Firefox for iOS is getting some useful upgrades. The development team held a Q&A on Reddit this week during their Toronto meetup, and they shared a few things people have been asking about for a while.
Translation is finally coming. A Mozilla employee confirmed there’s already a working prototype for built-in page translation. They’re just finishing it up before release. No more copying text into other apps or jumping to Safari when you hit a site in another language.
The other big one is a gesture feature. Someone mentioned how Safari lets you swipe up from the address bar to get to your tabs. Turns out a developer is building that right now, and they’re adding something extra to improve on what Safari does. Quick tab switching without reaching for buttons? Yeah, that’ll help.
People asked about extensions too, which is the elephant in the room for Firefox on iOS. The problem isn’t Mozilla ignoring requests. WebKit just doesn’t support the same APIs that Firefox add-ons need on desktop. Getting something like uBlock Origin to work would mean rebuilding it from scratch. Other browsers like Brave and Edge have their own ad blockers built in, and users made it clear Firefox needs something similar.
Apple’s EU rules came up too. Even though alternative browser engines are technically allowed there now, Mozilla said they’d have to make a completely separate app just for Europe. That means double the work for every update, every bug fix, every feature. They filed complaints along with Chrome, Edge, and Brave because it’s not realistic.
Still, the team is working on other stuff. Better tracking protection settings, more gesture controls, and general polish to make the browser feel snappier. Some users pointed out the interface feels a bit off compared to other iOS apps, and Mozilla seems open to feedback on that front.
This kind of direct back-and-forth is pretty rare. Mozilla’s been active on desktop too, pushing out vertical tabs and sidebar updates and revamping the address bar. Good to see the iOS side getting some attention. Now it’s just about when these features actually ship.
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Dwayne Cubbins
1354 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
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