Refinements to the Linux theme in the new Firefox

Firefox on GTK Linux now matches the look of Firefox on Windows and Mac OS X. The new Firefox brings interactions and visual designs that were present previously only on Windows and Mac OS X to Linux to provide a more familiar user experience to Firefox users regardless of platform.

Firefox on Linux now has the familiar “keyhole” design. This design is an immediately recognizable feature of Firefox, and is shown by the shape of the back button connected to the forward button and location bar.

Many brands have identifiable shapes such as the Mickey Mouse ears that Disney uses, and the curvy bottle shape of Coke. These shapes are immediately recognizable as part of their respective brands, and bringing Linux in to the mix is something that has been on the Firefox front-end team’s backlog for a while now.

I’m really happy to see the keyhole shape now present on all of our tier-1 platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, and now Linux (GTK).

Another large refinement that has been brought to Linux is new toolbar icons for buttons such as the Home, Back/Forward, and tab close buttons. The iconography of our Linux version now matches that of Windows and Mac OS X.

These changes help unify the experience of Firefox users independent of platform, while also allowing for a faster pace of development for the people working on making Firefox.

If you’re already running Firefox, it will automatically update to the latest version. If not, you can download Firefox now, always free and always open.