KaiOS Technologies has partnered with web browser Mozilla to enhance the Gecko engine.

KaiOS Technologies, maker of the KaiOS mobile operating system, has partnered with web browser Mozilla to enhance the Gecko engine for KaiOS.

The companies have issued a statement explaining that the combination of KaiOS’ engineering expertise and Mozilla’s software will ensure future versions of Gecko are compatible with KaiOS-enabled devices and their web-based resources.

Gecko powers Mozilla’s Firefox browser and is a central component of KaiOS’ web-based experience.

According to the statement, this partnership bolsters the security and performance of KaiOS-enabled smart feature phones, as well as the platform’s developer tools, security, and available functions.

This includes better PWA (Progressive Web App) and WebAssembly support. All changes and improves will also be open sourced under Mozilla’s Public License.

Joe Hildebrand, Mozilla’s Vice President of Web Platform, said: “A version of Gecko, the implementation of the Web Platform in Firefox, is currently used by KaiOS to render the web on their devices. This partnership will help ensure that KaiOS remains a robust and secure web platform by bringing their version of Gecko more up to date, and keeping it up to date with the latest features, web site compatibility, and security fixes.”

According to the companies, the partnership will result in boosted support and improvements for developers including, optimised OS performance for apps, websites, and services; enhanced device APIs and feature compatibility; upgraded internet security and connection speeds via TLS 1.3, as well as improved device stability and ease of obtaining certification for mobile carriers and OEMs .

Sebastien Codeville, CEO of KaiOS Technologies, said, “Mozilla’s work on Boot 2 Gecko served as the backbone of KaiOS from the beginning. Through this partnership we can enable new features, improve security, and ensure better overall performance of KaiOS. Broadly speaking, these updates will mean many first-time internet users gain access to more of the web’s advanced digital services on devices that are affordable, reliable, and secure.”

According to information supplied, to date over 120 million KaiOS-enabled devices have been shipped in over 100 countries.

KaiOS is based on HTML5 and other open web technologies and supports 3G/4G LTE, Wi-Fi, GPS, and NFC.

The company says its ecosystem includes a fast-growing developer community with active developers in Europe and Africa, with technical support and resources provided from the KaiOS developer portal.

In February 2019 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, KaiOS announced its intention to expand to more users in Africa and link up with other operators in addition to Orange and MTN.