterns on mobile are very transient for browsers this button seems like a fine expected tradeoff to me. Users that don't want multiapp mode can turn it off (can they?)

Comment 12

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

(In reply to Wesley Johnston (:wesj) from comment #11)
> I really think we should leave this in. I haven't heard anything from users
> of these devices leading me to think this is just expected behaviour on
> these devices (QA hasnt answered our questions with regard to this). Given
> usage patterns on mobile are very transient for browsers this button seems
> like a fine expected tradeoff to me. Users that don't want multiapp mode can
> turn it off (can they?)

I think we should flip this statement around: Until we have more feedback from users and can test this ourselves on more devices, we should back it out. I don't like _not_ knowing what's happening.

Comment 13

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Trees open:
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-aurora/rev/6bb3f6a2f16d
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/204090d0c0fc

Comment 14

[Phil Ringnalda (:philor)]

Backed out the inbound landing for breaking every Android 2.2 test, timeouts for non-talos, failed to initialize for talos, in https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/mozilla-inbound/rev/4673849a821e

Comment 15

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

In a bad unbitrot, I removed two too many dimens.xml values

https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/mozilla-inbound/rev/b036536b0252

And landed fixed on beta and aurora
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-aurora/rev/1650a28daf4a
https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/70d3419ad39e

Comment 16

[Aaron Train [:aaronmt]]

> I really think we should leave this in. 

Same here, I use it fine without issue on my Galaxy Note II (Android 4.1)

> QA hasnt answered our questions with regard to this). 

Which?

> Users that don't want multiapp mode can turn it off (can they?)

Yes, you can make any capable application use it or not. Opera/Chrome both support it.

Comment 17

[Ryan VanderMeulen [:RyanVM]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/b036536b0252

Comment 18

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

User reported a constantly icon on a Galaxy Note 10.1

Comment 19

[Aaron Train [:aaronmt]]

Users noticing that it worked fine for them on Beta and now removed and complaining in bug 854040.

Comment 20

[Wesley Johnston (:wesj)]

(In reply to Aaron Train [:aaronmt] from comment #16)
> Which?
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=842911#c2

Namely, I want to know if this is expected behavior. Can you go into settings and turn it on/off (i.e. its the users decision to have the button there and there's a relatively easy workaround if they don't want it). It sounds like from your comment that they can? If so, it sounds like the reporter just accidentally turned it on and doesn't know how to turn it off (maybe on is default?)?

Its pretty hard to find much info on this, and the info I have found suggests that we have basically zero control over it beyond what we've done (enabling it). But I think not having it on basically makes us looked gimped compared to our competitors on a set of phones that are the largest selling and growing phones on the market.

Comment 21

[Aaron Train [:aaronmt]]

So here is how it works on my Samsung Galaxy Note II (Android 4.1.2), provided I don't see this floating multi-window icon at all.

* In any application including the home-screen one may tap and hold on the device back to reveal this little blue tab panel with pre-set compatible applications (scrollable) and an edit button:  http://people.mozilla.com/~atrain/mobile/screenshots/mw/1.png, hitting the edit button lets you add additional applications http://people.mozilla.com/~atrain/mobile/screenshots/mw/2.png  

* Dragging a full-screen application http://people.mozilla.com/~atrain/mobile/screenshots/mw/3.png such in the case, Twitter over Chrome will make Twitter present and full-screen

* http://people.mozilla.com/~atrain/mobile/screenshots/mw/4.png Maps supports multi-window, so I can drag video into the area and create a multi-window http://people.mozilla.com/~atrain/mobile/screenshots/mw/5.png

This is all the capability I see on my Samsung Galaxy Note II, there are no other options or settings other then to disable Multi window completely in Android -> Display -> Multi-window checkbox.

This worked fine in Firefox when it was in there.

One complaint of it missing so far: http://goo.gl/lP6id

Comment 22

[Aaron Train [:aaronmt]]

Another voice http://goo.gl/utVHB

Comment 23

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Can anyone reproduce the original issue? On a Galaxy Note 10.1 ?

Comment 24

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

We don't have one.

Comment 26

[Alain Knaff]

(In reply to Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?) from comment #23)
> Can anyone reproduce the original issue? On a Galaxy Note 10.1 ?

Problem *still* exists on Galaxy Note 10.1, i.e. annoying multi-window button covers keys of soft-keyboard, making them inaccessible/unusable.