Firefox 147 is out with video playback improvements, better picture-in-picture, and more

It is time for the first major Firefox update in 2026. Version 147 is now available for download with quite a hefty list of new features and changes, including WebGPU support on Apple Silicon Macs and all supported macOS versions, improved video playback performance on PCs with AMD GPUs, the ability to customize shortcuts, automatic picture-in-picture launch, and more.

Here is the changelog:

• WebGPU support is now enabled for devices with Apple Silicon processors on all supported macOS versions.
• Firefox now supports Compression Dictionaries. This standard has already been adopted by several major sites and can significantly reduce the number of bytes transferred to load a page. This leads to faster page load times, particularly in limited bandwidth situations.
• Improved video playback performance on systems with AMD GPUs by enabling zero-copy playback for hardware-decoded video where supported, bringing them to parity with Intel and NVIDIA GPUs.
• Firefox now supports the Safe Browsing V5 protocol and is migrating from Safe Browsing V4 to the local list mode of Safe Browsing V5 protocol.
• Users with Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) set to Strict will have local network access restrictions enabled by default. Firefox will now require users to explicitly allow public websites to access local network resources.
• Firefox now allows you to customize your keyboard shortcuts to replace hard-to-type or hard-to-remember hotkeys, eliminate conflicts with other software, and create your preferred set. Access this experimental new feature by typing `about:keyboard` in the address bar.
• Firefox now supports the Freedesktop.org
• A Picture-in-Picture player window can now optionally be opened automatically for a video playing in a tab when that tab goes into the background.

Here is what was fixed:

• Fixed an issue that prevented some Windows users from selecting a tab when the cursor was at the top of the screen and the Firefox window was maximized.
• Fixed a bug that made HTTP/3 requests containing non-UTF-8 header values time out or fall back to HTTP/2 after a while.
• A draggable button can now be dragged if initiated from the button itself.
• For Linux GNOME Mutter users, window and rendering surface sizes were updated to match the actual pixel grid so Firefox delivers sharp rendering on fractionally scaled displays regardless of the actual window size.

Additionally, the update fixes security vulnerabilities (will be available later) and changes plenty of stuff for developers and enterprise users. You will be able to find release notes on the official website (once they become available). If you want to update Firefox right now, you can get it from Mozilla's FTP. Firefox 147 will be available for download from existing installations in a few hours.

Source

Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.

Posted Tuesday 13 January 2026 at 4:04 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025: 5,700+

RIP Matrix