Quote:I think it was Google that started to display a search form for the first time on a browser's New Tab page; correct me if I'm wrong on that. Many browser makers, Mozilla included, added search forms to the New Tab page of their browsers, and it is quite common to see a search field on the page.

I never really understood why Mozilla added the field to Firefox, as you could just use the address bar or the search bar, if displayed, to search on the Internet. Firefox's address bar runs searches using the default search provider but the browser supports on-off searches as well to use different installed engines for individual searches.

Mozilla added search shortcuts to the Top Sites listing on the New Tab page recently that use keywords, a neglected feature, to power searches.

Firefox users who don't use the search field on the New Tab Page can hide it on the page by disabling Web Search on the configuration page about:preferences#home.

Full reading: https://www.ghacks.net/2019/01/10/firefox-66-may-move-new-tab-search-input-to-address-bar/