It hasn’t been long since the last major Firefox update, but right on schedule, Firefox 115 is now rolling out. The new update has the usual mix of new features and improvements, but it’s also the end of the road for older Windows versions.
Firefox 115 doesn’t have any significant new features, like the new Picture-in-Picture experience introduced in version 113, but there are many smaller changes that add up to make the browser even better. Hardware video decoding is now enabled for Linux PCs with Intel graphics cards, undo and redo actions are now available in passwords fields, and the tab manager dropdown now has close buttons. The Android browser also has a new search button in the address bar for quickly switching search engines and accessing your bookmarks and browser history.
Mozilla is also improving Firefox’s browser migration tool, which is used to transfer data from other web browsers into the Firefox profile. The new migration wizard, which was slowly rolled out in Firefox 114, is now fully enabled by default. Firefox also now supports importing payment methods from Chrome-based browsers.
Firefox 115 will be the final update for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, but Mozilla isn’t dropping those operating systems entirely just yet. PCs on those versions of Windows will be moved to the Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) channel, which is updated less frequently but still receives security fixes as Mozilla rolls them out to other Firefox versions. Mozilla is promising to keep Firefox 115 ESR patched with security updates until September 2024.
Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, and most other Chromium-based browsers dropped support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 earlier this year. That left Firefox as the last remaining mainstream browser still supporting Windows versions earlier than Windows 10. Mozilla has committed to another year of security fixes, but after that, there won’t really be a safe way to browse the web on Windows versions before 10. On a related note, Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 one year after that, in October 2025. It’s not clear when web browsers will start to require Windows 11 at a minimum, though.
How to Update Firefox
Firefox will automatically install the update on your computer, phone, or tablet when it’s available. To immediately check for and install any available updates, click the menu icon at the top-right of the browser toolbar and select “About Firefox.”
You can download Firefox from Mozilla’s official website, the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Microsoft Store.
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