Mozilla has stopped Firefox OS development and laid off a team of around 50 people who were working on the project. This effectively marks the end of the company’s attempts to build a commercial platform for connected devices. Ari Jaaski, the senior VP in charge of Firefox OS and a director of the group’s software, are both reported to be leaving.
The non-profit organisation, primarily known for its Firefox web browser, made the following statement regarding the company’s focus:
“We have shifted our internal approach to the internet-of-things opportunity to step back from a focus on launching and scaling commercial products to one focused on research and advanced development, dissolving our connected devices initiative and incorporating our internet-of-things explorations into an increased focus on emerging technologies.”
Firefox OS was the company’s attempt to bring itself back into mainstream consciousness. At one point, Mozilla’s web browser was ubiquitous with web browsing as a major alternative to Internet Explorer, but it has struggled in the past few years with the rise of mobile web browsing. According to web analytics firm StatCounter, Firefox’s usage share in January dropped to 14.9% on personal computers and 6.8% on all devices with more users gravitating towards Safari and Chrome.
The biggest success of Firefox OS was its inclusion in a Panasonic 4K TV. (Panasonic is Big on B2B)
Analyst Comment
There were rumours that we reported on about the demise of Firefox OS some months ago. (HbbTV to Merge with Smart TV Alliance – Mozilla Ends Firefox OS) (BR)
