Mozilla launches Firefox 121 with Wayland by default for Linux, security fixes, and more

Mozilla has just unveiled Firefox 121, packed with new features, enhancements, and bug fixes. A significant change for Linux users is the shift to the Wayland compositor as the default, replacing XWayland. This update brings support for touchpad and touchscreen gestures, swipe-to-nav, per-monitor DPI settings, and improved graphics performance. However, due to Wayland protocol limitations, Picture-in-Picture windows require an extra user interaction or a shell/desktop-environment tweak.

For Windows users, Firefox will now prompt the installation of the Microsoft AV1 Video Extension if not already installed, enabling hardware decoding support for the AV1 video codec. macOS users can now use Voice Control commands with Firefox, expanding accessibility options.

A new feature in Firefox 121 is the ability to force links to always be underlined. This option can be activated in the Browsing section of the Firefox Settings menu. In addition, the PDF viewer has been enhanced with a floating button that simplifies the deletion of drawings, text, and images added in PDFs.

Firefox 121 also brings several security fixes, detailed on Mozilla's website, as well as improvements to the developer tools.