Mozilla Releases Quantum Browser To Compete With Chrome

In an effort to win back Google Chrome browser users, Firefox released its new Mozilla browser, Quantum, Nov. 14 after two months of beta testing and modification.

The browser is faster than its Firefox predecessor, according to TechCrunch, and claims to use up to 30 percent less memory than competitors.

Mark Mayo, vice president at Firefox, said the company tested the display on various types of hardware in order to accommodate “any kind of device you’re using,” according to TechCrunch, adding that the design will allow the browser to more easily accommodate to new specs and devices released in the future.

Google Chrome, Firefox’s top competitor, currently holds nearly 60 percent of the market of internet users, while Safari takes more than 12 percent of the market and Firefox holds less than 10 percent, according to StatCounter statistics.

The Google browser overtook Firefox after it released a browser compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux computers in 2010, according to Wired.

Mayo said it was “by far the biggest reboot” Firefox has ever taken in its history, according to Wired. He admitted that Firefox fell behind competitors in developing technology in the past decade, but said the company set a new goal of creating a browser fast enough and straightforward enough to use that customers will be drawn to it naturally.

Mayo also said that Chrome fundamentally exists to continue Google’s advertising service, in contrast to Firefox’s function as a non-profit business.

Other browsers on the market today include Opera and Microsoft Edge, a similar attempt made by Microsoft to phase out Internet Explorer and replace it with a simpler, smaller browser that would attract more users. So far, the browser does not appear to have generated the increased interest that Microsoft hoped for, according to ZDNet, with the browser failing to recapture a significant share of the market in the two years since its release.

Early testing indicates the Quantum browser may have speeds matching Chrome’s. The browser will also continue to use Google as its primary search engine, according to PCGamer. In addition, it integrates the feature “Pocket,” which enables users to pin content and articles to a feed so they can revisit it and read it later.

[Featured Image by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images]