Early mockups published by Mozilla watcher Sören Hentzschel provide an initial look at a potential new design direction for Firefox, internally called “Nova.” The images present a concept Mozilla is currently exploring, though development is in its early stages and no release has been announced.
For reference, Firefox has seen several major interface overhauls, including Australis in 2014, Photon in 2017, and Proton in 2021. Now, five years after the last such, Nova may represent the next evolution in visual design, but it remains an internal concept at this stage.
A key feature of the Nova mockups is the prominent use of rounded shapes throughout the interface. Tabs, the address bar, and the navigation toolbar are noticeably more rounded than in the current Firefox UI. The top section of the browser combines the tab bar and navigation controls into a single rounded container, rather than separate elements.
This design language is applied throughout the interface. Elements like the sidebar launcher, start page components, and the content area of web pages are all shown within rounded containers. Compared to the current flat surfaces, the concept offers a softer and more cohesive visual style.
Regarding color scheme, some mockups use subtle gradients instead of single-color surfaces, often favoring violet tones. However, the accent color may depend on the selected theme or user settings, as other examples show a mint-colored start page with matching UI elements.
The screenshots also show how the design could support vertical tabs, a feature Mozilla is actively developing. The mockups include a visible compact mode option. While Firefox still supports compact interface density, it is currently hidden behind a configuration preference and not officially available in settings. Including a dedicated option in the mockups suggests Mozilla may restore official support for this layout.
Other images display the interface in both light and dark themes, along with examples of the Firefox menu and private browsing windows. One screenshot shows two tabs displayed side by side, highlighting another feature in development.
Once again – despite the detailed mockups, Nova is not a confirmed upcoming Firefox release. These visuals represent internal design explorations that may change significantly before implementation or may never reach stable builds.
However, a quick check references to “Project Nova” appear in Mozilla’s public Bugzilla tracker, where several development tickets reference UI refinements and onboarding redesign work tied to the project, which largely confirms that work has begun in this direction.
For more details and early views of Firefox’s Nova vision, refer to the original post on Hentzschel’s blog. Please note that the post is in German.
Image credits: Sören Hentzschel
Surprisingly I really like this
Mozilla developers… please make the scroll bar bigger!
Sharp corners scare me.
Way too rounded corners scare me.