1401155 - [meta] There is long delay before the about:home page is displayed if it is opened in a new tab

Status: NEW

(Firefox :: New Tab Page, defect)

Description

[Ciprian Muresan [:cmuresan], Ecosystem QA]

Attachment: display of homepage is delayed.gif

[Affected versions]:
- Firefox 57.0a1 Build ID 20170918220054

[Affected Platforms]:
- All Windows
- All Mac
- All Linux

[Steps to reproduce]:
1. Open the browser and navigate to any page.
2. Middle click the Home button.
3. Observe the behavior.

[Expected results]:
- The page content is displayed instantly or marginally the same time it takes to display a new tab.

[Actual results]:
- The page is blank for about a second and then the content appears.

[Notes]:
- The issue is also reproducible if you left click the Home button while on the New Tab page.
- The issue is intermittently reproducible when you open a new window. 
- The issue is not reproducible if you left click the home button while on a page.
- Attached a screen recording of the issue.

Comment 1

[Andrei Oprea [:andreio]]

Attachment: Screen Shot 2017-10-25 at 10.31.59196.png

Since this issue was reported we landed several patches to help with performance. Can you test again and confirm if the delay is still present?
My expectations are that you will see a wireframe style page (like the attachment) as soon as you click the button, which will be filled with content shortly.

Comment 2

[Ciprian Muresan [:cmuresan], Ecosystem QA]

The behavior has improved, the delay is shorter now, but it's still noticeable.

Middle clicking the home button on Mac: https://goo.gl/SKtGxK
Middle clicking the home button on Windows: https://goo.gl/U9hq1v

I do have to say that I don't see any delay on my old Firefox profile, but I see it every time on a new profile (https://goo.gl/s82tFZ).