Floorp 12.20.1 fixes memory issues and freezes from a previous feature-packed update

Floorp 12.20.1 is out, and it is a maintenance release aimed at a memory problem that was introduced in the 12.20.0 update, which was actually a feature-packed update. This update sits on top of it.

According to the official release notes, the issue made Floorp’s memory consumption unusually high. We have attached a screenshot from the post below for your reference.

The memory usage would grow quickly during startup or when a right-click menu was opened, which would cause the browser to become unresponsize/freeze up. The issue has been fixed in the latest version, and the team thanked users who reported the bug.

The notes continue to explain that Flasco’s implementation was to blame. Flasco is Floorp’s system for rolling out experimental features gradually so that not all users get them at the same time. Parts of the new right-click menu customization were still running in the background for people who still did not receive the feature, and this resulted in the memory usage issues. The company said that Flasco would improve here on out.

While the memory/freeze fixes are part of the latest update, the previous 12.20.0 update, which shipped a day before, includes some new features. It moves the Firefox base to v157.0.1, and it includes some fixes for mobile mode in Web Panels. I have attached a screenshot of the changelog below.

The major changes in the previous update include:

1. Sidebar behavior: It’s the most visible change in this update. Floorp Hub now has “Display over the page” and “Open on mouse hover” options.
2. Command palette gets its own settings page: You can change the size, position, and text size. You can also decide whether tabs, bookmarks, and history show up in suggestions.
3. Notes can be saved as a Markdown file now.
4. Right-click menu customization: It’s the experimental feature that caused the major memory issues in the first place. It lets you hide menu items or reorder the ones you use the most.
5. Tab clutter is easier to fix now. UI extensions can now hide close buttons and individual indicators.

You can view the Release Notes for both of the updates from here.

It’s good to see continuous updates that bring something new for users, since the previous update shipped with various customization options.

Floorp continues to skip the Firefox Nova redesign, and for those unaware, Mozilla is actually planning to kill off the flag that lets you turn off Nova. Whether the Firefox-spinoff browsers will manage to continue avoiding Nova remains to be seen.

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