Firefox 94.0 release: here’s what’s new and what’s changed
The Firefox 94.0 release date is November 2, 2021. The new stable version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser introduces new features, bug fixes, and security fixes.
The new version of Firefox marks the end of the Firefox 78 ESR branch, as it will no longer receive updates. Firefox 91 ESR is the new and only branch compatible with Mozilla.
All other editions of the Firefox channel are updated at the same time. Firefox Beta and Developer editions were updated to Firefox 95, Firefox Nightly was updated to Firefox 96 and Firefox for Android to Firefox 94. Firefox 91.3 ESR is the new extended support release version of the Firefox web browser.
See the Firefox 93.0 version overview here.
Executive Summary
- Firefox 78 ESR ya no es compatible.
- Firefox displays a Colorways message on the first run, allowing users to choose a different color scheme.
- Site isolation is now enabled.
- Firefox 94.0 includes security updates.
Download and update Firefox 94.0
Mozilla Firefox 94.0 is automatically pushed to all stable versions of Firefox, as long as the automatic update feature has not been disabled.
Firefox users can check the installed version and perform a manual check for updates. Just select Menu> Help> About Firefox to display the installed version. Firefox consults Mozilla’s servers for update information and will download new updates automatically.
Firefox 94.0 Features and Enhancements
Seasonal color combinations
Firefox displays a “choose your palette” overlay on first startup after upgrade to Firefox 94.0 or new browser installation.
Called Colorways, Firefox users can select one of six seasonal color palettes for the browser or skip customization by selecting “keep old theme.”
These new palettes can also be selected on the browser’s theme customization page.
- Load about: add-ons
- Switch to Themes.
- Scroll down to the Color Schemes section.
There you will find all the available palettes, more than six, and the option to enable one of the options available in Firefox.
Note that selecting a color scheme will deactivate the active theme. You can come back at any time by enabling the theme again.
Windows background updates
In Windows, updates are now handled automatically in the background using a background agent. Mozilla mentioned the feature in the Firefox 90 release notes, and it is unclear why it is mentioned again in the Firefox 94 release notes.
The agent runs a task in Windows Task Scheduler, called Firefox Background Update. You can delete or disable the task, but it may be better to disable the option in Firefox preferences.
- Load over: preferences in the Firefox address bar.
- Scroll down to “Allow Firefox” on the page.
- Uncheck “Use a background service to install updates.”
Stable Firefox Site Isolation
Mozilla began testing the Firefox site isolation feature in Firefox 70 and rolled it out to Firefox Nightly in September 2020. Internally called Project Fission, site isolation aims to significantly improve privacy and security through isolation of third-party web pages and iframes.
You can check out Mozilla’s post here for additional details.
Site Isolation is based on a new security architecture that extends current protection mechanisms by separating the content (web) and loading each site in its own operating system process.
This new security architecture allows Firefox to completely separate code that originates from different sites and, in turn, defend itself against malicious sites that try to access confidential information from other sites that you are visiting.
Firefox Multi Account Container Extension with Mozilla VPN Integration
The latest version of Mozilla’s Firefox Multi-Account Containers extension introduces support for Mozilla’s VPN service. In particular, it allows users to use a different server location for each of the existing containers.
Other changes
- Firefox macOS now uses Apple’s low-power mode for full-screen videos on YouTube and Twitch; This is done to extend the life of the battery.
- The page about: downloads is now available. It can be used to download tabs manually to free up system resources.
- Firefox no longer warns users that multiple tabs are open when the browser is closed (with one exception).
- Firefox supports Windows 11 Snap layouts.
Developer changes
- Support for partitionKey, the source URL of a cookie when in storage partitioned by the top-level site, is added to cookies.get, cookies.getAll, cookies.set, cookies.remove, and cookies.cookie
- New supported static method: HTMLScriptElement.supports ().
- New supported property: ShadowRoot.delegatesFocus.
- The @import rule supports the layout () function.
Business changes
- An MSIX for Firefox Stable is now provided. Not provided for Firefox ESR yet.
- Starting with Firefox 91 and Firefox 78.12, DisplayName in the uninstall data no longer includes the version to “make it easier to write scripts that use this value.”
- Fixed bugs in DNSOverHTTPS and FirefoxHOME policies.
Error correction
- Performance improvements in various areas.
- We’ve reduced the overhead of using the performance.mark () and performance.measure () APIs with a large set of performance inputs.
- In addition, we have modified the paint suppression during charging to greatly improve the performance of hot charging in site isolation mode.
- And we’ve improved page loading (especially with site isolation mode) by setting a higher priority for loading and displaying images.
- With this release, you will also notice faster Javascript property enumeration.
- We’ve also implemented better garbage collection scheduling, which has improved some page loading benchmarks.
- Faster storage initialization.
- Improved cold start by reducing main thread I / O.
- JavaScript memory reduction.
- Reduced CPU usage during socket polling for HTTPS connections.
- Closing the developer tools reclaims more memory.
Known issues
None on the list.
Security updates / fixes
Security updates are revealed after the official launch of the web browser. You find the information posted here after launch.
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Firefox 95.0 stable will be released on December 7, 2021. Firefox ESR 91.4 will be released at the same time. It is the last major version of Firefox from 2021.
Recently Reviewed Firefox Extensions
None.
Recent Firefox News and Tips
Additional information / sources
