Following Chrome 57 stable release earlier last month, Mozilla has finally released a stable version of Firefox v.53 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. While desktop users can download from the Firefox website of update the older version, Android users will see a slow roll out, and can check Google Play for an update.
Firefox v.53 packs two new themes (Compact Light and Compact Dark) for desktop, and one feature that looks to further its Project Quantum goals – the company’s concept future browser. Calling it the Quantum Compositor, the feature is essentially meant to reduce browser crashes by 10%. For now, the Quantum compositor will be enabled only for Windows 10, 8, and 7 with the Platform Update, and on computers with graphics cards from Intel, Nvidia, or AMD.
Mozilla notes that graphics compositing is already so stable on macOS that a separate process for the compositor is not necessary.
Firefox v.53 also introduces a redesigned interface for managing website’s permission to access device sensors or send you notifications. Meaning, when you visit a website that wants to access sensitive hardware or send you a notification, you’ll be prompted with a dialog box that explicitly highlights the permissions that site is requesting.
On the other hand, Firefox 53 for Android brings one big new feature called Compact tabs. This new tab essentially displays all your open tabs in two columns making it easy for you to switch from one tab to another. Firefox for Android has also been localized in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, and Urdu. [related-posts]
