Google and Mozilla are working on non-WebKit iOS browsers

Google and Mozilla have versions of their web browsers on Apple’s iOS and iPadOS App Stores, but these versions follow Apple’s current App Store rules which require them to use Safari’s WebKit rendering engine rather than the engines those browsers use in other operating systems. Bit, now, anticipating changes in Apple’s App Store rules, Google and Mozilla are working on non-WebKit iOS and iPadOS browsers.

Google's Chrome browser icon
Google’s Chrome browser icon

Andrew Cunningham for Ars Technica:

According to The Register, Google and Mozilla have recently been spotted working on versions of Chromium and Firefox that use their normal Blink and Gecko rendering engines, respectively.

Apple hasn’t announced any rule changes. The correlated activity from Google and Mozilla could suggest that they’re expecting Apple to drop its restrictions on third-party browser engines in the near future, or the companies could simply be hedging their bets.

MacDailyNews Take: If Blink-based Chrome on an iPhone and iPad acts anything like it does on the Mac, they’re likely to melt down into molten glass and aluminum puddles within the first ten minutes of use.

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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]

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