Give us the option to use the redesigned 3 dot menu and tab viewer or the old configuration.

[Crusader_Nejaa]

It's not secret that many people dislike the new changes to the menu and tabs viewer, further there are people who will not be able to use it or severely struggle to use it. By allowing us the option of which we use and see it will allow users to continue using our favorite and preferred android web browser as well as allow those who prefer the older style of menu and tab organization.

[nellieblue]

I agree, 100 percent.

very well stated and the form follows function statement, very true and how it should be if you want things to work well and have happy users! 

I also opened my account here just for this cause.

[nellieblue]

well more bad news may be on the way. I reverted my Firefox to the last older level that you could use the three dot menu on knowing that sooner or later it will become obsolete or they would try to force me to the newest version. bearing in mind that I have all my apps set to not Auto, today I had a bunch of updates needed for several apps so I mainly went through them and selected the ones I wanted to update but I did not select Firefox even though it was on the list. however once those apps got done updating the ones I did select I found that Firefox had also been updated without my permission. so I think they forced an upgrade on me because I was so far behind current level. now this phone is stuck with the user interface that I do not like nor does most other people. so be forewarned they appear to now be forcing the new system on us. I have a another identical phone that has not yet been forcefully Changed to the new user interface that no one likes.

[Grolter]

I also think the new design is worse than the old one, both functionally and visually. I think the new settings menu is bloated and looks bad, and the tab grid was better in the old design as well. The new design takes up way too much space in general.

Moreover, the new design arrived unexpectedly, just one update, and you don't even have a choice to switch back. It's not a nice way to roll out a new ui, especially considering that downgrading isn't really an option. Sure, it was available through experiments before (and enabled randomly for some people - and sure enough, many people wanted to get rid of it back then already), but deleting the old UI completely in order to "enable by default" the new one seems like a bad way to do it.

And given that a common answer to some of the problems with the new design seems to be "we did it intentionally" (missing media controls in tab overview, tab tray now being a full size window, way too large settings menu), these are design flaws, not something that can be fixed without simply bringing the old UI back.

So please do, bring the old UI back. And even if it's not easy, please make it a priority.

[andyf]

Hi everyone!

We owe you an apology. You have shared real, detailed feedback here, the kind that takes effort and comes from genuinely caring about Firefox, and we really appreciate that.

Here's the context: these weren't accidental changes. The menu and tab management redesign is the foundation we're building on for a broader set of updates coming to Firefox on Android, rolling out in phases.

We also want to set expectations clearly: we don't currently plan to bring back the previous menu as an option. The old implementation was built on an older design and architecture, and our focus is now on making the new experience more flexible, customizable, and shaped by your feedback.

We know that saying "it's part of something bigger" can feel like a non-answer, so we'd rather explain what we're building:

Phase 1: Toolbar & Menu Redesign (Shipped)

• Updated Firefox to use modern Android Material Design components.

• Modernized the app and laid the foundation for future improvements.

Phase 2: Toolbar Customization (Shipped)

• Choose whether your toolbar appears at the top, bottom, or as a double toolbar.

• Navigation controls are positioned closer to your thumb based on your toolbar placement.

• Added customizable toolbar shortcuts.

Phase 3: Menu Customization (Work in progress – planned for H2)

• Customize which actions appear in your menu.

Phase 4: Tablet & Large Device Improvements (Design in progress)

• Improve the experience on tablets and larger devices with a layout that feels closer to desktop Firefox.

We'd also like to invite interested community members to usability testing sessions with our UX and Product teams, so you can get your hands on upcoming features early and help shape what we actually ship. We'll share more information soon.

Seriously, thank you for all the feedback. This thread is exactly the kind of conversation that makes Firefox better

.

[breakingspell]

---

@andyf wrote:

The old implementation was built on an older design and architecture, and our focus is now on making the new experience more flexible, customizable, and shaped by your feedback.

I don't want to be rude in light of an official response to our usability issue, but if the new experience were flexible and customizable based on our feedback, the old UX would be an option. 

The Nav button placement in your screenshots are only one facet of the issue with hand placement and thumb movement. As a top-toolbar user, I would expect the menu to open from the top. As a linear list, it worked incredibly well for years. This new UX is seemingly designed around bottom-toolbar use. I personally cannot use the bottom toolbar comfortably alongside Android system gestures, swiping left and right on a bottom toolbar requires precision not to switch apps instead, especially with the hint hidden.

