Mozilla has released new versions of the Firefox web browser for desktop computers and mobile devices running Android. The latest version of the desktop browser is designed to use less memory by targeting add-ons that hog available RAM.
The latest version of Firefox for Android, meanwhile, offers general speed improvements and a few new features for phones and tablets.
The updated Android app includes a “request desktop site” option that lets you switch between mobile and full desktop views for web pages where both are available. Mozilla has also fixed text selection problems, added a swipe-to-close gesture for browser tabs, and added the ability to find text on a web page.
Firefox 15 for Windows, Mac, and Linux adds support for silent updates, letting you download and install the latest software update without any user intervention. New versions of the browser will be downloaded in the background when they’re released, and the next time you start the browser, they’ll be installed — much the way Google’s Chrome web browser handles updates.
Mozilla says it’s been working to reduce memory usage in Firefox for years — and is now targeting “poorly written add-ons.” Instead of fixing the plugins manually, Firefox can now detect memory leaks and free up memory when it’s no longer required by the plugin.
Firefox for Android is available from the Google Play Store. The latest desktop browser is available for download from the Mozilla website.
I really don’t like this “version inflatin” that Google has initiated with Chrome, and is forcing Mozilla to copy with Firefox. An increment of 1 in version numbers used to mean significant changes. With these browsers, it just means a month has passed.