I Used a Firefox Based Browser for a Week and I Hated it

Image: Zen Browser

Introduction: My Complicated History With Firefox

As a Pro Open-Source guy, I owe Firefox a debt of gratitude. Like many, I still remember using Firefox on school computers to escape the clutches of Internet Explorer. Firefox revolutionized web browsing with tabbed interfaces, extensions, and standards compliance. But nearly two decades later, my recent attempt to fully embrace Firefox (via the excellent Zen browser) has revealed shocking gaps in functionality that make me question its viability for modern web development.

The State of Firefox - A Browser Stuck in Time

1. The Gradient Catastrophe

Let’s start with the most visually obvious issue. Firefox’s gradient rendering has been objectively broken for 14 years. While Chrome and Safari smoothly transition between colors, Firefox displays visible banding that makes designs look amateurish.

/* Same CSS gradient */
.background {
  background: linear-gradient(90deg, #1a1a1a, #2d2d2d, #404040);
}

Mozilla’s 14-year-old Bugzilla issue on gradient dithering recently saw activity after years of dormancy. For designers and developers, this isn’t just an aesthetic concern-it breaks trust in the browser’s ability to render basic CSS.

2. Web Standards: The Missing Pieces

Firefox’s implementation gap becomes critical when working with modern web standards:

Feature	Firefox Support	Chrome Support	Safari Support
HTTP Stream Debugging	❌	✅	✅
View Transitions API	❌	✅	✅
Container Queries	❌	✅	✅
WebRTC Frame Rates	Limited	Full	Full

The lack of HTTP streaming visibility in DevTools is particularly egregious. When debugging AI applications like TREAT developers like myself need real-time response streaming. Firefox makes you wait for complete responses, turning debugging sessions into guessing games.

3. Developer Experience Nightmares

Modern web development relies on browser DevTools, but Firefox’s tools feel stuck in 2015:

No streaming response inspection
Inconsistent font rendering
Missing CSS transition previews
Outdated JavaScript debugging

// Web Standard Request
fetch('/api/data')
  .then(response => {
    // Firefox: response.body = undefined
    // Chrome: response.body = ReadableStream
  });

This fundamental mismatch in handling basic APIs forces developers to maintain Chrome-based browsers for actual debugging work.

The Ripple Effect: How Firefox Limitations Impact Users

WebRTC Limitations in Practice

Firefox has some serious WebRTC limitations:

No H.264 support on Apple Silicon
30FPS frame rate cap
Memory leaks when mixing frame rates

Result: Firefox users have to be quarantined into separate sessions to prevent browser crashes for all participants. While we want to support browser diversity, Firefox’s technical debt becomes a liability.

Battery Life Paradox

Contrary to popular belief, Firefox-based browsers showed worse battery life in my testing:

Browser (M2 MacBook Pro)	Average Runtime
Vivaldi (Chrome-based)	10 hours
Safari	8 hours
Zen (Firefox-based)	4 hours
Firefox	4.5 hours

Real-world usage testing with 50% brightness and active web apps

The Zen Browser Dilemma

Zen browser) deserves special mention. Despite being built on Firefox’s “rotting corpse” (as one developer colorfully put it), Zen delivers:

✅ Clean UI
✅ Smart tab management
✅ Responsive development team

Yet even Zen can’t escape Firefox’s core limitations. The team has submitted multiple upstream PRs, but fundamental issues remain unresolved.

Community Response: Valid Criticism or Toxic Positivity?

The Firefox community presents a fascinating case study in open source advocacy. When criticizing Firefox, developers often face:

“You’re supporting Chrome’s monopoly!”
“It works for my use case!”
“File a bug report!” (for decade-old issues)

As Egoist, creator of tsup recently said:

“Tried Firefox again for modern web dev. Made it 2 hours before the missing ReadableStream in responses broke my workflow. How do people pretend this is acceptable?”

The Path Forward: Can Firefox Be Saved?

Mozilla needs to make hard decisions:

Prioritize standards compliance over cosmetic updates
Overhaul DevTools to match Chrome’s capabilities
Fix decade-old CSS rendering bugs
Improve Apple Silicon optimization

Until then, developers face an impossible choice: support browser diversity while delivering subpar experiences, or optimize for Chrome/WebKit and feed the monopoly.

Conclusion: A Bittersweet Farewell

After 30 days of Firefox-exclusive use via Zen browser, I’m reluctantly returning to Chrome-based alternatives for development work. The cognitive overhead of debugging Firefox-specific issues outweighs any ideological benefits. While I’ll keep Firefox installed as a secondary browser, it’s clear that Mozilla needs to dramatically accelerate their standards implementation to remain relevant in 2023.

FAQ: Common Firefox Debate Points

Q: Isn’t Firefox more private than Chrome?
A: Yes, but privacy-focused Chromium forks (Brave, Vivaldi) offer comparable protections without sacrificing compatibility.

Q: What about Chrome’s monopoly?
A: A healthy ecosystem requires multiple competent engines. Safari and Chrome set the standard Firefox needs to match.

Q: Can’t developers just polyfill missing features?
A: For some features yes, but core rendering/API gaps often require complete workarounds.

Q: Why not contribute to Firefox directly?
A: Many developers do (including Zen’s team), but architectural limitations require Mozilla-level prioritization.

ᨒ MindDump

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