Firefox for Metro release slips into next year

Progress has slowed on the project to port Firefox to Windows 8's "Metro" environment, resulting in the last major browser to support Windows 8's dual nature being delayed into 2014.

As detailed in the Mozilla meeting notes from last week, an initial public release of Firefox for Metro is now expected to happen on January 21, 2014.

Mozilla had previously stated that it would deliver the first public release when Firefox 26 is slated to appear on December 10.

Firefox for Metro is still expected to appear as a preview in Firefox's Aurora channel this week.

Whether Firefox for Metro makes a swift move from Aurora into Firefox's Beta and Release channels is still in the air.

"At a minimum, it should significantly increase the number of testers and feedback," the notes said.

It's been a tough slog for the project, which was first announced in March last year. The original target release for the project was Firefox 14; the January 21 release next year will be Firefox 27.

The next update on the project's development expected in this week's Firefox Planning meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.