Firefox 29 has left beta to become the latest stable release for desktop PCs and Android devices, bringing with it a long-promised UI overhaul, new customization options, and an improved data sync feature.
Mozilla senior user experience designer Jennifer Morrow compared the old Firefox UI to a sinking ship and said one could think of the redesign as "a new hull."
Long story short, the Mozilla browser's "Australis" redesign means it is now virtually a dead ringer for Google's Chrome, although it does offer a few unique features if you look past the surface.
Gone is the familiar orange Firefox menu in the upper left of the desktop browser window. In its place is a new menu to the right of the URL bar (just like Chrome) that's activated by clicking an icon of three lines stacked on top of each other (just like Chrome).
Firefox 29 also marks the official debut of the improved Sync feature, which is powered by Mozilla's new Firefox Accounts – yet another Chrome-ish concept. The new service is now included in both the desktop and Android versions of the browser.
Overall, if you were pleased with the design decisions Google made with Chrome, you'll be happy with Firefox's new direction, which Mozilla say was designed "to reflect how you use the Web today." If, on the other hand, you preferred how you used the web yesterday, you might be disappointed.
One thing Firefox prides itself on, however, is its high degree of customizability. If you don't like the new defaults, Firefox 29 still supports over 300,000 available Appearance Add-Ons, including so-called Complete Themes that can change the look and feel of the browser radically.
Firefox 29 is available for download now from Mozilla's homepage and from the Google Play store for Android devices, and it will begin rolling out to current users via the browser's built-in update feature over the coming days. ®
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