It’s been a big year for Firefox, which Mozilla hopes to turn around with major quality and security fixes and a new approach to AI. But no update has been more eagerly awaited, perhaps, than the modern new user experience, codenamed Nova, that’s finally rolling out today in Firefox 157.
“When we first shared our plans to design Firefox for the future, we said we wanted Firefox to feel ‘current, but not generic. Warm, but still precise’,” Mozilla writes in the announcement post. “That design ethos now carries across all of Firefox. We’ve refreshed the colors, icons, and themes throughout the browser, from the tabs and toolbars you use every day to your New Tab page, Private Browsing experience and more, with no cost to your browser performance.”
The new Firefox design is now available in the desktop and mobile versions of the web browser. In addition to the fresh new look, key changes include:
Compact mode. Mozilla has brought back Firefox’s compact mode so you can reduce the size of user interfaces like tabs and toolbars and give more screen space to the webpages you’re viewing. There’s also an auto-compact option for smaller screens, and Firefox still supports its standard and touch-based modes.
Theme picker. The new Theme provides a cleaner interface with several new built-in themes, saved and recommended themes, and a selection of wallpaper designs.
New Tab. Mozilla has expanded the customization features in the Firefox New Tab page, including the ability to pin and organize shortcuts.
You can download and install Firefox from the Mozilla website.