We iOS users have it OK when it comes to alternate browsers. Although we still can't set anything but mobile Safari as the default, those of us who prefer another browser have a few options available, including Opera, Chrome, and iCab. But if you've been holding your breath for a (new) iOS version of Firefox, you can exhale: Mozilla doesn't plan to release a new version until Apple changes its ways when it comes to controlling user choice.

A full-on version of Firefox has never existed for iOS, although there were many hints that the organization might be working on one. Mozilla used to have an app called Firefox Home for iOS, but it wasn't meant to act as a browser as it focused mainly on bookmark and tab syncing. Ultimately, the organization pulled the app in September in order to "focus our resources on other projects."

Mozilla did demo an experimental browser for iOS called "Junior" in the middle of 2012, but the company was unable to use its own Gecko HTML rendering engine due to iOS restrictions. Instead, like other browsers available on iOS, it was forced to stick with WebKit. As Ryan Paul wrote last June, "the only thing that will differentiate it from other iPad browsers will be the user interface and the Mozilla service integration."

That's apparently the main reason why Mozilla has given up on any plans to work on a version of Firefox for iOS. Mozilla VP of Product Jay Sullivan made his comments at SXSW over the weekend, as reported by CNET. Sullivan commented that Mozilla is not developing a browser for iOS anymore, and it has no plans to do so in the future—at least not until Apple allows Mozilla to use its own rendering engine and opens up the platform more.