Mozilla Firefox 124 is now officially available to download.
The latest update to the open-source web browser includes a small clutch of improvements.
Firefox View can now sort open tabs by recent activity (default) or tab order making it a touch faster to find specific tabs using this feature; and Firefox’s built-in PDF viewer now supports caret browsing mode for improved accessibility.
Firefox View’s new sorting options for open tabs
The Firefox snap package for Ubuntu experienced a regression in native messaging portal support (utilized by some web extensions, including the GNOME Shell extensions tool) in the Firefox 122 release. This issue has been addressed in the most recent update.
Additional corrections for Linux include resolutions for issues where PiP windows could not be relocated; tooltips in the about:preferences section displayed light style when dark mode was engaged; and an anomaly wherein Firefox occasionally crashed on Cinnamon, KDE, and MATE when selecting and subsequently dragging a tab.
For macOS users, Firefox 124 employs the operating system’s native fullscreen API for all categories of fullscreen windows, ensuring a consistent user experience as with other Mac apps and proper functioning with workspaces, the menubar, and the desktop dock.
On Windows, Firefox 124 now fills the Windows taskbar jump list “more efficiently”, while Firefox for Android 124 introduces pull to refresh and supports the HTML drag and drop API when operating a mouse.
The Firefox 124 beta did include support for the Screen Wake Lock web API. This was expected to debut in the final, stable release — it didn’t.
The Screen Wake Lock API is used by web developers to prevent device screens from dimming or locking when their web-based app/site is running/being used. Firefox is late to adopting it; the API has been supported in Chromium-based browsers since 2020.
Should be present next time, though!
Getting Mozilla Firefox 124
Those using Ubuntu will get an automated update to Mozilla Firefox 124 in the forthcoming days. This update will run in the background for those who utilize the Firefox snap package (which is the default), or as a software update for those who employ the official Mozilla APT repository or a PPA.
Windows and macOS users of Firefox, as well as Linux binary users, can access this update in-app. Usually, opening the About dialogue in the browser triggers an update check, which is then downloaded and prompts a browser restart for applying the update.
Alternatively, Mozilla Firefox can be downloaded from the official website.