Firefox Search Bar Gets An Upgrade In Version 75
We do a lot of things on the Internet and, these days, we do a whole lot more. For many people, that basically means communicating with others and browsing the Web. While the web browser itself has become the home for much of that, one part of it has actually become the unsung hero of the Web experience. That's why Mozilla is giving Firefox's search bar some much-needed attention to make it easier to search for things, even pages you may have forgotten are already opened.
The web browser's address bar is one of the oldest elements ever since the very first web browser, predating almost all other UI elements, even tabs. That text input area once served only one purpose, to type in an IP address or URL to access a website or server. It has grown out of that singular functionality and mostly thanks to Firefox.
Although taken for granted these days, Firefox was one of if not the first browser maker to turn the address bar into something more. It was turned into a way to directly search the Web without having to first go to a web search engine like Google or Yahoo. Unfortunately for Mozilla, Chrome's "Omnibox" overtook it in terms of functionality, many of which is just now coming to Firefox.
The revamped Firefox Search Bar is leveling up in the latest version of Firefox. Visually speaking, it will become more prominent the moment you click on it, making it easier to see and interact with. It will show top sites even before you type anything and will highlight popular keywords in suggested results. And in case you're trying to open a web page that has been buried underneath dozens of tabs, Firefox will also conveniently offer to take you there instead.
This more powerful Search Bar is rolling out to Firefox 75 for the desktop. Unlike Google and Microsoft, Mozilla seems confident enough in the stability of Firefox that it will proceed with its release schedule this year as normal. Hopefully, it is equally confident in its ability to fix things when, not if, they do break.