Waterfox G5.0, the latest version of the Firefox ESR-based web browser, is now available. The latest version of the web browser includes a large number of improvements and new features.
The developer notes that the new version will roll out via automatic updates starting next week. Waterfox users who want to upgrade right away may download the latest version from the official project website to install it over the existing copy of the browser.
Waterfox users may check the installed version by selecting Menu > Help > About Waterfox in the menu.
Waterfox G5.0
The official release notes list all major changes of the new release. Most changes are made to the underlying platform. Waterfox G5.0 is based on Firefox ESR 102, which means that it supports the features of that release next to Waterfox-specific features.
The release notes group most platform changes in the three groups security, media and operating systems.
Security
Waterfox G5.0 includes improved referrer tracking protection in Strict tracking protection mode and in private browsing mode. Developers have improved web compatibilities as well. Next to that, Waterfox’s sandbox on Linux prevents access to the X Window System on Linux for web content.
Additionally, “less restricted referrer policies” are now ignored to prevent privacy leaks, and the browser now supports the automatic updating “to HTTPS using HTTPS RR as Alt-Svc headers”.
Media
Lots of media related changes. Waterfox supports the AVIF format and hardware accelerated AV1 video decoding, the latter only on certain Windows systems with supported graphics processing units.
The browser’s built-in PDF viewer supports form filling in the new version, and Picture-in-Picture mode supports video captions and subtitles now for select sites.
On Mac devices, support for images containing ICC v4 profiles is now enabled. Share options are now found under the file menu in the browser, and HDR video is also supported on Macs. For now, support is limited to YouTube on macOS 11 and newer with HGR compatible screens.
Waterfox will crash less often due to low-memory on the system, thanks to improvements integrated in to the Firefox code by Mozilla. Noise suppression and auto-gain have improved significantly as well in the release.
Operating System Specific
Waterfox supports the Snap Layout and new scrollbar styles features of Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system. Scrollbars do not take up space on Linux and Windows anymore by default. The browser follows the system settings on Windows 11, which are found under Settings > Accessibility > Visual Effects > Always show scrollbars. On Linux, users may change the behavior in the browser’s settings.
Waterfox has the video overlay feature enabled for Intel GPUs on Windows to reduce power usage during video playback.
Linux users benefit from improved WebGL performance and reduced power consumption.
Waterfox for macOS uses the low power mode for fullscreen videos on YouTube, Twitch and other sites, which reduces power consumption. Users may also notice reduced CPU utilization when software decoding is used.
Closing Words
Waterfox G5.0 is a major new release of the Firefox-based browser that introduces several new features and improvements.
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