Also from the official announcement (https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2023/11/28/open-extensions-on-firefox-for-android-debut-december-14-but-you-can-get-a-sneak-peek-today/ ):
Starting December 14, 2023, extensions marked as Android compatible on addons.mozilla.org (AMO) will be openly available to Firefox for Android users.
“We’ve been so impressed with developer enthusiasm and preparation,” said Giorgio Natili, Firefox Director of Engineering. “Just a few weeks ago it looked like we might have a couple hundred Android extensions for launch, but now we can safely say AMO will have 400+ new Firefox for Android extensions available on December 14. We couldn’t be more thankful to our developer community for embracing this exciting moment.”
I don’t get how the EU is not in arms about this. How is Apple able to get away with offering various browsers in the Store, when in the End they all are the Safari-Backend and therefore do not allow for competition in this ecosystem? How can a competitor stand out with a remarkable/better product, when he is not allowed to use his own engine? Or in this case: Prohibiting user from using Extensions like uBlock? Firefox is only a shell of their original performance when castrated by apples webview engine.
The EU is up in arms and the browser question is going to be handled through the DMA. The legal process has been going on since the summer and it’s hilarious.
Ive been waiting for this day ever since Apple announced that you wouldn’t be able to install any software you want on your own piece of hardware. I’m glad that someone has finally started cracking down on this. Just wish it had happened 15 years earlier.