Firefox 156 reduces CPU usage when viewing JPGs, opens PDFs 45% faster and fixes many bugs

Mozilla has released Firefox 156, delivering notable performance improvements alongside new platform-specific features. The browser's built-in PDF viewer now launches up to 45% faster, while memory and CPU usage have been optimized when rendering large JPEG images scaled down to fit web pages. For Windows users on ARM64 processors, WebRTC video calls can now leverage hardware H264 decoding rather than relying on slower software fallback, a meaningful upgrade for compatible devices.

The update brings platform-specific enhancements that expand user control across different operating systems. On macOS, Firefox can now be configured to launch automatically at system startup directly from the settings' menu, streamlining workflow for power users. Mozilla also rolled out localized Wikipedia and occasional sponsored suggestions in the address bar for users in France, Germany, and Italy, with the ability to disable these features through Firefox Suggest settings.

Several usability bugs were addressed in this release. Notable fixes include proper handling of high-sample-rate FLAC audio in MP4 containers for streaming sites like Bilibili, corrected subtitle behavior in Picture-in-Picture windows, and resolution of bookmark folder rearrangement issues. Additionally, the browser now handles DNS over HTTPS more gracefully when encountering sites without HTTPS support. These incremental improvements reflect Mozilla's continued focus on stability and cross-platform compatibility as Firefox reaches version 156.