Firefox on the brink?
This the title of the Brice Wray author, thinking about a possible colapse of the Mozilla Firefox. You can read the full article by acessing: Firefox on the brink? The Big Three may effectively be down to a Big Two, and right quick.. Also, you can engage on the Hacker News discussion about it
To claim this allegation, Brice bases it on a number of factors, including:
- The steady decline of Firefox’s market share, which has fallen from 31.82% in November 2009 to just 3.17% in November 2023.
- The rise of Google Chrome, which is now the most popular browser in the world, with a market share of 62.85%.
- A new US government guideline that requires government websites to be compatible with Chrome and Edge, but not with Firefox.
The mains reason for this title, it’s that Wray believes that the US government guideline is a significant blow to Firefox, as it will make it more difficult for Firefox developers and users to access government websites. He also argues that the decline of Firefox is making it more difficult for Mozilla to attract new resources and funding.
It is difficult to say for certain whether Firefox is really on the verge of collapse. However, it is clear that the browser is facing significant challenges. If Mozilla cannot find a way to reverse the decline of Firefox, it is possible that the browser will disappear soon.
Overall, Wray’s article is an important warning about the future of Firefox. The browser is facing significant challenges, and it is possible that it will disappear soon.
Of course, it’s difficult to look at Firefox as a threat to browsers from large companies, such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple; especially because the first has embedded ChatGPT in everything, especially in Edge; the second has a broad dominance in the mobile market (Android) and in the PC market (Chromebooks, desktops, and notebooks); and the third has, in the US, a gigantic installed mobile base (which should be the justification for the +30% using Safari) which still adds up to, probably, the largest Mac base in the world.
I would say that the situation of Firefox is VERY complicated. And I am quite worried — to the extent that is possible — because FF is my default browser and I think it is our best alternative to the walls of Big Techs.
