Mozilla wants to implement successor Gecko engine in Firefox by the end of next year

Mozilla wants Firefox to have a new render engine from the end of next year. That engine Mozilla calls Project Quantum and is built for modern hardware with multicore processors and the modern internet, claims the browser builder.

Quantum will borrow several elements from Servo, the render engine in Mozilla’s Browser.html. It still needs many parts to be a full render engine for Firefox, writes a Mozilla developer on Medium. Firefox now runs on Mozilla’s own Gecko engine.

The developer doesn’t list numbers, but says Project Quantum should make browsing feel faster, scrolling smoother, and pages responding immediately to input. The basis of the new engine remains Gecko, but important elements will replace Mozilla.

The new engine comes in Firefox versions for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android. The iOS version does not use its own engine due to limitations in Apple’s mobile operating system. The first improvements should be visible next year, Mozilla says.

Mozilla Test Pilot. That has – for now – nothing to do with Project Quantum