No Firefox For iOS, Says Mozilla's Product Head

hypnosec writes "Jay Sullivan, Mozilla's VP of Product, has revealed that the non-for-profit organization is not going to build an iOS version of its Firefox web browser as long as Apple doesn't mend its unfriendly ways towards third party browsers. Speaking at SXSW in a mobile browser wars panel Sullivan said that Mozilla is neither building nor planning to build a Firefox version for Apple's iOS. Mozilla pulled Firefox Home from the App Store back in September 2012 following Apple's not so accommodating attitude."

Dear EU

[lesincompetent]

It's not just microsoft that engages in anti-competitive behaviour.

Re:Dear EU

[tehniobium]

If the EU force Apple to have a browser ballot on iOS, I do believe Steve Jobs will be turning ever so violently in his grave :D

On a more serious note: couldn't the fact that Apple forces all apps to be purchased through their own app store just as well be seen as anti-competitive?

Re:Dear EU

[lesincompetent]

Quite a thorny matter. It's just a matter of deciding wether the reasons that brought those fines to microsoft apply to apple too. And i don't see why they shouldn't. DISCLAIMER: i personally can't wait for the total demise of apple.

OK then...

[sootman]

... will they allow other browsers on their new mobile OS?

Re:Open Source please

[MightyYar]

Apple IS competition. There are two very strong platforms for smartphones right now, and they both improve almost daily because of intense competition.

News?

[caspy7]

How is this news?
a) Why would Mozilla build a browser Apple has already said it won't allow?
b) This same stance has been repeated by Mozilla multiple times.

Re:Dear EU

[Globe199]

My understanding is that all browsers on iOS are required to use WebKit. Mozilla uses Gecko. Being open source isn't the issue.

Re:Cydia please.

[dreamchaser]

Choice of tablet is a fairly personal decision. Why are you worried about offending anyone? Just buy yourself the tablet you want and be done with it. Just be honest if asked. "This tablet does things I can't on the iPad," " This tablet has better specs than the iPad," etc. There are a LOT of reasons to want an upgrade from an iPad to something non-Apple.

Re:Umm..

[Frosty Piss]

Try to buy a non-MS machine at any retail store other than Apple..... Yup... That's called MONOPOPLY

No, it's not.

Mozilla has been in decline due to poor dev

[jnull]

I switched to Firefox so many years ago for innovative features, but both Chrome and Safari have beat them out in performance and integrated capabilities. How many BS Firefox updates were there last year with nothing significant delivered. Once big fan and now I don't care what system they are on. Perhaps they should pull back and focus where they may be able to be good again. (my .02)

Re:Dear EU

[BasilBrush]

However, given that IOS, due to its widespread adoption, constitutes a big market for apps itself, and one that's artificially limited by Apple to have only one store - theirs.

You don't come under monopoly laws for having control of your own product. That's why printer manufacturers are allowed to control inks for their printers, razor manufacturers are allowed to control blades for their razors and console manufacturers are allowed to control games for their consoles. Microsoft was different, because many manufacturers manufacture PCs, and they had monopoly levels of OS on all of them. If they manufactured their own computer, and just put their own OS on it, as Apple do with Macs and iOS devices, then they would have been in the clear.

Re:Cydia please.

[ifiwereasculptor]

That's what I hate about perceptive generous people and their expensive and thoughtful gifts. They always manage to get whatever you need almost right. That "almost" part is enough to leave you slightly uncomfortable with what you have but not enough to invest money into something better, since your gains would now be disproportionate to the amount spent. Just give me a cheap, ugly fucking novelty tie I can throw away and we'll both be a lot happier.

Re:Dear EU

[Kjella]

As far as I understood it, the very unfortunate VLC situation came about when a purist developer of VLC demanded that Apple would release VLC without DRM on IOS. But all apps on IOS use DRM, it is quite naive to assume that they would make an exception.

So what? He wrote the code, he released it for use under certain terms and conditions and those conditions were being violated. He wanted Apple to stop and Apple stopped, was he unhappy with that outcome? Did he expect something else? Of course it was annoying for everybody else but if people could just ignore the license when it was incompatible or inconvenient the GPL would have died out long ago.

Who cares?

[DavidinAla]

As an iPhone user, I can't see why I'd possibly want Firefox. We've really reached the point that browsers are commodities for almost every user. I know some people are so in love with the idea of user-selectible choice that they can't imagine that a unified user experience is a good thing, but for the vast majority it's the best way to go. If you truly have some specialized need for a browser function that doesn't come with the WebKit-based Safari, you're probably already using another platform anyway. This just isn't the big deal it was back in the day when some companies thought they could control the web by controlling the browser. But some people haven't figured that out.

Re:Dear EU

[interval1066]

. As far as I understood it, the very unfortunate VLC situation came about when a purist developer of VLC demanded that Apple would release VLC without DRM...

That one prefers to respect users & developers alike makes him a "purist"? I'm feeling better about my 20 year descision to avoid Apple products more and more.

Re:Cydia please.

[Belial6]

For poor friends ( which gets to be less as we get older ) I buy durable presents, but for any family or friends that have enough money to buy their own stuff, I always try my best to buy consumables. That way if it is something they like, they will enjoy it, but if it is something they don't like, they have an easy excuse for it being gone a week later.

Re:Dear EU

[miroku000]

As far as I understood it, the very unfortunate VLC situation came about when a purist developer of VLC demanded that Apple would release VLC without DRM on IOS. But all apps on IOS use DRM, it is quite naive to assume that they would make an exception.

So what? He wrote the code, he released it for use under certain terms and conditions and those conditions were being violated. He wanted Apple to stop and Apple stopped, was he unhappy with that outcome? Did he expect something else? Of course it was annoying for everybody else but if people could just ignore the license when it was incompatible or inconvenient the GPL would have died out long ago.

That's not the point. The point is that it's *apple* who gets the bad press and the blame for VLC not being on the App Store because people do not understand the story and just assume that Apple pulled it. They removed it by request of one of the developers, and as you explained, because he did not consent to it being there.

The iOS App Store's policies were changed to make it compatible with the GPL before that (due to a different case) and there are plenty of GPL apps up in there to this day.

The lack of VLC has nothing to do with it not having a compatible licence, or Apple being "hostile" to open source, as is so often repeated; it's merely the choice of one of the original developers to not allow it to be distributed that way (as is his right).

If what the App store is fully compatible with the GPL, and VLC is released under the GPL, then in fact the original developer has no right at all to stop you me or anyone else from releasing it there. So, why then has no one released it if it is compatible?

Re:Dear EU

[node 3]

You can give the binary to as many people as you want. They can't run it, but you can give it to them. But more to the point, you can get the source, which is the main requirement. No one is obligated to give away the binary.