Mozilla has released the beta version of Firefox 145 for public testing. This iteration introduces noticeable visual refinements, including increased rounding of buttons, tabs, the address bar, and input fields. The change log points the changes have been done to make the browser look more consistent.
Expanded Media Format Support
The new beta adds native support for Matroska container files. Users can now play media encoded with AVC, HEVC, VP8, VP9, AV1, AAC, Opus, and Vorbis codecs directly in the browser without additional plugins. This improves Firefox’s compatibility with modern multimedia content.
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End of Support for 32-bit Linux Systems
Mozilla officially discontinues support for 32-bit Linux builds starting with Firefox 145. The company cites growing maintenance challenges and declining reliability in supporting these platforms. Most major Linux distributions have already dropped 32-bit versions, reinforcing this strategic shift.
Users still operating on 32-bit Linux systems are advised to migrate to 64-bit operating systems to ensure continued access to the latest browser features and security updates.
Extended Security Updates via ESR Channel
For users unable to upgrade their systems immediately, Mozilla recommends the Extended Support Release (ESR) version—Firefox 140. This branch will receive critical security patches at least until September of next year, offering a temporary but secure alternative.
Firefox 144, released earlier this month, introduced significant enhancements to user experience, security, and web platform capabilities. The update activates a modernized profile management system, enabling users to create and switch between fully isolated browsing sessions. Each will have independent settings, history, bookmarks, and extensions, via a new interface in the main menu. Security improvements include the adoption of AES-256-CBC encryption for locally stored credentials in the password manager, replacing the legacy 3DES-CBC algorithm.
Firefox 144 also refines tab group handling by keeping an active tab always visible in the collapsed group, supports Picture-in-Picture video continuation upon window closure (via Shift + close), and integrates Google Lens into the image context menu for users with Google as their default search engine. Additionally, the browser now supports direct querying of the AI-powered Perplexity search service from the address bar.
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