JPEG XL support is back in Firefox Nightly

It feels like I barely go a day without writing about Firefox (Ubuntu’s default web browser) or yet-more “AI” (quote marks mainly for the ‘I’) features getting shoved inside of anything — but hey: news is news!

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Microsoft CoPilot chatbot support has added in the latest Firefox Nightly builds.

As the testing bed for features Mozilla wants to add to stable builds (though not all make it – eh, rounded bottom window corners?), this is something you can expect to find in a future stable update.

Firefox’s sidebar already offers access to popular chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Le Chat’s Mistral and Google’s Gemini. It previously offered HuggingChat too.

The latest Firefox Nightly builds add Microsoft’s CoPilot to the mix:

CoPilot in Firefox offers the same features as other chatbots: text prompts, upload files or images, generate images, support for entering voice prompts (for those who fancy their voice patterns being analysed and trained on).

And like those other chatbots, there are usage limits, privacy policies, and (for some) account creation needed. In testing, CoPilot would only generate half a summary for a webpage, telling me it was too long to produce without me signing in/up for an account.

All-in on AI integrations

On a related note, Mozilla has updated stable builds to let third-party chatbots summarise web pages when browsing (in-app callout alerts users to the ‘new’ feature). Users yet to enable chatbots are subtly nudged to do so each time they right-click on web page:

Despite making noise about its own (sluggish, but getting faster) on-device AI features that are privacy-orientated, Mozilla is bullish on the need for external chatbots, aka word calculators using statistical engines to generate plausible-sounding answers based on word sequences in their training data.

—Sorry; my snark is flaring real bad today, but at least I haven’t used the ‘C’ word that might hurty-wurty AI’s alleged feelings.

Why?

Rival browsers, like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, can infuse first-party AI features directly. Mozilla is keen-to-be-seen to not lag behind in the AI race, so is embracing both on-device AI (for community kudos) and other companies’ chatbots (for potential revenue streams).

It’s a pragmatic play, if nothing else.

New Tab Page widgets inbound

Since I’m here, all up in your face writing about Firefox Nightly I might as well mention that a couple of non-AI features are available for testing. There’s no guarantees these will feature in a stable release, but they aren’t being built for LOLs.

In Firefox Labs, there are is an option to enable JPEG XL support, a super-optimised version of JPEG that is gaining traction (despite Google’s intransigence).

There are also toggle to test new task and timer widgets on the New Tab page:

These widgets feel formative (the signpost text for the tasks widget is very ‘that’ll do for now’) but as it’s Nightly, being a rad unrefined is expected.

They are interesting additions, and point to a Vivaldi-esque future for Firefox’s New Tab page. Mozilla’s certainly been working on bulking out page so make it less of a speed-dial and more a referral-driving springboard over the past year or so.

First it added new tab wallpapers, then the option for users to add custom images; there’s (supposedly) a weather widget; it ‘streamlined’ story cards on the new tab page (to show less info, making you need to visit to learn more); and introduced “topics” in Firefox 142 (for US users).

Now, timer and to-do list widgets.

It’s clear Mozilla sees its New Tab page as a valuable space — which is perhaps why it wants to surface¹ Google trends, as a widget or search term chips beneath the search box:

I’ve opined before that I’m not sold on the idea of turning the New Tab page into a screaming portal of attention-hijacking content. It feels counter productive to user-driven browsing. Chrome, for all its flaws, at least keeps its new tab page comparatively clean.

This is perhaps why I “vibe” with Zen Browser’s approach: no new tab page at all, just a floating palette where I can choose a frequently visited site, start a search or enter a URL – no time wasting upsells for someone else’s benefit.

If you’re keen to test what’s next for yourself, you can download Firefox Nightly for Windows, macOS and Linux (including ARM64) from the browser’s (new dedicated) website².

H/t Dominic!