It's disappointing to hear that the design decision will not be walked back. I don't understand why the new UX hasn't been branded "Nova on Android" and given the opportunity to receive input from the whole community during development, as the current Desktop design is getting. Closed testing sessions from a small pool of power users would only go so far if the rest of the community is left out. 

Discussions for Android and for most of the Desktop components are locked behind corporate services (Atlassian, Figma, closed-door meetings), so there's no way for users to object to things early on in the process, before time is spent developing them. That's what really gets me, Bugzilla comments linking to design resources and mockups I cannot open because I'm not a Mozilla employee. 

----

Recently, I ignored my moral compass and tasked my GPU with vibe-coding the menus back on the latest nighties using the new Compose framework, as a Customization option. Even a low-end local model was able to produce a working proof of concept like this. These are not the original View components reverted, but recreated in Compose. 

I can't speak for everyone here, but this is what I want in the UX, bar none. Very very similar to how it looked and functioned before, but using the new backend. 

[fed-up]

Thanks for the update, andyf. Now I know I should stop waiting for a fix and switch to another browser. It's been a good 24 years, Firefox.

[Grolter]

@andyf 

> We owe you an apology
> we really appreciate that
> thank you for all the feedback
You know, it's just... sad. These words feel empty. You know why? Cause the whole response seems pretty clearly AI-written/generated/polished. The form of a response is there, but there is no soul in it. Honestly, it's kind of insulting.

> these weren't accidental changes
If you think this is a good reason for them, think again. Do you really think we didn't notice this was intentional? We may not have access to figma or whatever, but "this was an intentional design change" is all over the bugzilla. It's really kinda infuriating to see too. Intentional changes can still be bad.

> broader set of updates
> saying "it's part of something bigger" can feel like a non-answer
You know why? Cause it's not. It's not even close to an answer. 

> flexible, customizable, and shaped by your feedback
Except the new ui isn't any of these things. It cannot be truly customizable if the old ui isn't there. It's not flexible if it takes up a lot of unnecessary space and animation time, without any option to change it. It cannot be shaped by user feedback if it was designed in a closed conversation, then forced on everyone in an update, without any option to disable it, without any consideration if the redesign is needed or wanted by anyone at all.

> we don't currently plan to bring back the previous menu
Then you really should reevaluate your goals. It should be important for you not to break existing experience, especially given that firefox is an app many people use on a daily basis for many years. Don't break thinks. Just don't. Replacing working components with something new and different WITHOUT an option to disable it? It's just rude, that's what it is, really.

> The old implementation was built on an older design and architecture
> Updated Firefox to use modern Android Material Design components
Okay, so what's the problem? We're not talking about the code here. Look & feel of an UI isn't tied to the code architecture / libraries / whatever you use to implement it. If you needed to update the code, you should've done that first, without changing the ui itself. But I'm sure you can figure out how to bring the old ui back under the new code architecture. Cause you know, if something that simple is not possible, it can't be a good foundation for future updates then.

> real, detailed feedback here, the kind that takes effort
I would think it at least would deserve some effort to be put into the reply / evaluation of the said feedback. So far your reply was a non-answer. So please go back, actually put yourself in other's shoes, get your head around the fact that breaking things is bad, and then write an actual human-written answer. I really hope bringing back the old ui will actually be considered this time, and hopefully made a priority.

"Perfect is the enemy of good". New ui is worth little if it breaks the old experience. Don't break things, don't forcefully replace them with new, worse ones. And don't insult us by using ai to write a non-answer without actually addressing any feedback. You don't wanna reimplement the old ui which you deleted? I'm sure someone can do it for you, if you don't wanna fix things you broke, you just need to ask. Not ignore a problem you caused.

[arebc]

The example design shared just above by @breakingspell is something I would love too. If it can be done with Compose but still work and feel like the old way...

I know that an endless barrage of "just make it an option!" isn't always helpful to hear from your users. But for myself: I've gotten used to every single change over time, and been generally happy with it all. Except the new menu. The new menu on mobile/Android just does not want to stick in my head, and I'm still having to slow down to find what I want, it's not at all intuitive. I would vastly prefer if this was an option for those of us who still want to use the old layout.