We are talking a lot about Wayland this year, and with good reason: the new generation graphics server for the Linux desktop has made considerable progress in recent times and is getting more and more to tell, but the conclusion is usually always the same and is that it is still not ready to take the lead on most distributions.
It is not the fault of Wayland per se, since the protocol is more or less mature, but of the software that is still in the process of adaptation. Of the major Linux desktop environments, for example, only GNOME offers a satisfying experience, while the rest continue to improve their implementation bit by bit. The same is true of many applications.
A sample of this mess we have in large Linux distributions that use GNOME: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, whose release we hope for the day after tomorrow, will continue to trust the default session in X.Org; and yet RHEL 8 dared to make it the default server in its desktop edition. Neither with KDE Plasma nor with any other desktop environment, has this been achieved.
It is normal: it is not that KDE Plasma malfunctions in Wayland, but it is dotted with small errors that can drive one crazy; and as for Ubuntu vs RHEL or Fedora, the true veteran to include Wayland by default, is not the same responsibility. Canonical's distro continues to be number one on the Linux desktop and given its length, especially that of the LTS versions, preserving compatibility has always been key.
For all this, it is surprising that Firefox performs better in Wayland than in X.Org, and a little more surprising if possible that it does better in KDE Plasma than in GNOME. That's at least what the results of tests they have done in Phoronix show, in which GNOME only wins the race in one. Yes, we are talking about milliseconds and there are zillions of variables that could alter the measurements; but still.
At the end of the day, they are the same type of tests in which Chrome tends to sweep Firefox, many times for milliseconds that in real use are barely perceived (other times they are perceived and well, but that's another story). They are, in short, one more indicative, not the only nor the most valuable.
It should also be noted that Wayland is not just about performance. The inevitable change of graphics server is due to the limitations of X.Org, typical of a development of other times that is not prepared to diligently address current technological needs. So this is not a competition, because what most of us want is for Wayland to be ready for action as soon as possible.
Regarding Firefox and Wayland, there have also been significant advances recently. Not because of Mozilla, for which Linux has never been a priority, but thanks to the efforts of Red Hat and company. Thus, Fedora users have long enjoyed some advantages with buts, which from the launch of Firefox 76 in May are expected to expand and extend to the rest, specifically, in terms of hardware acceleration for playback HD video is concerned.
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