6 ms·

Lolwhat?? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/firefox-private-safe-browser/id989804926 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/firefox-private-safe-browser/i...

speedgoose 5y ago
It’s safari with a wig.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  Sorry but the adblocking, night-mode, and sync make it a lot better for me than safari, so it's not just "safari with a wig" which would imply only the interface looked a bit different but otherwise it worked the same, which is not the case.
- cma 5y ago
  It's like if Microsoft had decreed in the 2000s that Mozilla can only make their browser as an IE6 toolbar, with IE6 still rendering the pages and enforcing weird rules.
  - account42 5y ago
    Thankfully that would have gotten Microsoft in trouble with anti-trust regulators in the 2000s. In 2022 anti-competitive behavior from platform holders is unfortunately tolerated - both for Apple and Microsoft.
addaon 5y ago
Firefox on iOS uses the Webkit rendering engine, not the Gecko rendering engine it uses on other platforms.
spijdar 5y ago
Firefox on iOS uses WebKit for showing web content, it doesn't use Gecko or any other components you'd think of as "Firefox". It does have some Mozilla added plugins and syncs with Firefox logins, but the meat of the application isn't really "Firefox".
MauranKilom 5y ago
"browser engine" != "browser app"
thereddaikon 5y ago
And its really just Safari. Apple forbids other browser engines in iOS so every third party browser in the app store is effectively a safari skin and not at all related to the product's true codebase. Real Firefox uses the Gecko browser engine. iOS Firefox is webkit. To quote Apple's iOS dev guidelines: "2.5.6 Apps that browse the web must use the appropriate WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript." https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  Sure but in my experience the sync, night mode, and ad blocking are a lot better in firefox, although it is definitely a bit slower because of javascript.
- jonfw 5y ago
  Most users don't care about the engine, they care about things like where your bookmarks are synched and configured, and the UI. This is like telling people that a lexus isn't a real luxury car, it's just a re-skinned toyota. Most people don't care- they just want materials, tech, and nice seats. The skin is the car
  - thereddaikon 5y ago
    That's a debatable point but the result either way doesn't change the point of my comment. They were dismissing the parent comment because they didn't understand the true nature of what they were talking about.
  - mywittyname 5y ago
    In this case, it's more like telling people that a particular Toyota was built by BMW. It might not seem relevant on the surface, but the underlying technical differences could pose an issue for certain user cases, thus it's an important consideration. Not all Firefox addons work with the iOS version just like not every Toyota dealership carries parts for a Zupr4.
  - suby 5y ago

speedgoose 5y ago

It’s safari with a wig.

stjohnswarts 5y ago
Sorry but the adblocking, night-mode, and sync make it a lot better for me than safari, so it's not just "safari with a wig" which would imply only the interface looked a bit different but otherwise it worked the same, which is not the case.
cma 5y ago
It's like if Microsoft had decreed in the 2000s that Mozilla can only make their browser as an IE6 toolbar, with IE6 still rendering the pages and enforcing weird rules.
- account42 5y ago
  Thankfully that would have gotten Microsoft in trouble with anti-trust regulators in the 2000s. In 2022 anti-competitive behavior from platform holders is unfortunately tolerated - both for Apple and Microsoft.

addaon 5y ago

Firefox on iOS uses the Webkit rendering engine, not the Gecko rendering engine it uses on other platforms.

spijdar 5y ago

Firefox on iOS uses WebKit for showing web content, it doesn't use Gecko or any other components you'd think of as "Firefox". It does have some Mozilla added plugins and syncs with Firefox logins, but the meat of the application isn't really "Firefox".

MauranKilom 5y ago

"browser engine" != "browser app"

thereddaikon 5y ago

And its really just Safari. Apple forbids other browser engines in iOS so every third party browser in the app store is effectively a safari skin and not at all related to the product's true codebase. Real Firefox uses the Gecko browser engine. iOS Firefox is webkit. To quote Apple's iOS dev guidelines: "2.5.6 Apps that browse the web must use the appropriate WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript." https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/ https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/

stjohnswarts 5y ago
Sure but in my experience the sync, night mode, and ad blocking are a lot better in firefox, although it is definitely a bit slower because of javascript.
jonfw 5y ago
Most users don't care about the engine, they care about things like where your bookmarks are synched and configured, and the UI. This is like telling people that a lexus isn't a real luxury car, it's just a re-skinned toyota. Most people don't care- they just want materials, tech, and nice seats. The skin is the car
- thereddaikon 5y ago
  That's a debatable point but the result either way doesn't change the point of my comment. They were dismissing the parent comment because they didn't understand the true nature of what they were talking about.
- mywittyname 5y ago
  In this case, it's more like telling people that a particular Toyota was built by BMW. It might not seem relevant on the surface, but the underlying technical differences could pose an issue for certain user cases, thus it's an important consideration. Not all Firefox addons work with the iOS version just like not every Toyota dealership carries parts for a Zupr4.
- suby 5y ago