Firefox 92.0 released (and updated versions)

[silversurfer]

Firefox 92.0 Stable's release date is September 7, 2021. The new Stable version of the Firefox web browser is a stability and security release for the most part, but it does include new features as well.

Executive Summary​

• Mozilla fixed the screen reader and accessibility tools issue that could degrade Firefox performance significantly.
• Firefox supports the AVIF image format by default.
• WebRender should be enabled on all systems now.
• Firefox 92.0 includes security updates.

New features and improvements​

Support for AVIF images enabled by default

Mozilla Firefox supports the AVIF image format by default now. It is a new image format developed by the Alliance for Open Media that is royalty-free, and based on the AV1 video codec, which is also royalty-free.

Firefox supports non-animated AVIF images in this initial release.
Firefox can display still images, with colorspace support for both full and limited range colors, and image transforms for mirroring and rotation.
Firefox users and organizations may use the preference image.avif.compliance_strictness to adjust the compliance strictness with the specification.

Note: The flag in Firefox that determines whether AVIF is enabled or not, image.avif.enabled , was set to FALSE on the test system. Load about:config and check the preference image.avif.enabled to see if it is enabled (TRUE) or not (FALSE).

Automatic updates to HTTPS

Mozilla's work on improving HTTP and HTTPS handling continues. After introducing a HTTPS-First policy for Firefox's private browsing mode in Firefox 91 to auto-update HTTP to HTTPS whenever possible, it integrated support for auto-upgrading to HTTPS using HTTPS RR as Alt-Svc headers.

The Alt-Svc header "allows a server to indicate that a particular resource should be loaded from a different server" while appearing to the user that it was still loaded from the same server.

Other changes

• Full-color level support for video playback on many systems.
• Open alerts in tabs don't cause performance issues in other tabs that are using the same process.
• Redesigned certificate error pages for "better user experience".
• Mac: the Mac OS Share options are now accessible from the Firefox File menu.
• Mac: support for images containing ICC v4 profiles enabled.
• Mac: VoiceOver reports buttons and links marked as "expanded" correctly using aria-expanded attribute.
• Mac: Bookmark toolbar menus follow Firefox's visual styles now.

Firefox 92.0 release: here is what is new and changed - gHacks Tech News

Here are the release information for Mozilla's new stable Firefox browser, Firefox 92.0.

www.ghacks.net

 

[eonline]

• More secure connections: Firefox can now automatically upgrade to HTTPS using HTTPS RR as Alt-Svc headers.
• Full-range color levels are now supported for video playback on many systems.
• Mac users can now access the macOS share options from the Firefox File menu.
• Support for images containing ICC v4 profiles is enabled on macOS.

Firefox 92.0, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes

www.mozilla.org

 

[silversurfer]

Firefox Suggest, a new feature of the Firefox web browser that is introducing custom search and sponsored suggestions in the browser's address bar, is included in Firefox 92 Stable, at least for some users.

The official support page on Mozilla's website suggests that users who see Firefox Suggest in the address bar, but have no option to turn it off in the Settings, are part of a Shield Study; this was not the case on our test system, however.

Mozilla ran a Firefox Suggest test in the United States last month to gather some data and resolve issues or bugs before the planned release of the feature.

According to a Phabricator page, Firefox Suggest address bar labels were enabled for all en-* locales.

Firefox Suggest​

Firefox users should see a Firefox Suggest group of results displayed in the pulldown menu when they type in the Firefox address bar. The feature is independent of the default search engine; a quick test confirmed that it appeared in Google Search, Bing and DuckDuckGo.

With Firefox Suggest enabled, Firefox separates search engine suggestions from the Firefox Suggest group. The first group, search engine suggestions, work as before. Search engines are queried and they return a number of suggestions based on the input.

Firefox Suggest merges the classic browser-based suggestions, taken from open tabs, bookmarks, the browsing history, and shortcuts, with sponsored content that may be displayed.

Disable Firefox Suggest​

Firefox users should have an option under Search to disable Firefox Suggest. Our test installation of Firefox, Firefox 92.0 Stable, did not have that option, but you may want to check there first:

1. Load about: preferences in the Firefox address bar.
2. Switch to the Search tab.
3. Scroll down to the Search Suggestions section.
4. Uncheck "Show Firefox Suggest in the address bar (suggested and sponsored results).

Note: some sites claim that disabling search suggestions will remove Firefox Suggest; this is not the case.

The following is required to hide Firefox Suggest in the browser's address bar:

1. Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.
2. Proceed when the warning page is displayed.
3. Search for browser.urlbar.groupLabels.enabled.
4. Set the preference to FALSE.

Setting it to FALSE, disables the Firefox Suggest label in the address bar. Note that it may not impact the browser's ability to show sponsored content in the suggestions that it displays. There may be another preference for that.

Mozilla used a different preference previously, browser.urlbar.experimental.firefoxSuggestLabels.enabled, but it is no longer supported.

How to disable Firefox Suggest - gHacks Tech News

Find out how to disable the Firefox Suggest content that Mozilla's Firefox web browser may display when you type in the browser's address bar.

www.ghacks.net

 

[silversurfer]

Firefox 92.0.1 (first offered to Release channel users on September 23, 2021)

Fixed

• Fixes an issue where audio playback was not working on some Linux systems (bug 1730499)
• Fixes issues with the findbar close button on different operating systems (bug 1728368)

Firefox 92.0.1, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes

www.mozilla.org

 

[SpiderWeb]

Firefox Suggest is incredible. I set it to be displayed before Google search suggestions. Loving it because it suggests things from your browsing history. Very different experience compared to Chrome where your history comes last which is not intuitive but clearly benefits Google ad revenue.