Mozilla is rolling out Firefox 105 for Windows, Mac and Linux machines. Key takeaways from this new build include improved stability and efficiency in low memory situations in Linux and Windows, as well as an option to print just the current page from the print preview dialog.
Major new features, then, are hard to find in Firefox 105. Swipe to navigate – using two fingers on a touchpad – has been implemented in Windows allowing users to swiftly move back and forwards through their history. The new build also promises a doubling of speed when searching large lists for individual items.
Otherwise, it’s all technological beneath-the-hood stuff for developers: support for partitioned service workers in third-party contexts pertains to Firefox’s privacy features, along with added compliance with the User Timing L3 specification.
In addition to improving stability when Firefox finds itself running out of memory in Linux and Windows, macOS touchpad users should also benefit from improved accessibility delivered through reducing "unintended diagonal scrolling opposite of the intended scroll axis".
Also rolling out is Firefox 105 for Android and iOS. The iOS build ships with small layout and homepage improvements, while the Android build updates the UI to use the Android default font. Firefox for Android also fixes problems with opening tabs shared from other Firefox devices. Both desktop and mobile updates are rounded off with a slew of security fixes.
The minimal changes echo recent releases. Firefox 104 introduced throttling of the full Firefox UI to improve performance and battery life when minimised or hidden by other windows, while version 103 introduced highlighting of required fields in PDF forms.
Taking a peek into the future, Firefox 106 Beta has also landed. Here, the only new feature currently recorded is further improvements to Firefox’s built-in PDF viewer, which can now handle text writing, drawing and a signature. The web platform is also set to receive "major improvements" to its WebRTC (real-time chat) capabilities. Whether these improvements land in the final version of Firefox 106 or slip to a later release has yet to be determined.
Firefox 105.0 is available now for Windows 64-bit, Windows 32-bit, Linux and macOS. New versions will also be rolling out on Android and iOS.
Your Comments & Opinion