Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Apple’s iPads to get two competitor web browsers to Safari

Graeme McMillan
By

After two years as the sole Internet browser for the iPad, Apple’s Safari is about to face competition from two different directions. Not only have Mozilla unveiled their planned iPad browser – currently nicknamed “Junior” – but rumors are pointing to Google releasing an iOS version of Chrome within the next few months, as well.

Mozilla debuted Firefox Junior via a YouTube video presentation this weekend, in which Alex Limi and Trond Werner Lansen, both from the company’s Product Design and Strategy Team, demonstrated the prototype and discussed the reasoning behind its creation. “We wanted to make something entirely new,” explained Limi. “We wanted to look into how we could reinvent the browser for a new form factor, and also kind of throw out everything we know about browsers so far. And everybody says they do this, but nobody’s done this yet.”

Recommended Videos

Junior does, indeed, replace the traditional browser aesthetic with something that takes more advantage of the touchscreen technology of mobile devices (Bookmarks and recent sites are show up as tabs once you decide that you want to leave a webpage; scrollbars are replaced with buttons on either side of the screen, for example), as well as redefine the main uses of web-browsing; Werner Lansen talks in the video about the “three vital things” any browser should do, which he defines as provide access to recently-visited sites, provide access to bookmarked or favorite sites, and access a new site via an address bar that’ll allow you to type in any URL you wish.

Related

The video avoids giving a release date for Junior, with a spokesperson for the company telling Talking Points Memo that the browser is “an early-stage experimental project and is not confirmed for development by Mozilla or for a future version of Firefox,” adding that the reason for the release of the video was that “all projects and experiments at Mozilla are developed in the open to gather ideas and feedback.” Limi seems a lot more confident about the project’s possible release in the video, and even gives a reason why. “We have no vehicle on one of the biggest consumer platforms in the world right now,” he explains at one point, later talking about the need to get Junior up and running as quickly as possible by saying that “Chrome’s going to ship Chrome for iOS soon.”

That last statement isn’t something that Google is willing to respond to just yet.

“We would like to bring the same speedy, simple and seamless Chrome web browsing experience to other mobile platforms, but have nothing to announce at this time,” a Google spokesperson responded when asked for comment about the Mozilla speculation. Google already has a mobile version of the Chrome browser for Android devices, and if the no comment statement sounds familiar, it’s because that’s pretty much what Google said about the Android Chrome just before it was announced. Your days of unchallenged supremacy may be numbered, Safari…

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Graeme McMillan
Graeme McMillan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
A transplant from the west coast of Scotland to the west coast of America, Graeme is a freelance writer with a taste for pop…
Hurry! This iPad just crashed back to its Black Friday price
The iPad on a tablet displaying web content.

If you've always wanted to buy an iPad but the latest releases are beyond your budget, you may want to consider going for a previous-generation model like the 2021 Apple iPad. The tablet's Wi-Fi, 64GB model, which is already relatively affordable at $330, is currently even cheaper from Best Buy, as an $80 discount pulls its price down to $250. That's what the device was going for during the iPad deals of Black Friday 2023, so if you missed the chance to take advantage of that bargain, proceed with your purchase immediately to make sure this opportunity doesn't slip away.

Why you should buy the 2021 Apple iPad
The ninth-generation Apple iPad, which was released in 2021, will be three years old in several months. However, it's still listed in our roundup of the best iPads as the best iPad on a budget, as it still offers great performance by today's standards with Apple's A13 Bionic chip that also powered the iPhone 11 series. The tablet also features a 10.2-inch Retina display with 2160 x 1620 resolution, for sharp details and vivid colors when you're browsing the internet, watching streaming shows, and playing mobile games.

Read more
Apple’s new iPad Pro and iPad Air just got delayed
Someone holding an iPad Air against a wooden floor.

It seems like the countdown to the next iPad reveal has been stretched out a bit more, though not by an earth-shattering amount of time. So far, we’ve heard rumors of a late March or early April reveal, but that likely won’t happen, according to a new report from Apple insider Mark Gurman.

In his latest Bloomberg report, Gurman says the next Apple tablets should arrive in early May, and he cited the speeding up of production at Apple’s suppliers. Interestingly, production-related challenges apparently pushed back the launch of the new slates across the Pro and Air lineups.

Read more
Buying an iPad Mini today? You need to know about this deal
The Apple Pencil attaches to the iPad mini magnetically.

If you've had an eye on iPad deals for the latest model of the Apple iPad Mini for a while now, this may be the offer that you've been waiting for -- a $100 discount from Best Buy on the tablet's Wi-Fi, 64GB model, slashing its price to $400 from $500. It's still pretty popular years after its release, so we don't expect stocks of the device for this sale to last long. If you're thinking about taking advantage of this bargain, you better push through with your purchase as soon as possible to make sure that you don't miss out on the savings.

Why you should buy the Apple iPad Mini 2021
The latest generation of the Apple iPad Mini was released in 2021, but it's still featured in our roundup of the best iPads because it's the model that you should buy if you want a smaller and more compact version of Apple's tablets. Its 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display is smaller than the screens of its peers, but it's still big enough to enjoy watching streaming shows and browsing websites, while allowing you to use the device with one hand. Unlike its predecessor, there's no Home button, so the Touch ID sensor is instead built into the power button at the side of the Apple iPad Mini 2021.

Read more