There is a reason why there is no Mozilla Firefox browser running on Apple’s iOS devices – the Cupertino-based manufacturer will not allow internet browser software not using its WebKit to run on its platform. Chrome uses WebKit, and so does Opera Mini, but not Firefox. Could this change anytime soon? Well, The Next Web reports that it just might – Firefox release manager Lukas Blakk has published a tweet that no longer just suggests, but confirms Mozilla’s intentions to conquer the iOS platform.
We need to be where our users are so we’re going to get Firefox on iOS #mozlandia
— Lukas Blakk (@lsblakk) December 2, 2014
It’s not yet clear how Mozilla do what it promises. To launch Firefox in its current form on iOS it would need the approval of the Cupertino giant, but this is unlikely to happen soon. A more reasonable way would be to release a Firefox version based on Apple’s WebKit, combining the engine with the Firefox functionality and interface and allowing its users to synchronize their data, access their bookmarks and generally use their favorite browser on all platforms. Mozilla did not comment further on the matter.
Apple is very restrictive when it comes to browser engines running on its iOS operating system (and so is Microsoft, by the way, not allowing anything not based on Internet Explorer to run on its Windows Phone OS). All third party browsers currently available for iOS are using WebKit, the same engine used in Safari. Opera has found a way to circumvent the restriction, rendering the webpages the user accesses on a server, and only sending the result to the user’s screen. Crossing over to iOS would be an important step for Firefox, which has been slipping lower and lower in the preference of users lately.
There has been a change in Mozilla’s top management, and this seemingly means changes in the company’s stance toward iOS, among others.