Job listings say, 'a new Firefox for iOS … arriving soon' Credit: Al Sacco Mozilla will introduce Firefox for Apple’s iPhone “soon,” according to a company announcement of an open marketing position. As the senior mobile marketing manager, the candidate will “lead marketing for Firefox on both Android and iOS,” the listing stated, adding that “a new Firefox for iOS application [will be] arriving soon.” Other jobs available at Mozilla also called out Firefox on iOS, including one for a senior product manager and software engineer. Mozilla, which had previously staunchly declined to create a version of its iconic browser for iOS, changed its tune last December, when a company manager said that the open-source developer would “get Firefox on iOS.” Although Mozilla confirmed that it was working on Firefox for iOS, at the time it gave no hint of a timeline. “We are in the early stages of experimenting with something that allows iOS users to be able to choose a Firefox-like experience,” Mozilla said in a Dec. 2 blog. The phrase “Firefox-like experience” was crucial: Apple allows only those browsers into the App Store that are built atop its own rendering and JavaScript engines, WebKit and Nitro, which power Safari. Mozilla relies on its own technologies for both. Firefox on iOS, then, will be a user interface (UI) layer atop WebKit and Nitro. Mozilla’s Github repository for iOS Firefox confirmed that. The reasons for Mozilla’s renewed interest in iOS likely stemmed from Firefox’s decline in browser user share. Over the last 12 months, Firefox has shed 31% of its desktop user share by metrics vendors’ Net Applications count, and now has less than half the share of Google’s Chrome. Mozilla has put its shoulder behind other mobile initiatives. But Firefox OS, an open-source mobile operating system based on the browser, has not yet gained significant traction and its Firefox browser for Android hasn’t moved the needle. According to Net Applications, Firefox’s usage share on mobile was just 0.7% last month, or about one sixty-sixth that of Safari. Apple’s iOS, while far behind Android in shipments, has long had a reputation as the operating system that generates the largest share of mobile browsing. Mozilla would like to tap into that ecosystem if it could. According to Techcrunch, which last week also reported that Mozilla would soon debut Firefox for the iPhone, Mozilla will launch a marketing campaign next month to get more people using its browser. The publication also said that Li Gong, Mozilla’s president, and Rick Fant, who heads its mobile group, are leaving the firm. Related content feature Windows 11 Insider Previews: What’s in the latest build? Get the latest info on new preview builds of Windows 11 as they roll out to Windows Insiders. Now updated for 22635.3500 for the Beta Channel and Build 26200 for the Canary Channel, both released on April 19, 2024. By Preston Gralla Apr 19, 2024 250 mins Small and Medium Business Microsoft Windows 11 news analysis Chasing business and partnerships, Apple goes APAC Apple CEO Tim Cook’s week-long visit to Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore highlights how the company continues to explore new opportunities in global markets. By Jonny Evans Apr 19, 2024 4 mins Manufacturing Industry Apple Vendors and Providers news Microsoft reminder: Support for Office 2016 and 2019 ends next year Older versions of Office apps and servers will no longer get security updates as of October 2025 — when Windows 10 also reaches end of support. By Matthew Finnegan Apr 19, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Office Microsoft Office Suites news Google consolidates AI teams into DeepMind to scale capacity The restructuring will simplify development by concentrating compute-intensive model building in one place and establishing single access points for PAs looking to take these models and build generative AI applications, Google said. By Gyana Swain Apr 19, 2024 4 mins Google Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe