Mozilla announced today it will end its Firefox operating system support for smartphones after the release of version 2.6.
"As we announced in December, the circumstances of multiple established operating systems and app ecosystems meant that we were playing catch-up, and the conditions were not there for Mozilla to win on commercial smartphones," Mozilla said in an announcement.
"Therefore, we are announcing our plan to end-of-life support for smartphones after the Firefox OS 2.6 release. This means that Firefox OS for smartphones will no longer have staff involvement beyond May," the company said.
As of March 29, the Marketplace (which is the home for apps designed for devices that run on the Firefox operating system) will no longer be accepting submissions for Android, desktop and tablet, and Mozilla will remove all apps that do not support Firefox OS.
However, Firefox OS apps will continue to be accepted into 2017, with the company not yet finalizing a date for discontinuing acceptance.
Instead, Mozilla will turn to the area of Connected Devices to focus on innovations in the IoT (Internet of Things) space. The comment said that three products have already passed the first "gate," including SmartTV, and the Connected Devices team has a dozen more projects in the works.
Since Firefox OS is coming to an end, Mozilla's foxfooding program will turn its attention away from improving the smartphone experience. The company said the program will expand to engage community members early regarding new product concepts.
Source: Mozilla
Photo: Mozilla in Europe | Flickr
