Firefox 159 introduces AI-powered Smart Window

Mozilla has released Firefox 159, introducing the AI-powered "Smart Window" feature. This allows users to ask the browser to monitor web pages for changes, such as price drops or restocking, by typing /watch in the chat window and selecting a check frequency. The browser then alerts users when changes are detected.

Smart Window notifications and management

When the Smart Window detects a change, Firefox sends a desktop notification and marks the "Tasks" button in the toolbar with a dot. Users can adjust, pause, or delete monitoring tasks through the "Tasks" button or via the about:smartwindowtasks page. This feature is being rolled out gradually, so not all users will see it immediately.

Improved page summarization and sharing features

The "Summarize the page" function now sends the page address to the chatbot provider instead of the page content, avoiding partial summaries of long articles. On macOS, users can now share tabs using the native macOS share selector, which includes a preview of the page and options like AirDrop and Messages. Saved passwords also appear by default in the sidebar, improving convenience.

Keyboard shortcuts and interface changes

Firefox has redesigned keyboard navigation, introducing new shortcuts for searching open tabs and accessing extensions. On Windows and Linux, Ctrl+Shift+A searches tabs, and Ctrl+Shift+F accesses extensions. On macOS, Cmd+Shift+A and Cmd+Shift+E serve the same functions. These shortcuts can be customized in about:keyboard.

iOS updates and advertising campaign

On iOS, Firefox is redesigning "Quick Answers" for a cleaner experience, though it remains available only in the United States. The update also adds Google Lens support for on-screen image searches. Separately, Mozilla launched a nostalgic advertising campaign to attract users who have switched to other browsers, emphasizing a return to a more user-friendly Internet.

Bug fixes and performance improvements

Mozilla has resolved several issues, including incorrect file download locations, memory leaks with certain web applications, and display problems with NVIDIA RTX Video HDR. Fixes also address bookmark import issues, clipboard errors, and display problems with long dropdown lists. Memory usage on Linux systems with AMD graphics cards has also been improved.

Changes for macOS users

On macOS, Firefox now opens login pages for apps like ChatGPT by default instead of Safari when set as the default browser. The "Summarize the page" feature now sends the page address instead of content, avoiding partial summaries. Keyboard shortcuts for tab search and extensions have been updated, and web addresses in non-Latin scripts now display properly instead of encoded text.

Enterprise and developer updates

Firefox Enterprise users can find updates and patches in the official update notes. For developers, Firefox now supports scroll-driven animations and scoped custom element registries. The browser also adds new CSS properties and WebGL extensions. The Sanitizer API now cleans HTML code during analysis, preventing unnecessary custom element execution.