Mozilla to Improve Firefox Memory Performance by 30%

Firefox is nearing its next version transition as Firefox 6 is scheduled to be released on August 16.

Version 7 and version 8 are, however, the first significant releases as far as product changes are concerned. Firefox 7, for example, will come with big memory usage improvements. According to Mozilla's Nicholas Nethercote, Firefox 7 uses 20 to 30 percent less memory than Firefox 4, 5 and 6. As a result, Mozilla promises Firefox to run faster and says that it is less likely to crash.

The reduced memory usage is the result of the MemShrinkproject, which was started just before the release of Firefox 5 and as a reaction to an increasing number of complaints that Firefox has turned into a huge memory hog - a trend that was amplified by half-baked, memory-intensive features in Firefox 4. Firefox 7 features an overall much more efficient usage of memory as well as the ability to finally release all occupied memory when a tab is closed. Nathan Kirsch from Legit Reviews, for example, found that Firefox 7 used 40 percent less memory than Firefox 5.

Mozilla has been criticized for not introducing enough new features in its rapid release cycle. However, it appears that Firefox 7 is shaping up as a major release that increases stability and performance. Firefox 8 will introduce several GUI changes that were originally promised for Firefox 5.