After years of Mozilla refusing to built an iOS app for it’s popular web browser, it finally gives in to the pressure launched Firefox for iOS in the iTunes Store after the company conceded to Apple’s rules and use the WebKit engine for page rendering.
Does this release of Firefox for iOS come as a surprise?
To those paying attention, it doesn’t come as a shock as they knew it was eventually coming, especially since in September 2014 Mozilla debuted a limited preview mode.
However to the remaining who either where not following Mozilla’s movements or simply opted for other third-party browsers like Chrome, this news may seem out of the blue for them.
So why the long wait?
Well that boils down to two key factors.
The first is that Apple has always given its own browser (Safari) superior treatment in the fact that it’s the only one that can access its own blazing fast Javascript engine while forcing other browser like Chrome and Opera to use ther WebKit for rending web pages. This was the main pain point for Mozilla and why it decided not to go ahead and built their own Firefox app.
The second is that Mozilla decided to release Firefox on only devices running Android and thought iOS as the competition rather than a marketing aid.
So what happened to let Mozilla change their minds?
Apple has relaxed on some of those rules over time; enough so that Mozilla decided that Firefox on iOS would be worth the effort.
Moreover, Mozilla saw itself slowly dying in the desktop realm with about 52 percent of desktop Internet users browse the web using Chrome. In a world that’s moving away from traditional desktop usage and being mobile, it was a good idea to be competitive on all mobile front and not stick to just Android.
Was it too late you ask?
ABSOLUTELY! Had Mozilla realized the potential of iOS years ago, it would have probably saved its dying web browser when there was exponentially less competition among third-party mobile browsers, and would should have captured attention and sparked brand awareness by being the first to release.
Main Features
Firefox for iOS comes complete with a private browsing mode, Chrome-like predictive searching and support for Firefox accounts, which pulls over bookmarks, browser history, saved tabs and passwords.
Is Firefox for iOS worth it?
Whether you’ll make the switch to Mozilla’s latest app will likely hinge on what you’re currently using on the desktop, but there’s certainly nothing we’ve seen that could stop it from becoming a useful tool in your browsing arsenal.
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Just downloaded this. I think it’s pretty good so far. So glad my browser of choice is finally available on my iphone.
Yeah I agree but nothing beats the performance of Safari being native on iOS