UPDATED 05:00 EDT / DECEMBER 03 2014

firefox NEWS

Firefox wants in on iOS

firefoxMozilla Corporation has expressed interest in bringing its Firefox browser to the iOS ecosystem.

Mozilla’s Vice President of Firefox Jonathan Nightingale is reported to have made the disclosure to an audience at an internal Mozilla event, saying that “We need to be where our users are so we’re going to get Firefox on iOS.”

The company has previously resisted taking its venerable browser to the world of iOS as Apple restricts browser makers to using Apple’s own web engine in the name of security.

Nightingale did not state how the company will be bringing Firefox to iOS, but unless they’ve worked out a deal with Apple it’s fair to presume that they’ll be following the path of Google’s Chrome browser and Opera in implementing a custom version built on top of Apple’s tech.

The decision by Mozilla to relent on iOS may be a sound decision, but surprising given the companies outright hostility to Apple’s restrictions previously.

Mozilla’s Vice President of Product Jay Sullivan told SXSW in March 2013 that they would not develop an iOS browser due to “Apple’s unwelcoming attitude toward third party browsers” and that “Apple stacks the deck to make third party browsers feel unwelcome.”

The resistance to iOS isn’t just in the past; Chief technology officer Andreas Gal told The Guardian in early November that “We don’t think it’s a good idea that corporations rule these massive ecosystems with arbitrary rules that sometimes can be completely opposite to what the user wants.”

Firefox has been losing market share gradually over the last five years, slipping to 15.8 percent on the desktop as of July 2014. While it does offer a browser for Android, its absence on the iPhone has long risked losing loyal users who are forced to look elsewhere for their browser of choice.


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