
Firefox for iOS Now Available for Preview in New Zealand - Aaronn
https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/09/03/firefox-for-ios-now-available-for-preview/
======
gkoberger
The separation of "Firefox" (brand, UI, browser history, password sync,
extensions, etc) from "Gecko" (an implementation of a rendering engine) seems
like a good idea to me, even if it was forced by Apple.

Gecko stands for nothing; it's just code. Whereas the Mozilla / Firefox brand
stands for things like privacy, security, etc. ([https://www.mozilla.org/en-
US/about/manifesto/](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/))

The Firefox/Mozilla brand shouldn't be tied to Gecko or any other specific
piece of code.

~~~
hackuser
I agree, but they still need to deliver the other things that go with the
brand: End-user control, privacy, and openness and freedom (as in speech).

I don't know much about Firefox for iOS: Does it live up to those
expectations?

~~~
userbinator
_End-user control, privacy, and openness and freedom (as in speech)._

If they really wanted to support that it seems like a great opportunity to
make a Gecko version of Firefox only available for jailbroken devices, and let
their userbase do the rest.

But given the direction they have been heading in the past few years, it seems
all their talk about "end-user control" is just clever doublespeak for
_Mozilla_ doing the controlling.

~~~
st3fan
We have iOS platform support (in progress) in the main (gecko) tree now
actually. If anyone is interested in putting a WKWebView compatible API on top
of that, please fork the project and submit a patch. Open source! Hack. Mix.
Burn! :-)

~~~
cpeterso
Here is the meta bug for Gecko on iOS:
[https://bugzil.la/1163827](https://bugzil.la/1163827)

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rdsnsca
Here is a link to the repository, for those interested :

[https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-ios](https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-
ios)

It is programmed using Swift.

~~~
lhecker
Thanks!

Let's see if I get it compiled and can test it right now without waiting for
the offical release. :> Wohooo~ Open-Source!

~~~
st3fan
As a developer, you can absolutely grab the code and run the app on your own
own devices. However, there are a few manual steps that you need to take
before this works.

If you want to build the v1.0 app with Xcode 6, then use these instructions:
[https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-
ios/blob/v1.0/BUILDING.md](https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-
ios/blob/v1.0/BUILDING.md)

If you want to build the (upcoming) v1.1 app with Xcode 7 beta, then use these
instructions: [https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-
ios/blob/master/BUILDING....](https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-
ios/blob/master/BUILDING.md)

Happy to help here or in a new thread if you get stuck in the process. We have
tried to make it as simple as possible but due to some code signing complexity
it can't be a 'download & run on device' kind of thing unfortunately.

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kcbanner
I'm assuming this is essentially a wrapper around WKWebView, as per Apple's
rules?

~~~
mhurron
and in being so, what exactly is the point?

~~~
abrowne
I don't use iOS, but if I did, I'd use it just for multiple search engines,
awesomebar history search, and history/bookmark/tab sync.

~~~
abritinthebay
but... you get all of that with Mobile Safari..?

~~~
blntechie
What he meant is that if you are a Firefox user in other platforms, you can
now keep everything synced including iOS devices. It is mainly for Firefox and
ex-users who left Firefox because of lack of iOS option.

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JadeNB
It's not clear to me why there's no link on the blog post (at least, I
couldn't find one); but here's the product page, grabbed from one of the
screen shots: [https://www.mozilla.org/en-
US/firefox/ios](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ios) .

~~~
o0-0o
That link is to signup to be notified... and to subscribe to a newsletter...
and to give Moz your data. Just FYI.

Anyone have a DDL?

~~~
JadeNB
I had the impression that they are intentionally rolling it out by region (the
title and link mention that they're starting in New Zealand—unless that's a
version name for Firefox?), so I assumed that the link went to a download page
if you were in the correct region. If I haven't completely misunderstood, then
maybe a New Zealander can comment.

~~~
dantiberian
They've limited downloads to NZ App Store accounts to prevent everyone from
downloading it at once. This lets them do a wider beta test, and fix bugs so
when they release it globally everyone else's first experience will be
positive. It's common on iOS for games to do this too.

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monochromatic
Does this allow for installation of add-ons?

~~~
Blaaguuu
I imagine that would be in violation of Apple's rules around apps executing
'arbitrary' code from 3rd party sources.

~~~
blazespin
Hmm, well firefox could vet them so that they're not 3rd party and the user
could permit to inject 'add ons' into every web page loaded. You are allowed
to upload html/javascript dynamically (just not shared objects, jvm byte code,
etc)

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interpol_p
I'm not very familiar with how web browsers are built, but would it be
possible to write a HTML / CSS renderer on iOS that utilised JavaScriptCore
for code execution?

This would abide by Apple's policies given that arbitrary code is still
executed through their JavaScript engine, but would give much more flexibility
on the rendering side.

It would be more bespoke than simply wrapping a WKWebView.

Is this a feasible path for a browser like Firefox on iOS?

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drivebyops
does it at least come with its own video player for vp8/vp9 videos?

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robin_reala
What’s the setup for ‘default browser’ like on iOS now? I guess you can add
Firefox as a target for ‘Send to’ sheets but presumably normal links in other
apps will still open Safari?

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juliann
If you guys want to download it you just need an account with an address in
New Zealand.

