Mozilla has officially released Firefox 157, bringing a major visual refresh to its browser across desktop and mobile. Internally developed as Project Nova, the redesign gives Firefox a softer, more modern appearance while bringing back a feature long requested by users: Compact Mode.

The release marks one of the biggest changes to Firefox’s interface in years. Mozilla says the goal wasn’t to reinvent the browser, but to make it feel more modern, flexible and consistent while retaining the privacy, customization and open-source principles that define Firefox.

And yes, you’re going to notice the difference the next time you open it.

Firefox gets a whole new look

The biggest change in Firefox 157 is the new design, which Mozilla has been testing in Nightly and Beta builds for several months. The company is now rolling it out to everyone on desktop and mobile.

The refreshed interface uses softer tab shapes, more rounded components, updated icons and rebalanced spacing throughout the browser. Mozilla has also introduced a refreshed color palette inspired by the visual language of Firefox itself, including warmer tones, smoky purples and subtle gradients around the active tab.

The changes aren’t limited to the tab bar. Toolbars, menus, settings, sidebars, browser controls and other parts of the interface have been updated to follow the same design system. Mozilla is also bringing the design language across desktop and mobile, giving Firefox a more consistent appearance regardless of where you’re using it.

Mozilla describes the result as a “renewal” rather than a replacement for Firefox. The underlying browser hasn’t suddenly become something else; it simply has a considerably fresher coat of paint.

Compact Mode is back

One of the more interesting additions in Firefox 157 isn’t actually new.

Compact Mode is back after users asked Mozilla to restore it. The option reduces the size of tabs and toolbar elements, giving web pages more room on the screen. There’s also an auto-compact option designed for smaller displays.

That’s a particularly welcome addition for laptop users, where every pixel of vertical space can make a difference. Instead of forcing everyone into the same spacious interface, Firefox now gives users another way to decide how dense they want their browser to be.

More ways to customize Firefox

Firefox 157 also expands the browser’s customization options with a new theme picker, additional themes and wallpapers, and more control over the New Tab page.

Users can choose what appears on the homepage and pin shortcuts for frequently visited sites, while the updated theme system makes it easier to change Firefox’s appearance without digging through settings.

Mozilla is positioning customization as a central part of the redesign rather than an afterthought. That fits with Firefox’s long-standing emphasis on letting users decide how their browser should look and behave.

It’s not just about appearances

Firefox 157 also includes several functional improvements.

WebRTC video calls can now use hardware AV1 decoding on supported devices instead of relying entirely on software decoding. That can reduce the processing workload during compatible AV1 video calls.

Mozilla has also addressed HDR playback issues on Windows, including cases where some 8-bit HDR videos appeared dull or gray. The update improves audio and video synchronization when repeatedly changing playback speed, too.

There are smaller interface changes as well. Pressing Tab in the address or search bar now moves focus directly to the text field rather than stopping at the search engine button first. Mozilla has also removed Amazon as a built-in search engine, although users can still add it as a custom search engine.

For developers, Firefox 157 adds support for the CSS at-rule() function within @supports, along with support for the TRANSIENT_ATTACHMENT WebGPU texture usage type.

A faster Firefox release cycle

Firefox 157 also arrives as part of Mozilla’s new two-week release cadence. Mozilla began moving Firefox to the faster schedule with Firefox 155 in September, with the goal of getting completed features and fixes to users more quickly and making releases more predictable.

That means Firefox users should now get major browser updates more frequently than under the previous four-week schedule. It doesn’t necessarily mean every release will be packed with major new features, but Mozilla says the shorter cycle should make it easier to ship completed work sooner.

For Firefox, though, version 157 is clearly more than another number in the release history. It’s the point where Mozilla’s new design becomes the face of the browser.

Firefox still works like Firefox. It still puts privacy and customization front and center. But after years of incremental interface changes, Mozilla has finally given its browser a much more obvious visual reset.

And if you’ve spent the last few years thinking Firefox looked a little too much like the browser you remembered from 2019, Firefox 157 is Mozilla’s answer: maybe it’s time to take another look.