Mozilla has released a completely new web browser, called Firefox Quantum. Naturally, the new browser came to compete with Google's Chrome.
Firefox Quantum was released in November 2017 for users of almost all operating systems: Android, iOS, Linux, Mac and Windows. Mozilla announced that Firefox Quantum is designed to offer twice the speed of its predecessor, while using 30% less memory than the Chrome browser.
Great marketing, but is Firefox Quantum really better than Google's rival browser?
Below we will try to weigh the pros and cons of both browsers.
In December 2017, just a month after the release of Firefox Quantum. Mozilla announced that there were 44% more downloads from Chrome users compared to the same period last year. On Android and iOS devices, in particular, Firefox installations increased by 24%.
Import
Let's put the above information into context: First, when Chrome debuted in 2008, it quickly became the de-facto web browser. Before then, everyone used Firefox as an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Apple's Safari.
Chrome has been pushing Firefox aside, and that trend seems to be reversing. According to the Digital Analytics Program, in January 2017, Chrome dominated the US market (with a 44.5% market share). It was followed by Safari (with 25.4%), Internet Explorer (with a 15.5% market share), and finally Firefox (in fourth place) with 7.4%.
However, a month after the launch of Quantum Firefox, the Mozilla Foundation confirmed that 170 million people have installed the new browser, which allows you to open over 1,500 tabs in just seconds.
What’s new in Firefox Quantum?
Before we get into Firefox Quantum, you should know that we’re talking about technical version 57 of the Firefox browser. The name “Quantum” comes from the development project that made Firefox the browser it is today. But the name stuck.
Speed
Underneath the redesigned look is a new browser engine, born from the Quantum project, along with new multi-processing technology that the Mozilla Foundation has created for the browser.
Firefox Quantum also features an AMD VP9 video codec, which helps reduce battery consumption by offloading video decoding per tab. The result is a browser that’s very light and built to run multiple tabs of various tasks with 86% less latency. All while using less RAM than Chrome. You can play 3D games at native speeds and browse with confidence knowing that Firefox uses enough memory to let you work with other applications in parallel. Firefox uses 1.77 times less memory than Chrome, according to the Mozilla Foundation.
Design
We all want a fast and light browser, but we also want one that looks good. Firefox Quantum doesn’t seem to disappoint. You’ll immediately see the changes across the browser, from the toolbar icons, the “Settings” menu, the “New Tab” page, and more. If, for any reason, you don’t like the new look, Firefox Quantum lets you customize it however you want to suit your preferences. You can move all the buttons, change the colors and fonts, and even control the browser’s visual density. You can also choose from thousands of themes.
Features
Firefox Quantum comes loaded with tons of tricks. Like Chrome, it has a built-in QR reader and a menu item for copying a URL. With Firefox Quantum, you can capture a section of your screen, or the entire screen, or just a webpage. You can enable “Night Mode” to invert the browser colors. You can also install extensions and add-ons, sync your browser, and share open tabs across your mobile, desktop, or tablet. You can manage your passwords and give your computer a master password for extra security. You can browse privately. The Mozilla Foundation with Firefox Quantum as an open source browser will not share your online data and allows you to choose privacy so you can browse freely.
With Private Mode, for example, Firefox Quantum actively blocks any unwanted content, including ads, analytics trackers, and social share buttons that track your behavior without your explicit permission.
Google Chrome
The latest version of Firefox seems to outperform Chrome in all the benchmarks I've read so far. The test results show that a lot of effort has been put into making Firefox perform better. However, although something is apparent, no one can discern a huge difference in speed - but this should not be surprising, as in 2018 all modern browsers are quite fast.
If you want to learn more about Chrome and the technical details behind its speed, such as WebKit, JavaScript V8 and more, check out the comic book that Google made. It explains everything you need to know. For those of you who want to learn even more, such as the inner workings of DNS pre-resolution or DOM bindings, Google has several technical videos.
The Mozilla Foundation of course could not be left behind and released a promotional video that directly compares the two browsers. Watch the video.
Design
Chrome has remained the same for years. So, if you’re feeling a little tired of Chrome’s look, you might be tempted by Firefox Quantum’s “Photon” look. Just don’t expect a new browsing experience. We’re talking about a web browser after all. In fact, Firefox Quantum looks a lot like Chrome. And to be fair, Firefox Quantum isn’t the only browser that comes with its own customization theme store. You can easily browse the thousands of themes available for Chrome, right here.
Features
Google has always tried to market Chrome as a safe browser, and rightly so. It has built-in malware and phishing detection, thanks to sandboxing technology and Safe Browsing. Google’s app offers automatic updates for security fixes. It also has a lot of privacy tools. For example, just like Firefox Quantum’s private mode, Chrome has something called an incognito mode. The mode mostly automatically deletes cookies.
Finally, Chrome also lets you sign in for instant access to your synced bookmarks, history, and other settings from any device. It also, like Firefox Quantum, has add-ons and extensions, as well as the Chrome Web Store.
We’ll leave design aside (since that’s subjective), and turn to speed and the general features that make the Firefox Quantum vs. Chrome comparison quite difficult.
As we said earlier, a lot of the data seems to suggest that Firefox Quantum is faster, but some synthetic tests suggest that the speed is negligible in the real world.
In other words, both browsers may be equally fast, but you may notice differences when you run them side by side on your computer. A dozen tabs in Chrome can reach the memory limit, while in Firefox Quantum, you can have 30 to 40 tabs open and not feel any lag. It's something worth trying, especially if you spend most of your time on the computer using the browser.
Firefox Quantum vs Google Chrome: The war of the browsers
Chrome has won many battles, but as history has shown, it is likely to lose its crown at some point. While Chrome has dominated the last few years, Firefox seems to have moved on at quantum speed.
Mozilla is now hoping that Firefox Quantum will allow it to regain the ground it lost to Chrome, although it faces some very difficult challenges: Chrome is the default browser for all Android devices, and Safari is the default browser for Mac and iOS devices, while Microsoft Edge is the default browser for Windows 10 devices.
Ultimately, switching browsers is not something that is done easily. There is a learning curve, and behavioral learning at that.
Which one you choose will probably go with the operating system you use, although it is never too late to learn something new.
