Firefox on Android will soon get a major one-handed usability update if the latest Nightly test goes well. If you use a phone with a large display (which phones don’t these days?), you’ll know it’s hard to reach the top of the screen to switch tabs.
Well, it looks like Mozilla is working on a solution. In its latest Nightly build, Mozilla is testing a new bottom tab bar layout in Firefox for Android.
The current stable version of Firefox for Android forces you to put the address bar at the top of the screen if you want to use the bottom tab bar. So you have to decide whether you want to stretch your thumb to reach the address bar or use the convenience of the tab bar at the bottom of the screen.
The restriction is finally removed in the latest Firefox 158.0a1 nightly build 2016185695. We noticed that when you open the Customize settings menu in the browser, you now have a dedicated tab bar location section where you can choose Top or Bottom. Here are a couple of screenshots comparing the tab bar settings in Stable and Nightly builds.
Even if you set the tab bar to the bottom position, you can still use the address bar at the bottom of the screen. The tab strip sits on top of the address bar, where you can reach it with one hand. No need for gymnastics anymore.
This is part of a larger set of changes that Mozilla is making. We’ve already reported on how the company is trying to make the browser more secure on Android with Website Isolation. There’s also a new OLED dark theme that’s in the oven, something that fans have been asking for a long time.
Being able to swipe between open tabs along the bottom without constantly opening a tall full-screen tab grid really feels more natural and intuitive, just like how phones should work. It makes everything so much smoother and more user-friendly.
Since this feature is still in Nightly, it might be a little while before it reaches beta and stable versions.
Dwayne Cubbins
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I cover fast-moving stories across apps, online platforms, and everyday tech — phones, wearables, consoles, and whatever else people are fighting with this week. Bugs, rollouts, scams, policy enforcement, and the occasional internet-culture rabbit hole are all fair game. My goal is simple — make confusing tech news readable. When I'm not working, I'm working out or chilling with my dog. Got a tip? You can find me on X @dcubbins.