Mozilla is 'Extremely Disappointed' With Implementation of Apple's EU Browser Engine Change

In iOS 17.4, Apple is making a number of changes to iOS to comply with the Digital Markets Act in the European Union. One of these updates will see Apple allowing alternate browser engines, with WebKit no longer required for third-party browsers like Firefox and Chrome.

mozilla firefox banner fixed
While support for alternative browser engines sounds like a win for browser companies, Mozilla spokesperson Damiano DeMonte told The Verge that Firefox is "extremely disappointed" with the way Apple is implementing the feature because it does not extend to the iPad.

"We are still reviewing the technical details but are extremely disappointed with Apple's proposed plan to restrict the newly-announced BrowserEngineKit to EU-specific apps. The effect of this would be to force an independent browser like Firefox to build and maintain two separate browser implementations -- a burden Apple themselves will not have to bear."

Firefox uses the Gecko engine and could swap to that on the iPhone, but it would need to continue using WebKit on the iPad. According to DeMonte, Apple's implementation of the DMA does not give consumers "viable choices" because it makes it "as painful as possible" for companies to provide alternatives to Safari.

Popular Stories

airpods pro 3 purple

New, Higher End AirPods Pro Coming This Year

Tuesday January 20, 2026 9:05 am PST by
Apple is planning to debut a high-end secondary version of AirPods Pro 3 this year, sitting in the lineup alongside the current model, reports suggest. Back in September 2025, supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to introduce a successor to the AirPods Pro 3 in 2026. This would be somewhat unusual since Apple normally waits around three years to make major...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday January 18, 2026 3:51 pm PST by
iOS 27 is still many months away, but there are already plenty of rumors about new features that will be included in the software update. The first beta of iOS 27 will be released during WWDC 2026 in June, and the update should be released to all users with a compatible iPhone in September. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

MacBook Pro Buyers Now Facing Up to a Two-Month Wait Ahead of New Models

Sunday January 18, 2026 6:50 pm PST by
MacBook Pro availability is tightening on Apple's online store, with select configurations facing up to a two-month delivery timeframe in the United States. A few 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro configurations with an M4 Pro chip are not facing any shipping delay, but estimated delivery dates for many configurations with an M4 Max chip range from February 6 to February 24 or even later. At...
smaller dynamic island iphone 18 pro Filip Vabrous%CC%8Cek

iPhone 18 Pro Leak: Smaller Dynamic Island, No Top-Left Camera Cutout

Tuesday January 20, 2026 2:34 am PST by
Over the last few months, rumors around the iPhone 18 Pro's front-panel design have been conflicted, with some supply-chain leaks pointing to under-display Face ID, reports suggesting a top-left hole-punch camera, and debate over whether the familiar Dynamic Island will shrink, shift, or disappear entirely. Today, Weibo-based leaker Instant Digital shared new details that appear to clarify the ...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...

Top Rated Comments

turbineseaplane Avatar
26 months ago

This is all leaving a really bad taste. If this is their attitude towards developers, why should people keep developing for their platforms ?
Apple are really sending a clear message -- massive and much stronger regulation needs to come in to deal with their behavior.

Responding in these childish ways to regulation is straight pissing into the wind

They are every bit Microsoft of the 2000's, and honestly getting even worse.
Score: 73 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
26 months ago
Ugh ..

C'mon Apple

What a crock

iPhone, but not iPad?

I'm so sick of Apple's games
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zakarhino Avatar
26 months ago
They're right, Apple are playing crybaby -- in particular not allowing alternative browser engines on iPad because it's not 'iOS.' What a ridiculous move.

I've vacillated between supporting EU and Apple in this scenario because I understand both perspectives. Ultimately I think our devices should be as free and open as the end user sees fit.

If Apple were *motivated* to support more app stores and browser engines, they could figure out an elegant way to do so whilst remaining competitive. If this EU system seems clunky and disjointed, know that it's because Apple have intentionally made it so. We live in a world where you have to pick between Android or iOS. Period. Anyone claiming you can simply choose not to use those devices is not a serious person. Apple and Google cannot have a totalitarian say over what these devices can and cannot do.

Look at how many devs choose the Mac App Store when other app stores and independent release systems exist. They choose it because it's genuinely a good option on both the part of the developer and end user.

Also "security concerns" regarding alternative app stores sound mostly unfounded considering what makes iOS devices secure and private is the sandboxing and permissions system which works on a system level, Apple 'reviewing' each app that gets submitted to the App Store is mostly to check for content violations rather than malicious code I think. See macOS as an example and that's an even more difficult system to keep secure/private because software can optionally run helper processes at a root level.
Score: 56 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oofio2461 Avatar
26 months ago
Why are browsers required to run on the WebKit engine in the first place? WebKit limits Firefox so much that you can't use a ad blocker, it's just safari reskins at that point.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericthered926 Avatar
26 months ago
This is all leaving a really bad taste. If this is their attitude towards developers, why should people keep developing for their platforms ?
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
26 months ago

Why are browsers required to run on the WebKit engine in the first place? WebKit limits Firefox so much that you can't use a ad blocker, it's just safari reskins at that point.
The whole business model of Apple is basically „keeping everything to ourselves“ in the name of „privacy“ when it’s actually just all about ??? Apple doesn’t care about what is convenient to us as a end user really.

It’s also quite interesting how you hear so little from Alphabet and Meta, which have actually way more gatekeeper restrictions put upon themselves but they are not crying as much about it.

Is it just me or does the whole thing take away their buzz from the Vision Pro?
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)