New UI looks terrible

[157UIveryBAD]

In a world where every single usable software UI copies apple and goes the way of bubbly cartoon circles, soft corners, etc, you had the chance to be different. It was a primary reason I use this browser. The UI now looks awful. I'm trying to work and learn online, not pretend I'm in some futuristic cartoon version of a factory control room. Please provide a setting to use the old UI.  

[Vexflame]

I am legally blind and can no longer function using this browser I need someone to send a ticket or something PLEASE HELP IMMEDIATELY CHANGE IT BACK I CAN'T SEE MY TABS

[amichala]

The new, rounded UI in Project Nova looks truly awful and is an eyesore. Cramming all those bloated, rounded elements into the desktop browser destroys the clarity of the geometry and the ergonomics of a dense workspace. Stop chasing mobile design trends and give users a proper, crisp, classic interface. And it used to look so good...

[Usurpine]

Compact mode does not reduce spacing in menus and settings rows sufficiently

The new interface uses significantly larger row spacing in nearly all menus, dialogs, and lists. As a result, far fewer entries fit on the screen at the same time. Compact mode only changes this partially. Please provide a genuinely compact density option for the entire user interface, or restore the previous information density.

And to be honest, i hate it. This is not what i expect from good developement. Stupid Idea to think we need this. Its not helping, it just looks bad. 

[zaneselvans]

The new UI is a disaster:

• The information density of the tabs is much lower than it was before making it hard to see what is going on up there -- text in my tab group labels is tiny and surrounded by a rounded blob of wasted space.
• The default use of colors around all the tabs is confusing, when color is also used to indicate what container each tab is part of -- I use orange for my work container, but now they all look orange with the default theme.
• Even after fixing that with a monochrome theme, the amount of color associated with the container-associated tabs is much less than before -- it's almost invisible on a pinned tab -- it should run across the whole top of the tab, not just a little dash in the middle.

This in combination with the constant stream of 5-10 second freezes while I try to interact with UI elements or type in a text box makes the browser almost unusable. I've never wanted to downgrade Firefox to a previous version before, but am doing so right now.

[MattStryfe]

Couldn't agree more.  Made an account just to make this reply.  Please allow us to revert or do what the OP said and fire your designers. 

This is the opposite of what power users want.  If anything, we want to go the other way. 

This overhaul should have been a theme.  Stop forcing your opinion on users or they are going to leave just like w/ Chrome.

[vibecodejeet]

Please stop making up busywork and calling it innovation. The new UI is terrible and the entire team should be fired. It's quite simply awful. Stop doing this.

But you won't and the same people will continue to fail upwards.

👍

[bluelightzero]

I still miss when firefox had tabs that *looked like tabs*. You know... that connect the tab to the page.

[Ondřej]

I agree with others, disgusting UI change nearly every version.

[MartinM]

I haven't read all comments but I totally agree with WereCatf and other commenters. 

What I am also missing is with previous versions you could 'rest' the mouse pointer to the top of the screen when selecting tab (when the window is maximized). This is no longer possible as the tabs don't go all the way up, instead users now have to manouver the mouse pointer - with precision - vertically to select the desired tab. 

All in all a huge drawback from previous UI design - especially when using a touch pad on a laptop. 

C'mon Mozilla, you can do better! 

[mrcalzon02]

Oh boy. I will say up front that I am firmly on the side of the people who do not like the new look, and I also noticed a very real performance hit after the update. My system suddenly began running noticeably worse, so I am not particularly persuaded by blanket claims that the new design offers “improved performance.” It may improve performance on certain machines, with certain hardware configurations and workloads, but that is not the same thing as improving performance universally.

That said, experimenting with new ideas is not the problem. Trying new things is good. Making those experiments effectively mandatory is where I start having a serious problem.

Imagine instead that the update had opened with a small announcement: “Hey, we’ve introduced a new theming and interface system. Here are a few examples of what it can do. Would you like to try it?” Give people a short visual demonstration, let them opt in, and preserve the previous layout for people who prefer it. You probably would have had considerably fewer users metaphorically chasing the development staff down the hallway with axes.

People generally do not like abrupt changes to tools they use every day. I understand why software companies sometimes force updates: security changes, compatibility requirements, platform maintenance, and other things genuinely do require moving the baseline forward. There are situations where “the update is happening; this is the supported version now” is unavoidable.

But a browser interface is not an operating-system security subsystem.

Firefox, in particular, has spent years positioning itself around privacy, user agency, ownership, openness, and control. That creates expectations. When a product built around those principles begins adopting the same industry habits as everyone else, mandatory redesigns, reduced customization, features users did not request being pushed prominently, and increasingly aggressive AI integration, it feels especially contradictory.

The issue is not simply, “I dislike this particular shade of gray” or “the buttons moved and now I’m angry.”

The issue is the erosion of user choice.

There is an enormous difference between saying, “We built a new interface and would love for you to try it,” and saying, “We decided this is what Firefox looks like now. Adapt.”

One approach treats users as participants in the ecosystem. The other treats them as occupants.

And yes, I understand the argument that if every legacy interface and behavior remains available forever, software becomes impossible to maintain. Nobody reasonably expects every UI iteration from the last twenty years to remain supported indefinitely. But there is a very large middle ground between supporting everything forever and replacing a familiar interface overnight without meaningful transition controls.

That middle ground is where communication, staged rollouts, theme options, compatibility periods, and user-selectable layouts are supposed to live.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that the alternatives are not exactly appealing. I am not going to suddenly flee to Chrome because Firefox stubbed its toe, proudly pointed at the bruise, and expected applause. Chrome has its own substantial problems with privacy, control, ecosystem lock-in, and increasingly opinionated product decisions.

So this is not “Firefox changed something, therefore Firefox is terrible.”

It is closer to: Firefox changed something in a way that conflicts with one of the major reasons many of us chose Firefox in the first place.

You have historically been the browser for people who wanted the browser to belong to them.

Please be very careful about becoming another browser that merely allows us to use what you have decided belongs to you.

[LeptonHeavy]

The name/label of the navigational element being disconnected from the content was a very poor decision. It put the trendy whims of the design committee before function and ease of use. 
The tab metaphor has worked for decades - it continues to work today.

Connect the content to the label for the content.

This isn't a car body - we don't need a new design every year.

STOP WHOLESALE REDESIGN - focus on usability. Firefox is a tool - Fix what's broken - Leave the rest alone!

[kamaila]

I see a lot of people in the comments complaining about the new interface, saying they find it hard to use. I've been using Firefox for years and have watched its interface evolve over time; it's a progression that adapts to new trends. We can't expect Firefox to stay stuck in the Stone Age just because some people here dislike something trivial, when there are much better things the browser should be improving.

For example:

- Better RAM and resource usage.
- Improvements to the sleeping tabs system when tabs go unused for a long time.
- Better privacy.
- A randomized digital fingerprint across everything.
- Improvements to the translator.
- The release of a built-in ad blocker.
- Better autofill on websites.
- A profile password for each user who has their own profile in the browser.
- Faster page loading and browser startup.
- Better battery usage on laptops and phones.

There are plenty of things the browser can improve, so people shouldn't just complain about an interface that you get used to over time. Personally, I like the interface and I adapt quickly to changes; I enjoy watching it move forward and not get left behind on an old design just because some people find it hard to use and ugly.

[blonkus]

I hate it so much that I made an account on here specifically to shame them for it

[Swiths]

I absolutely agree

[cacz]

The rounded corners in the interface are so gross that if they don't change this, I'm switching to Chrome 😕