Mozilla has just released a fresh beta build of its browser

Apr 15, 2014 07:00 GMT  ·  By

If you’ve already heard that Mozilla is working on a new Australis user interface for its flagship browser, but never actually gave it a shot, this is the right time to do it, as the parent company today introduced a new beta build of the browser.

Mozilla Firefox 29 Beta 8 is now available for all supported platforms out there, including Windows, Linux, and Mac and although it’s just a preview of the stable version that’s going to be released later this month, it still allows users to try out the new Australis UI.

We’ve already tested this new beta, which comes with plenty of bug fixes and feature improvements, and it seems to be running quite smoothly, with no major bugs discovered until now. Beta 8 obviously comes to address the majority of issues found in the app, so expect some of the changes to fix the bugs that have been bothering you in beta 7.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, Firefox Australis is a major UI redesign prepared for the browser that’s going to debut in version 29.

Mozilla says this is “the most beautiful and detail-obsessed iteration of Firefox’s visual design yet: modern, clean, and comfortable” and “it’s a streamlining and simplification of the default interface, to declutter and better focus on how people use a browser today.”

Basically, while Australis makes Firefox look more like Google Chrome, it still brings a number of advantages, including easier to reach configuration settings, more customization options, and a modern interface that brings it in line with the other apps that got redesigned in the last few months.

“Australis is largest refinement of the Firefox interface in a long time, and it touches almost everything, from the big picture of overall layout to the tiny corners of icon design. One of the most noticeable changes is our tab shape. Ours is Firefoxy — organic, friendly, and fluid — and a good fit for the general feel of Firefox,” Mozilla pointed out.

Firefox with Australis should be here by the end of the month, but the new UI can already be tested by downloading the new beta version released today. So hit the download links below to get the fresh beta and let us know what you think about Australis in the comment box after the jump.

Download Mozilla Firefox 29 Beta 8 for Windows

Download Mozilla Firefox 29 Beta 8 for Linux

Download Mozilla Firefox 29 Beta 8 for Mac OS X