Firefox redesign: browser keeps adding features while fans beg for a lighter version

Mozilla keeps bolting new features onto Firefox, from AI-generated crosswords to containers, leaving some fans begging for a stripped-down “Lite” version instead. Now, a full visual overhaul has landed in Nightly build, and early reactions suggest it’s even more divisive.

Firefox is working on a new redesign, and users can already try it in Nightly – a version of the browser that tests experimental features before they reach beta and, ultimately, a stable release.

And some users are already appalled.

“Oh my god, the new Firefox UI is absolutely revolting,” a tweet by the user wukko has half a million views on X.

Some commenters couldn’t believe it is real, and one even described the browser as “spiritually vibecoded,” to which wukko replied, “probably literally vibecoded.”

A potential conflict of interest must be highlighted – wukko is developing a competing Chromium-based and privacy-focused Helium browser.

However, other users are also sharing mixed feelings about the change, and even tutorials on how to disable the new design, called Nova, in the beta build.

But if you landed on the Firefox subreddit, most people are cheerful.

“I think it looks great! Good job,” one of the most upvoted comments reads.

Mozilla believes that the new Firefox look, dubbed “Project Nova,” is more cohesive across tabs, menus, panels, and other surfaces.

“You’ll notice softer tab shapes, a warmer color palette, updated icons, and – after hearing from many of you – the return of Compact Mode and new theme options to make Firefox your own,” Mozilla’s blog post reads.

The new UI appears to be a complete rebuild – a vertical tab bar instead of horizontal, all sharp edges replaced by rounded corners, and the new tab page is littered with icons and widgets, such as daily crossword, wallpapers, “thought-provoking” stories, weather forecast, and other elements.

Moreover, Mozilla suggests that users keep an eye out for additional themes and personalization options.

The team plans to polish the new design in the coming weeks and deliver it to Firefox users “more broadly later this year.”

Marcus Nestor at 9to5Linux already tested the new redesign and concluded that he’s not a fan: “What I don’t like the most is the all-rounded design on everything: buttons, tabs, right-click context menus, tab menu, main menu, etc.”

It appears that Firefox has been cramming everything it can into the browser: from AI chatbot and integrations, tab groups, split view, and containers to games such as the recently introduced Daily crossword feature.

In July, Firefox 153 introduced a customizable “new tab” with a plethora of knick-knacks, such as widgets, shortcuts, recommended articles, and recent activity.

Widgets range from sport trackers, clocks, lists, and focus timers to pictures of the day and the daily crossword. Reading articles will help solve some of the crossword’s clues.

And this also leads to more data collection and ads. “High-quality” and “clearly marked” sponsored content and advertisements will be delivered to users “in a privacy-preserving way,” and the revenue will support Mozilla’s mission.

“By default, when stories recommended by Firefox are displayed on your New Tab page, we collect information about how many times they appear and how many times they are clicked,” Mozilla’s support page reads.

It all seems to trigger many loyal users.

“I love Firefox, but its widgets are bloatware, and I don’t want them at all. I want a light, functional web browser, not a sluggish Christmas tree with childish gimmicks,” responded one of the users on Ghacks.net.

“It seems to me that we urgently need a radically debloated 'Firefox Lite’ without any AI-related (and other) gimmicks, that many users never asked for and will never need,” another user suggested.

While the redesign is still in progress, Firefox users can disable the widgets in the settings or use a completely blank new tab page.