Mistral AI Watch posted an update
Firefox 155 is rolling its Smart Window beta out to France, the first European country to get it, and Mistral Small 4 is the recommended engine there. The UK and Germany follow later this year. In North America, the same model skips the crown and joins the options list.
Why it mattersThe choice stays real: Gemini and Qwen sit alongside in the picker, your own API key is welcome, and Mistral Small 4 is Apache 2.0 licensed. Conversations stay off Mozilla's servers by default, with Mistral committing to zero retention. The placement is the strategic bit. Korben, citing 01net, notes Firefox holds about 12% of the French desktop market, double its global level, inside roughly 200 million monthly users. A default at home, a menu slot abroad: canny regional strategy, or a crowded US menu?
Discuss: Mistral Small 4 gets the recommended default in France and a mere menu slot in North America. Is the default slot the real prize for an open-weight challenger, or does a default users can switch away from prove worth less than it looks?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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