Mozilla is celebrating the 100th version of its Firefox browser today with the new launch for both Mac and iOS (PC, Linux, and Android too). For Mac, Firefox is gaining improvements to its Picture-in-Picture mode, a new language switcher, and more today. Meanwhile, iOS gets clutter-free tabs and history plus new wallpapers later this week.
After first announcing Firefox 1.0 back in 2004, Mozilla arrived at its 100th build of the browser 18 years later. The non-profit took the opportunity to thank its users who have given feedback, tested beta releases, and continued to use Firefox over the years.
Since then our community of users — past and current — has grown to thousands of people and continues to shape who we are today. We are so grateful for all the work they have done from filing bugs, submitting ideas through Mozilla Connect, downloading and testing Firefox Nightly and Beta releases and continuing to choose Firefox as their browser. Thank you!
For Mac and other desktop builds, Firefox 100 now features subtitles and captions for the Picture-in-Picture mode. Mozilla says it will work with services like YouTube, Amazon’s Prime Video, Netflix, and more with WebVTT support. Other improvements include an auto-detection language switcher based on your preferred language and credit card autofill arriving in more countries.
- The addition of subtitles and captions to Picture-In-Picture mode, which was requested by users through Mozilla Connect. They will be available on Youtube, Prime Video, Netflix and other websites that support WebVTT format. In line with Mozilla’s mission of making the internet as accessible to as many users as possible, now those who are hard-of-hearing or multitaskers can enjoy even more improvements to their web browsing experience.
- The new first-run language switcher feature makes it easier for users to change to their preferred language in the browser. Firefox will now recognize a device’s language preference and ask whether the user would like to switch to one of the more than 100 languages.
- The credit card autofill feature will now expand beyond North America to the United Kingdom, France and Germany, making shopping online quick and easy.
On mobile, the new Firefox will bring a cleaner design with clutter-free tabs and history. New browser wallpapers are also included while the HTTPS-only mode for Android will be enabled for every website possible.
- Clutter-free history and clutter-free tabs for Android and iOS will tackle clutter not only by organizing browser history through removing duplicate sites and grouping history items by the original item, but also by moving tabs that haven’t been opened in 14 days to an inactive state, keeping them available – but out of immediate view.
- New browser wallpapers for Android and iOS will let users personalize their browser display in more ways, allowing for a visual experience more suited to their preferences.
- HTTPS-only mode for Firefox on Android, which will boost browser privacy and security. Now, every website users visit, Firefox will automatically establish a secure, encrypted connection over HTTPS whenever possible. You can read more about the difference between HTTP and HTTPS here.
Firefox 100 for Mac is available now direct from Mozilla. However, the new build for iOS will be arriving later this week on the App Store.
Author: Michael Potuck
Source: 9TO5Google
