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Chronicles

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Mozilla says the company is doing “exploratory work” for a Gecko-based browser on iOS in case Apple drops its WebKit requirement, after a similar move by Google

Work on a Gecko-based version of Firefox for iOS is underway, again  —  UPDATED Mozilla is planning for the day when Apple …

The Register Thomas Claburn

Context & Ripple Effects

Firefox had already reached iOS through a general iOS release after an earlier public preview, but Mozilla's iOS product was constrained by Apple's WebKit requirement. The reported Gecko work marks preparation for a version of Firefox with its own engine rather than a new iOS launch.

That contingency later became more concrete when Apple said iOS 17.4 would permit alternative browser engines in the EU. Mozilla's subsequent objection to EU-only BrowserEngineKit access shows why an engine change is also a maintenance and market-access issue, not simply a technical one.

First-order effects

  • Mozilla begins exploratory engineering for a Gecko-based Firefox on iOS, positioning Firefox to use its own browser engine if Apple removes the WebKit rule.
  • Apple's browser-engine policy becomes a direct product constraint for Mozilla: without a policy change, the exploratory work does not alter Firefox's shipped iOS implementation.

Second-order effects

  • Google's similar move and Mozilla's preparation raise the stakes for Apple’s eventual browser-engine terms, because major browser makers are readying alternatives to WebKit.
  • An EU-limited opening would force Mozilla to manage separate iOS browser implementations, the burden it later identified in its criticism of BrowserEngineKit’s regional limits.

Third-order effects

  • If platform rules permit competing engines only in selected markets, browser competition shifts from a single WebKit-constrained iOS ecosystem to region-specific products and compliance overhead.
  • The durable fault line is whether iOS browser choice includes engine choice; allowing one without the other preserves Apple's control over the underlying web platform.

The trend: Mobile platform policy is moving browser competition from app-level branding toward contested access to the browser engine itself.

Related: Mozilla · Firefox · Apple · Apple plans alternative browser engines in the EU · Mozilla criticizes EU-only BrowserEngineKit access

Related Coverage

Discussion

  • @openwebadvocacy @openwebadvocacy on x
    Google is working on bringing Chromium to iOS 🥂 After a more than decade long ban of competitive third party browsers on iOS, code commits shows that Google working on bringing Chrome to iOS. A great step, but the battle is not over... https://www.theregister.com/ ...
  • @openwebadvocacy @openwebadvocacy on x
    Mozilla is working on bringing Firefox 🦊 to iOS 🥂 Real @firefox with Gecko 🦎! Apple's over a decade long ban on competitive third party browsers has almost certainly cost Firefox significant market share and 100s of millions in lost revenue. https://www.theregister.com/ ...
  • @openwebadvocacy @openwebadvocacy on x
    Mozilla noted the damage caused by Apple's rules in their 5 Walled Gardens paper: “Feature development remains at a standstill for alternative browsers on iOS.” https://twitter.com/...
  • @brucel Bruce Lawson on x
    Third time lucky? There have been 2 previous ports of real Firefox (with Gecko, an advanced engine), but this new one is taking place in an environment of regulatory requirements to end the #appleBrowserBan. Yay. https://twitter.com/...
  • @dalmaer Dion Almaer on x
    I want to finally be able to compare. WebKit vs. Blink. Let's see. https://www.theregister.com/ ...
  • @firt Maximiliano Firtman on x
    Mozilla is working on Firefox for iOS with a real Gecko engine and is waiting for Apple to release the WebKit restriction rule. Mozilla and Google seem to be preparing for something to happen this year. https://www.theregister.com/ ...
  • @openwebadvocacy @openwebadvocacy on x
    “We hope the day will come when people can freely decide to use the browser of their choice, including the opportunity to select the engine that underpins it.” @mozilla @firefox https://twitter.com/...