Google and Mozilla are working on iOS browsers that break current App Store rules

Enlarge / Mozilla’s current logo for Firefox. (credit: Mozilla)

Companies like Google, Mozilla, and Microsoft have versions of their web browsers on Apple’s iOS and iPadOS App Stores, but these versions come with a big caveat: The App Store rules require them to use Safari’s WebKit rendering engine rather than the engines those browsers use in other operating systems.

But that could be changing. 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. Regulatory pressure from multiple governments is pushing Apple in the direction of loosening many of its App Store restrictions, including (begrudgingly) accepting third-party payment services and sideloading of apps and third-party app stores.