Key facts

• Mozilla is rolling out a major redesign of Firefox in version 157 across desktop and mobile, aiming to make the browser feel modern, customizable, and easier to choose over Chrome, Edge, and Safari.
• Ajit Varma, Mozilla's head of Firefox, says the biggest barrier is not product quality but consideration: most people simply keep using the browser they already have.
• Firefox remains a Chromium-free alternative built on the open source Gecko engine, but its revenue still depends heavily on a search deal with Google.
• Mozilla is investing in enterprise and school tools, digital sovereignty, AI controls, and mobile engineering, while keeping most engineering resources on core Gecko work.
• AI features are optional and controlled by a prominent top-level setting; Varma says less than 10 percent of engineering is focused on AI.
• Bringing Gecko to iPhone remains difficult because building separate iOS versions for different regions would require doubling the iOS team.

Mozilla is preparing to release Firefox 157, an update that brings a broad visual and functional redesign to the browser on both desktop and mobile. The company hopes the refresh will help Firefox reach beyond its traditional base of privacy-focused users, open-web advocates, and open source supporters. The goal is to persuade a wider audience to choose Firefox because they prefer how it works and feels, not only because they agree with its mission.

The redesign arrives as Google-led Chromium continues to dominate the browser market. Chromium powers Chrome, which holds a large majority of browser share, as well as many of its competitors, including Microsoft Edge. Firefox, which runs on the open source Gecko engine, is one of the few remaining alternatives that does not rely on Chromium. That independence has long been central to Mozilla's identity and to its pitch to users who worry about one company's influence over the open web.

In an interview ahead of the launch, Ajit Varma, Mozilla's head of Firefox, said the redesign is part of a broader effort to increase the pace of development and to compete more effectively. He acknowledged that Mozilla has sometimes been slow to make decisions in the past, with long debates delaying changes. Over the past year and a half, the Firefox team has tried to move faster. Varma credited AI-assisted coding tools with helping the team do more work, though he also noted that code review has become a new bottleneck as code creation accelerates.

Varma described the redesign as addressing both practical and emotional needs. Users want a browser that feels modern, matches the design language of their operating system, and offers useful productivity features. The update brings back compact mode, adds more customization options, and modernizes the interface. Varma said these changes are meant to make Firefox feel special on first download and unique enough to stand apart from Chromium-based browsers, which often look and behave similarly because they share the same underlying engine.

Still, the challenge is not only design. Varma said the biggest predictor of which browser someone uses is which browser they used the month before. Most people do not treat browser choice as an important decision. They stick with defaults, and they often do not know the difference between a search engine and a browser, let alone between Chromium, Blink, Chrome, Gecko, and Firefox. That inertia is a major obstacle for any smaller browser.

Varma sees opportunity in moments when users are forced to consider their choice. In Europe, mobile choice screens required by the Digital Markets Act give people a clear list of browsers when they set up a new device. Firefox has seen growth in those markets. Other consideration moments have come from Chrome's deprecation of Manifest V2, an extension system that many ad blockers relied on. Mozilla still supports Manifest V2, and Varma said Firefox saw a surge of users when Chromium browsers shut it off. He framed the issue as one of user control: whether a browser engine should decide how people manage their experience.

AI is another area where Firefox hopes to differentiate. Many major browsers are pushing AI features aggressively, but Varma said Mozilla's approach is based on choice. Firefox includes a prominent top-level AI controls setting. Users can turn AI off entirely, or enable only specific features such as translation. Varma said this reflects feedback from users who worry about AI bloat, privacy, and unwanted integration. He also said Mozilla is not trying to build its own large AI models or become an AI company. Instead, it is applying open source and on-device models to productivity features where they can help, while keeping the core browser experience as the main focus. According to Varma, less than 10 percent of Mozilla's engineering resources are devoted to AI, with the largest investment remaining in Gecko, performance, web compatibility, and developer APIs.

The company is also making a significant push into enterprises and schools. Varma called this one of Mozilla's biggest new investment areas over the past year. Enterprises care about manageability, data loss prevention, and controls, while schools have their own deployment needs. Mozilla is building tools for those decision-makers. Varma also pointed to digital sovereignty as a growing concern. In Europe and Asia, more organizations want software they trust will not be controlled by any single government or platform giant. Firefox's open source nature and Mozilla's independence are selling points in those conversations.

Mobile remains a difficult front. Firefox competes on Android, but on iPhone it cannot yet use Gecko everywhere. Apple has opened routes for alternative browser engines in the European Union and Japan, but Varma said the cost of building two separate iOS versions, one for markets where Gecko is allowed and one for markets where it is not, would be enormous for a company of Mozilla's size. It would essentially require doubling the iOS team. Mozilla has pushed Apple and regulators for a single set of global rules that would allow Gecko to be built once and deployed worldwide. App Store rules, migration challenges, and the difficulty of maintaining multiple builds add to the problem.

Revenue is another long-standing concern. Mozilla depends heavily on its search deal with Google, which provides the majority of its income. Varma acknowledged the question of what happens if that deal changes, especially as AI and large language models reshape search. In the short term, he said, Google is still doing very well. AI chatbots have not yet replaced traditional search for most people. Search queries and monetizable queries are still growing, and Google has integrated AI features deeply into search results. For the average person, the habit of going to Google remains strong. Over several years, however, Varma said no one knows how the market will evolve. He argued that competition in search would be good for consumers and for Firefox, and that AI tools are helping Mozilla become more efficient even as they raise questions about cost and dependence.

Varma also reflected on Mozilla's past mistakes. He said the organization did not invest in mobile early enough and focused too long on desktop. Firefox OS, an ambitious attempt to build an HTML-based competitor to Android and iOS, did not succeed. The current strategy is different. Mozilla is not trying to build its own mobile operating system or its own AI models. It is trying to use open source technology and targeted features to improve the browser while preserving the open web.

According to Varma, the path to a stronger Firefox runs through more users. The more people use Firefox, the more leverage Mozilla has to negotiate, to promote competition, and to protect the web. The redesign is intended to make the browser more appealing to a mass audience that may not care about engine politics. It adds modern styling, compact mode, customization, and a cleaner experience. But Varma's comments suggest the redesign is only one part of a larger strategy that includes consideration moments, enterprise deployments, AI choice, mobile investment, and continued work on Gecko.

Analysts have noted that Firefox's biggest barrier is simply that it is not Chrome. Safari and Edge are built into major operating systems, yet many people still download Chrome. Changing that habit will require Firefox to offer a clearly better experience and to be present when users are open to switching. Mozilla's enterprise push faces similar challenges, because IT decision-makers are hard to impress and already have deep ties to Microsoft and Google platforms. The opening may be strongest in Europe, where regulators and organizations are looking for alternatives to dominant platform providers.

The Firefox 157 redesign is a welcome update for a browser that had begun to feel conservative compared with niche competitors. It may not convince users who see Firefox primarily as a values statement, but it could make the browser more attractive in a market frustrated with Big Tech dominance. Varma's bet is that a better product, combined with more moments of consideration, can help Firefox grow. Whether that growth is enough to challenge Chromium's grip will depend on Mozilla's ability to turn its independence into features and experiences that give people a reason to switch.

Source:Ars Technica News