Ever since the launch of the App Store, web browsers that have been developed and submitted to Apple’s iOS app storefront have been tied in to using its own WebKit engine, even when desktop versions utilise their own such as Mozilla’s Gecko or Google’s Blink.
With news that Apple is looking to loosen its grip on the iOS platform, Mozilla and Google have reportedly gone to work developing separate versions of their already existing browser apps with the hope that these restrictions are lifted.
Mozilla have stated the following:
“We abide by Apple’s iOS app store policies, and are simply doing some exploratory work to understand the technical challenges for Gecko-based browsers on iOS if those policies were to change. 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.”
Given that the change to allow third-party app stores and the lifting of some of the previously enforced iOS App requirements may be coming with iOS 17 later this year, it’s likely that both Mozilla and Google are working towards a release date around this time.
There is no news at this time if Microsoft is developing a version of Edge in the event that this change comes to fruition.
Source: The Register