Mozilla Firefox 6 is now available to download from Mozilla's servers. The automatic update is expected to reach users in the coming week, but if you want it now the download links are below. This release continues Mozilla's rapid release schedule that kicked off with Firefox 5, a strategy designed to keep the browser competitive, particularly against Google's Chrome which has been running a similar update cadence.
Speed and Performance
Mozilla's primary focus with Firefox 6 has been speed. The improvements are not visually obvious, but in everyday use you should notice the 20% speed increase Mozilla is claiming alongside a significant reduction in memory consumption. Neither of these changes are flashy, but they are the kind of improvements that make a real difference to how the browser feels over the course of a day.
Developer Tools Get a Long-Overdue Update
The Developer Menu has been updated for the first time since Firefox 4. The headline addition is Scratchpad, a new tool that lets developers write and execute JavaScript code in real-time directly within the browser. The Get More Tools option also links out to a curated range of developer extensions including Firebug and Stylish, making it easier to extend the browser's development capabilities without going hunting through the add-on library.
Download Firefox 6