Mozilla Releases Last Firefox 4 Beta

Mozilla has shipped what may be the final test version of Firefox 4, the long-delayed update to the popular browser.

Beta 12 was due to be released two weeks ago but was delayed to give developers more time to tackle a few remaining bugs. Mozilla had originally planned to release the final version of the browser in October of last year.

Video performance

“Firefox 4’s final planned beta now available for your testing pleasure,” said Asa Dotzler, head of community for Firefox marketing projects, in a Twitter post. “Get it now, and let us know how it goes.”

The release improves the browser’s video performance, Mozilla said in a blog post, noting that developers have fixed more than 7,000 bugs since the first beta.

“This release delivers improved performance and responsiveness when watching videos on your favorite video websites,” the company stated.

On 17 February, Firefox release manager Christian Legnitto wrote to the mozilla.dev.planning newslist that a planned build of Firefox 4 beta 12 would be cancelled while developers worked on fixing “the few remaining betaN hardblockers”.

He confirmed at the time that beta 12 was the last planned test version, but added: “We reserve the right to have a beta 13 if issues found in beta 12 need additional coverage before a release candidate (RC).”

Graphics and security

Improvements planned for Firefox 4 include better graphics and security, improved synchronisation setup, and a do-not-track option.

The browser faces competition from Google’s Chrome, which is being pushed aggressively by the search giant, amongst others.