Firefox 136 Released With Vertical Tabs, Official ARM64 Linux Binaries

An anonymous reader quotes a report from 9to5Linux: Mozilla published today the final build of the Firefox 136 open-source web browser for all supported platforms ahead of the March 4th, 2025, official release date, so it's time to take a look at the new features and changes. Highlights of Firefox 136 include official Linux binary packages for the AArch64 (ARM64) architecture, hardware video decoding for AMD GPUs on Linux systems, a new HTTPS-First behavior for upgrading page loads to HTTPS, and Smartblock Embeds for selectively unblocking certain social media embeds blocked in the ETP Strict and Private Browsing modes.

Firefox 136 is available for download for 32-bit, 64-bit, and AArch64 (ARM64) Linux systems right now from Mozilla's FTP server. As mentioned before, Mozilla plans to officially release Firefox 136 tomorrow, March 4th, 2025, when it will roll out as an OTA (Over-the-Air) update to macOS and Windows users. Here's a list of the general features available in this release:

- Vertical Tabs Layout
- New Browser Layout Section
- PNG Copy Support
- HTTPS-First Behavior
- Smartblock Embeds
- Solo AI Link
- Expanded Data Collection & Use Settings
- Weather Forecast on New Tab Page
- Address Autofill Expansion

A full list of changes can be found here.

the need for new terms are clear now

[oldgraybeard]

"- Expanded Data Collection & Use Settings"

Re:

[A little Frenchie]

can't find this in the release note where is it?

Just in time for the Ublockalypse

[Deathlizard]

Just uninstalled Chrome because they finally killed off Ublock Origin.

Now I hope Mozilla fixes their TOS before it's too late.

Re:

[DrMrLordX]

There's always WaterFox, Floorp, and Pale Moon.

Re:

[SeaFox]

Floorp

I feel like every time a browser story hits Slashdot I hear about yet another alternative/fork browser. Last time it was LibreFox.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

There's always WaterFox, Floorp, and Pale Moon.

I REALLY want to try Floorp - but I can't install it via APT because it depends on ligdk-pixbuf and for some reason I can't install that. And for all the hits I got on Flatpaks and AppImages, I can't actually find a download link that works for me. No clue WTF is going on, but I'm going to have to wait until I install a new version of Mint before I try it.

I REALLY need something that's Firefox based, but which doesn't have the steaming pile of unusable suckage that their UI has devolved into.

Re:

[StormReaver]

Now I hope Mozilla fixes their TOS before it's too late.

If you're talking about the ToS I think you're talking about, that entire issue was a great big Nothing Burger. The Legalese made it sound ominous, but it did not claim to own your data or to do anything nefarious with it.

Re:

[ArchieBunker]

You can just re-enable the plugin. They turned off my autoplayer blocker as well.

Re: Just in time for the Ublockalypse

[ArmoredDragon]

As an ifan you already believe safari is the only browser anybody should ever use anyways.

Re:

[Bradac_55]

Just turning it back on is meaningless in Chrome they gutted the API behind UBlock Origin and similar extensions to the point all the tracking protections are gone.
You really need to read about the differences between v2 and v3.

Re:

[ArchieBunker]

Haha you made me look at the url and its https://ftp.mozilla.org

ARM64 Linux

[darkain]

Wait, did Linux not have ARM64 support prior to this? I'm confused, because I've been using Firefox as my primary browser on my FreeBSD ARM/Aarch64 workstation for years now. If FreeBSD has had support, did Linux not...?

Re:

[caseih]

Haha. Of course Linux has supported ARM64 from the beginning of the platform. Usually Firefox is installed via the distributions software repository. Now if you desire, you can get binaries directly from mozilla.org, just like they've done with x86 in the past, and x86_64 currently.