14 DAY TRIAL // Whenever a company gets a new CEO, some changes are bound to ensue. T-Mobile is probably the best example in recent times. But we have another one for you: Mozilla, whose newly-instated boss, Chris Beard, has just commissioned Firefox for iOS.
At an internal Mozilla event in Portland, Oregon, the software company whose browser used to be top-of-the-line a few years ago has decided to slalom through Apple’s restrictions and finally hop on iOS with a dedicated Firefox browser.
“We need to be where our users are”
These are not the words of Chris Beard, but of Lukas Blakk, Mozilla release manager. He confirmed on Twitter that Mozilla is bent on putting what was once the runner-up to most popular web browser on Apple’s mobile operating system.
“We need to be where our users are so we're going to get Firefox on iOS,” Blakk wrote, adding the hashtag #mozlandia.
If you’re wondering why Firefox isn’t already on iOS, the reasons are both political and technical. For instance, the browser needs to use Apple’s own JavaScript and rendering engine. This may cause some features to work differently or not at all on Apple’s platform, depending on the particularities of the application. However, Mozilla seems to have overcome the biggest hurdles and is determined to finally deliver. Better late than never.
Like Firefox for Android
Additional information about the move shared by TechCrunch suggests that Mozilla’s Firefox client on iOS will be a lot like its Android counterpart, supporting Firefox accounts, bookmark sync, and other stuff.
Firefox on Android is highly customizable for a personal browsing experience. You can mix up your panels however you like, bookmark favorites on the web, access feeds, sync tabs, history, bookmarks and passwords, use add-ons (ad-blocker, password manager), watch video in a wide range of formats (including h.264), and control your privacy. It also supports HTML5 and widely-used web APIs.
Market-share heaven
There’s no shortage of browsers in the iTunes App Store, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more. There are hundreds of millions of iDevices out there, and not everyone is a fan of the built-in mobile Safari.
Firefox will undoubtedly take a huge chunk of the user base, leaving contenders like Mercury, Dolphin, and Puffin in a trail of dust. Chrome will probably shed a few points as well.
Who here is a fan of Firefox? Are you going to use it on your iPhone or iPad when it comes out? Sound off in the comments section below.
