Chrome’s recent ascent has dominated browser trends for several months. The latest figures from StatCounter indicate that Apple and Microsoft can still take on Google…
Worldwide Desktop & Tablet Browser Statistics, May to June 2014
The following table shows browser usage movements during the past month.
| Browser | May | June | change | relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IE (all) | 20.76% | 20.98% | +0.22% | +1.10% |
| IE11 | 8.47% | 8.69% | +0.22% | +2.60% |
| IE10 | 3.30% | 3.21% | -0.09% | -2.70% |
| IE9 | 3.23% | 3.17% | -0.06% | -1.90% |
| IE8 | 5.29% | 5.40% | +0.11% | +2.10% |
| IE7 | 0.17% | 0.17% | +0.00% | +0.00% |
| IE6 | 0.30% | 0.34% | +0.04% | +13.30% |
| Chrome | 45.72% | 45.54% | -0.18% | -0.40% |
| Firefox | 18.71% | 17.94% | -0.77% | -4.10% |
| Safari | 4.61% | 4.48% | -0.13% | -2.80% |
| iPad Safari | 5.39% | 5.81% | +0.42% | +7.80% |
| Opera | 1.30% | 1.32% | +0.02% | +1.50% |
| Others | 3.51% | 3.93% | +0.42% | +12.00% |
Worldwide Desktop & Tablet Browser Statistics, June 2013 to June 2014
The following table shows browser usage movements during the past 12 months:
| Browser | June 2013 | June 2014 | change | relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IE (all) | 25.42% | 20.98% | -4.44% | -17.50% |
| IE11 | 0.00% | 8.69% | +8.69% | n/a |
| IE10 | 9.88% | 3.21% | -6.67% | -67.50% |
| IE9 | 6.79% | 3.17% | -3.62% | -53.30% |
| IE8 | 8.04% | 5.40% | -2.64% | -32.80% |
| IE7 | 0.49% | 0.17% | -0.32% | -65.30% |
| IE6 | 0.22% | 0.34% | +0.12% | +54.50% |
| Chrome | 42.75% | 45.54% | +2.79% | +6.50% |
| Firefox | 20.01% | 17.94% | -2.07% | -10.30% |
| Safari | 8.37% | 10.29% | +1.92% | +22.90% |
| Opera | 1.02% | 1.32% | +0.30% | +29.40% |
| Others | 2.43% | 3.93% | +1.50% | +61.70% |
The tables show market share estimates for desktop browsers. The ‘change’ column is the absolute increase or decrease in market share. The ‘relative’ column indicates the proportional change, i.e. 2.7% of IE10 users switched browsers last month. There are several caveats so I recommend you read How Browser Market Share is Calculated.
The summer months in the US and Europe can be a little quirky with more people on vacation. Safari on the iPad has performed the best this month which could be explained by many of us lying on sun loungers.
Internet Explorer also made a small gain of 0.2%. It’s not much, but better than normal and slightly surprising if we are making the assumption that fewer people are at work and using the browser.
Chrome remained mostly static but Firefox had its worse drop in a year. Perhaps the version 29 redesign has not charmed the user base or enticed migration from elsewhere? I’ve not heard strong opinions either way so please leave comments if you’ve recently switched to or from Mozilla’s browser.
Opera is unchanged although almost 60% of users have now switched to a Blink-based version 15+ installation. The feature set has started to improve but it’s still some way from v12 parity. That said, the older edition is increasingly creaky — users must ultimately switch.
Worldwide Mobile Browser Statistics, May to June 2014
Mobile usage in June 2014 increased by another 1.5% to reach 28.47% of all web activity. If you were in any doubt about mobile growth, this year’s comparision chart will challenge your assumptions!
The top mobile browsing applications:
| Mobile Browser | May | June | change | relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 25.26% | 24.49% | -0.77% | -3.00% |
| iPhone | 21.34% | 22.38% | +1.04% | +4.90% |
| Chrome | 18.33% | 19.40% | +1.07% | +5.80% |
| Opera Mini/Mobile | 11.60% | 11.49% | -0.11% | -0.90% |
| UC Browser | 10.39% | 9.81% | -0.58% | -5.60% |
| Nokia Browser | 4.35% | 4.13% | -0.22% | -5.10% |
| IEMobile | 2.38% | 2.35% | -0.03% | -1.30% |
| Others | 6.35% | 5.95% | -0.40% | -6.30% |
Safari on the iPhone jumped by a larger percentage than its iPad cousin. It couldn’t quite match the growth enjoyed by Chrome although this was somewhat overshadowed by a large drop for the older Android browser.
However, remember these charts indicate web browser usage and not device sales. It’s reasonable to assume that many iPhone users have a good mobile data plan and are able to browse more than those with less expensive devices and more limited bandwidth. It’s possible that iPhone usage will fall as cooler months arrive — this appears to be the case in the southern hemisphere.
Craig BucklerCraig is a freelance UK web consultant who built his first page for IE2.0 in 1995. Since that time he's been advocating standards, accessibility, and best-practice HTML5 techniques. He's created enterprise specifications, websites and online applications for companies and organisations including the UK Parliament, the European Parliament, the Department of Energy & Climate Change, Microsoft, and more. He's written more than 1,000 articles for SitePoint and you can find him @craigbuckler.
