Firefox 57 'Quantum' for macOS released, iOS version user interface refresh coming

Mozilla has wrapped up its "biggest update of code in over ten years with the release of Firefox 57 — once called "Quantum" — for macOS, and other platforms.

Mozilla claims that the new Firefox runs faster mostly because of the overhaul of the code base, and resultant performance improvements. The organization claims that the browser is twice as fast and uses 30 percent less memory than Chrome.

Users upgrading from another browser can choose to import bookmarks, history and other items. Built-in tools include standard bookmarking tools, synchronized tabs, and a screenshot tool.

According to a blog post documenting the new release, 4.9 million lines of code were added, with 6.9 million lines changed by more than 700 authors. There are over 5,000 compatible web extensions available for the browser.

Versions of Firefox 56 for macOS, Windows, and Linux are available now. The new user interface — but not the improvements to the browsing engine — will appear on iOS and Android in time.

Mac requirements are relatively light, requiring macOS 10.9 or greater, and 512MB of RAM.

AppleInsider is currently performing tests on the new Firefox version, versus Safari on macOS 10.13.1.

20 Comments

djkfisher 131 comments · 13 Years

About 7 years ago

It is fast.

macxpress 5910 comments · 16 Years

Does anyone actually use FireFox for iOS? Just curious. I myself use Safari.

Soli 9981 comments · 9 Years

It's great that it can best Chrome in many tests and that it uses less RAM, but I think both of those measures are major concerns for users today. I think features, security, and convenience are most important in this modern browser world.

lorin schultz 2744 comments · 10 Years

macxpress said:

Does anyone actually use FireFox for iOS? Just curious. I myself use Safari.

Safari here too, but not because I prefer it or anything. I find browsing on a handheld devices annoying. For any interaction that requires doing anything other than just reading some text or casually viewing images, I wait until I'm in front of my computer. That means I haven't had much motivation to bother with another browser, particularly when I can't make other apps connect to it anyway.

ktappe 824 comments · 16 Years

I tried it this afternoon. It froze within 5 minutes and had to be force-quit as the File-Quit menu option didn't work. I relaunched it and it quickly crashed again. Meanwhile, Safari and Chrome keep chugging along. Can't say I'm impressed. A pity, as I'd been looking forward to replacing the resource-hog Chrome.