First Firefox 60 release will hit the streets on May 2018

Dec 22, 2017 14:28 GMT  ·  By

Mozilla recently announced that the next ESR (Extended Support Release) branch of its open-source and cross-platform web browser would be Firefox 60, due for release next year in early May.

Since their initial launch, Firefox ESR releases have become more and more popular among various organizations that aim to offer customers a stable, long-term supported, and reliable browsing experience. Firefox ESR is known to be used in schools, universities, as well as small and medium-sized businesses.

The current Firefox ESR branch is based on Firefox 52, but it's nearing its end of life in six months, so Mozilla now plans to promote the upcoming Firefox 60 release to the ESR channel, along with a new policy engine that promises to make Firefox deployments and integration into existing infrastructures a lot simpler for sysadmins.

"We want to make customization of Firefox deployments simpler for system administrators and we’re pleased to announce that our next ESR version, Firefox 60, will include a policy engine that increases customization possibilities and integration into existing management systems," writes Mozilla's Sylvestre Ledru.

Firefox ESR 52.9 to be the last release supporting legacy add-ons

With Firefox 60, Mozilla will also deprecate legacy add-ons, noting that Firefox ESR 52.9, which will be released on July 3, 2018, will be the last to support legacy add-ons. The end of life for Firefox 52 ESR is set for August 28, 2018, when Firefox ESR 60.2.0 will be out through the application update service.

Add-on developers that have not yet updated their add-ons to the WebExtensions API need to do so before the end of life of Firefox ESR 52. The official release date for Firefox ESR 60 is May 8, 2018, but early adopters will be able to install a preview version early next year when the upcoming web browser hits the nighly channel.