Technology and Science · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Mozilla Rolls Out Firefox 157 Redesign With Nova Theme Picker And Restored Compact Mode
Firefox 157 ships the Nova redesign across desktop and mobile platforms. Compact Mode returns and a theme picker enables customization.
Whether redesign is primarily UI feature or adoption strategy.
8 of 9 outlets skipped it: hardware AV1 video decoding for WebRTC calls is included.
15outlets compared
Same story, two versions
tap a side to read it in full
The Verge
“aimed at modernizing Firefox with bubble-like tabs, a rounded address bar,”Read the original ↗
Ars Technica frames the redesign as a market and adoption challenge, while The Verge and Engadget treat it mainly as UI feature news.
Firefox 157 rolls out
Mozilla rolled out Firefox 157 across desktop and mobile, and the update brings a redesign that Mozilla says is meant to feel “current, but not generic. Warm, but still precise.”
“Today, we’re rolling out that design with FX 157 to everyone using Firefox across desktop and mobile devices.”
Mozilla said the redesign refreshed “colors, icons and themes throughout the browser,” including the tabs, toolbars, and the New Tab page, while keeping “no cost to your browser performance.”
Mozilla also restored Compact Mode, and Mozilla said Compact Mode “reduces the size of your tabs and toolbar to give more of your screen to the web.”
Mozilla paired the redesign with a theme picker and pinned shortcuts on the New Tab page, and Mozilla said the New Tab page now includes “a dedicated space to pin and organize shortcuts so sites you use all the time stay put.”
Why the redesign matters
Mozilla’s Firefox 157 strategy targets users beyond “privacy-conscious techies and open-web or open source advocates,” and the Ars Technica interview framed the redesign as a bid to win people who “might simply pick the browser because they prefer its user experience over competitors like Chrome, Edge, and Safari.” APaddy Harrington, a senior analyst at Forrester who covers this space, told Ars Technica, “The biggest is they’re not Chrome,” and he added that “Safari and Edge are built into the leading operating systems in business and consumer markets.”A
Ajit Varma, Mozilla’s head of Firefox, discussed Firefox’s product strategy and market position in advance of the redesign’s launch, and Ars Technica described Firefox’s role as a “Chromium-free alternative” built on the open source Gecko. AArs Technica also said a deal to offer Google search as Firefox’s default provides Mozilla with the majority of its revenue, leaving Firefox seeking “independence for the web while remaining financially dependent on its dominant competitor.”A
New features and rollout
Mozilla said Firefox 157 includes an auto-compact option for smaller screens, and Mozilla described Compact Mode as returning “with an auto-compact option for smaller screens.” Engadget said the redesigned browser “brings back compact mode and adds a theme picker,” and Engadget also said Mozilla updated Firefox’s “themes, icons and colors to modernize it in line with features it has added recently.”
Open Source For You said Firefox 157 ships on 29 September 2026, and it also said Firefox 157 adds developer-facing improvements including WebGPU support for the TRANSIENT_ATTACHMENT texture usage type. Open Source For You also said Firefox 157 introduces “an option for administrators to control on-device speech recognition through the AIControls policy,” and it described policy reporting that “identifies individual entries that fail to apply correctly.”