Mozilla is rolling out its “best Firefox ever,” promising a perfect balance between speed and efficiency.
Firefox version 54 finally uses multiple processes for improved performance just like its rivals, so a complex webpage in one tab won’t impact your experience in another. What’s more, it uses less memory than other browsers on macOS, Mozilla says.
Websites have become so rich in content that you need a fairly powerful computer just to enjoy a smooth browsing experience. It doesn’t help that many modern browsers (Chrome) are resource hogs that like to claim as much memory and CPU power as they can.
Firefox hopes to be different, thanks to a big update that finally brings it up to speed with the competition. Just like its biggest rivals, it now uses multiple operating system processes for a snappier and more stable experience when using multiple tabs.
Version 54 and above uses up to four processes (which Mozilla calls E10s) to manage content across multiple tabs, meaning complex webpages that require more resources have a significantly lower impact on the responsiveness and speed of pages in other tabs.
“Besides running faster and crashing less, E10S makes websites feel more smooth,” Mozilla claims. “Even busy pages, like Facebook newsfeeds, spool out smoothly and cleanly.”
The changes are particularly noticeable on devices with less memory, where an efficient browser is even more important. However, even on powerful computers, you should notice Firefox is kinder on your system resources.
Mozilla claims it has made the balance between speed and memory usage “just right.” It says its new version of Firefox uses “significantly less” RAM than other browsers on macOS, Windows 10, and Linux.
To test it out for yourself, download the latest version of Firefox now.
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
5 responses to “‘Best Firefox ever’ pours on the speed”
You’ll need to redo the test when High Sierra comes out.
I still like FireFox and use it daily. Safari is pretty good, but lacking some features that I want, but I still use it. I’ve been digging the updated Opera browser as of late. iCab is still in use, but mostly because I loved that browser pre-Mac OS X so I keep it around. The only browser I tend to shy away from is Chrome.
Iron is a great browser, its based on Chrome but they’ve stripped out the data mining/spy – relevant bits so it is more secure and private. I’ve been using it directly for a year or so now and recommend it.