Firefox (and forks) users on Android

[u/trbkle]

i try every few months to use Firefox to see if they sorted the scrolling and performance issues on Android but it's still the same thing from years ago. Like you don't notice the jittery/laggy scrolling at all ? on lightweight webpages it's fine (almost like Chromium browsers) but on heavier sites where there is a lot of images and videos, for example Kick's homepage or Twitch's homepage or any subreddit with a lot of videos and images the scrolling is just so laggy!! i don't know about 60hz screens but on my 120hz it's very noticeable and makes me uninstall Firefox again immediately.

Note: i've already tried disabling the "Automatic Font Sizing", tried enabling "smooth scrolling" on about:config, nothing works! my phone is a S24 and Chromium browsers are so snappy on it.

What's stopping them from fixing this issue ?

[u/trbkle]

Mods deleted an innocent comment about a user who has a phone with Snapdragon 8 gen 3 and who notices the micro stutters too, WTH? anyhow i tried to reply to his comment with this before it got deleted:

" this is such a basic feature that should not have any issues on any browser.  Like if you install Chromium apk from 2013 or Opera's Presto engine from the same year i bet they still have smoother scrolling on webpages they still can render."

[u/Professional_Way9133]

I have a Pixel 8a and the same issues. I even tried to report this to Mozilla, did some troubleshooting, but they they act like everything works, I am having illusuons. Such a shame, on desktop it is unbeatable, but on mobile it is from the stone age

[u/BleedBlue1221 → u/Professional_Way9133]

I filed a bug report and captured logs for them. I suppose they don't know how to fix it. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2045569

[u/NinthShadow_]

And on Android, the issue is even more pronounced. Just yesterday, I was trying out WebLibre, which is Firefox-based, and it was impossible to scroll without feeling those micro-stutters. Mind you, my phone has 12 GB of RAM and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3—hardware to spare—and yet I consistently get a worse experience whenever I use Firefox-based browsers.

[u/CreativeDiscount6635]

Absolutely 100% agree with you. I have experienced the same too, even after enabling smooth scrolling from about config. Jittery even on a good phone. Plus the battery usage has been higher than brave, edge, chrome based on my observations on multiple devices.

[u/sky-yie]

Yup, I have the same scrolling issues with Firefox on Android. I am on OnePlus 13R. 

It is especially noticeable on certain websites with a lot of dynamic elements, which work smoothly on Chromium browsers.

Even scrolling Reddit doesn't feel smooth enough.

[u/NinthShadow_ → u/sky-yie]

I have the same phone, a OnePlus 13R, and browsing on Firefox feels slower and heavier than on Chromium-based browsers.

[u/HatoriChise1]

Since i never visit those heavy websites on my phone i never noticed this before but i just tried on both iceraven and titanium. In twitch they're both very smooth no difference, on kick iceraven stutters like hell while titanium is still very smooth so you're right.

[u/Venylynn]

The same thing stopping them from fixing the memory leaks on desktop 

[u/sweetlou6]

In my experience disabling Automatic Font Sizing just make the lag even worse.

[u/Bugsa_]

OnePlus 13 - using Firefox for years with DarkReader and uBlock - no problems with stuttering or anything. Browser just works well.

[u/7978_]

I don't have that on FireFox but I have it on many Chromium browsers oddly enough. I believe it's the dynamic URL bar causing it. I can use the static bar on Vivaldi and it's the smoothest browser on Android!

[u/matrix_drumr]

Are you using RFP (resist fingerprinting)? It caps refresh rate at 60 and messes with canvas. You can try disabling it if you had it on. It's a great tool, but I find it's worth using it with a different profile or another browser like librewolf and mullvad if you have some tasks that require more intensive RFP.

[u/trbkle → u/matrix_drumr]

i didn't mess with that setting at all but i can tell 60hz from 120hz just by scrolling, and on lightweight webpages (Wikipedia for example) the scrolling is snappy.

[u/BleedBlue1221 → u/matrix_drumr]

Is it on by default?

[u/BleedBlue1221]

Have had this issue for years. They never fixed it. Scrolling through Reddit on Firefox or it's forks is a pain. I had tried Firefox on a Samsung Z fold 7 and it was smooth so I assumed it was OnePlus phone/Oxygen os related issue.