Mozilla adds new features to Firefox for iOS

Mozilla released the latest version of its Firefox web browser for iOS devices on Tuesday, which now features customisable search and better energy efficiency.

Mozilla had not been able to make much of an impact on mobile and had been unsuccessful so far, but the company was now hoping that the new update could change that.

To address the issue, Mozilla had made Firefox OS phones earlier, but this came a cropper and Mozilla was now making more of an effort with its mobile web browser.

The new version of Firefox for iOS cuts 40 per cent off processor use and up to 30 per cent for memory use, making it possible for the browser to save up on power and make an iPhone's or iPad's battery last longer.

Mozilla also said that by cutting down on processor and memory use, pages would load even faster than before.

With the new feature more people could be convinced to start using Firefox on their iOS devices instead of Google Chrome or Apple's own Safari browser.

"We created these new features in Firefox for iOS because of what we heard from our users, and we look forward to more feedback on the updates," Mozilla's VP of Firefox Nick Nguyen said in a blog post.

Nguyen added in the Mozilla Blog, that the new Firefox for iOS received a significant speed boost thanks to the efforts of summer engineer intern Tyler Lacroix. Those improvements would allow users to access web pages faster and reduce battery drain, he added.

"In Tyler's testing, he saw up to 40% reduction in CPU usage and up to 30% reduction in memory usage when using this latest version of Firefox," Nguyen said yesterday. "Of course, all devices and humans are different so results may vary. Either way, we are psyched to roll out these improvements to you today."