Wondering what sort of nifty new features the Firefox web browser will get in future updates?
Well, wonder no more as Mozilla has shared a roadmap outlining its near-term priorities on new features, performance, compatibility, and general enhancements, some of which are already available for early-bird testing it the browser’s preview channels.
So be excited, be-be excited because a flurry of new features are mentioned in the roadmap, including long-awaited vertical tabs, new tab grouping options, and more personalisation options (like those new tab wallpapers I mentioned a few weeks back).
Mozilla also talks about how it plans to approach infusing the browser with AI-powered gubbins.
Sure to please the impatient, several of these new features are under active development, and can be manually enabled in beta and nightly builds by modifying about:configvalues (but strictly for development tracking as they’re WIP, incomplete, etc).
So what’s cooking exactly?
Productivity buffs Mozilla’s got in the oven include:
- Tab grouping options
- Vertical tab layout
- New profile management system
Appetising visual garnish on the way includes:
- New tab wallpapers
- Simpler privacy settings
- Streamlined menus
When it comes to adding AI features to Firefox Mozilla says it wants to only include features which “solve tangible problems”. For a first step it’s adding AI-generated alt-text for images users add to their documents using the browser’s PDF editor.
Reassuringly Mozilla also notes it’s looking to use local on-device AI models where possible in order to preserve privacy, much like it does with its language translation feature.
Hopefully this means the browser doesn’t start adding annoying “Hey, it looks like you’re writing a product review based on subjective experience! Would you like AI to write an enthusiastic snippet device of substances for you?” nags!
But beyond UI, UX, and AI the most important element of a browser experience is… how well it handles the web. To this Mozilla says its continuing to enhance the “speed, performance, and compatibility” of Firefox on all platforms, including mobile.
“We’ve already improved responsiveness by 20 percent as measured by Speedometer 3, a collaboration we’ve spearheaded with other leading tech companies,” community manager ‘Jon’ (no surname; maybe he’s the Madonna of Mozilla) says.
“And in that collaborative spirit, we’re also working with the Interop project to make it easy for people to build sites that work great across all browsers.”
In all, exciting stuff.
Firefox may not be perfect and, to some, may not be the fastest, flashiest, or most featured web browser. But it remains arguably a vitally important one: a bulwark against a Chromium monoculture.
Mozilla encourages folks to get involved in shaping the future direction, be it via their Connect ideas platform, through discussions on Mozilla Discourse forum, or by joining in an upcoming AMA it’s hosting on Reddit (date TBC).