After a earlier version followed by three maintenance updates, Mozilla released a few moments ago Firefox 83. It is the last major release, and if we look at the length of its News listWe could say that it is a much more prominent one than what we have been receiving since a new version is released every four weeks.
Among the changes coming today, we have one that will improve the loading of web pages. It also highlights the HTTPS-only mode, a function disabled by default that will allow us to access web pages using HTTPS whenever possible. On the other hand, Firefox 83 will take more care of users who work with it on a touch screen, since support has been added for the gesture known as "pinch-to-zoom" or pinch to zoom. Below you have the News list official that has arrived with this version.
Highlights of Firefox 83
- Browser is now faster as a result of significant updates to SpiderMonkey, its JavaScript engine Page loading has improved by up to 15%, page responsiveness by up to 12%, and memory usage has been improved. has reduced by up to 8%.
- New HTTPS-only mode. When enabled, this new mode ensures that every connection Firefox makes to the web is secure and alerts you when a secure connection is not available. It is disabled by default and can be enabled from the browser preferences.
- Support for the Pinch-to-Zoom gesture for users of a touchscreen device.
- Picture-in-Picture now supports keyboard shortcuts to fast-forward and rewind videos - use the arrow keys to fast forward and rewind 15 seconds, along with the volume controls.
- New improved interface for calls made from Firefox.
- Improved the functionality and layout of various Firefox search functions:
- Selecting a search engine at the bottom of the search panel now enters the search mode for that engine, allowing us to see suggestions (if available) for search terms. The above behavior (perform a search immediately) is available with a shift click.
- When Firefox automatically completes the URL of one of its search engines, we can now search with that engine directly in the address bar by selecting the shortcut in the results of the address bar.
- Buttons have been added at the bottom of the search panel to allow us to search our bookmarks, open tabs, and history.
- Firefox is compatible with AcroForm, which will allow you to fill out, print and save compatible PDF forms and the PDF viewer also has a new look.
- Indian users on the English version of Firefox will now see Pocket's recommendations in their new tab with some of the best stories on the web.
- Support for recently released Apple devices built with Apple Silicon CPUs. This release (83) will support emulation on Apple's Rosetta 2 that ships with macOS Big Sur.
- This is an important release for WebRender as we roll out for more Firefox users on Windows 7 and 8, as well as macOS 10.12 to 10.15.
- Screen reader functions that report paragraphs now correctly report paragraphs instead of lines in Google Docs.
- When reading by word with a screen reader, words are now correctly reported when there are punctuation marks nearby.
- Arrow keys now work correctly after tabbing in picture-in-picture window.
- For macOS users restoring a session with minimized windows, Firefox now uses much less power and you should see a much longer battery life.
The release of Firefox 83 it's official, so Windows, macOS and Linux users who use their binaries can now download it from the developer website. In the next few hours it will be updated in the official repositories of the different Linux distributions, although in some like Ubuntu we may have to wait a couple more days.