As the browser wars (opens in new tab) rage on, Microsoft Edge (opens in new tab) is one step closer to challenging Google Chrome (opens in new tab) as it has finally surpassed another major rival.
According to data (opens in new tab) from the web analytics service StatCounter, Microsoft’s browser (opens in new tab) is now used on 9.65 percent of all desktops worldwide which still pales in comparison to Chrome’s 67.26 percent market share.
Back in February of this year, Edge was closing in on Safari (opens in new tab) but based on new data from March, Apple’s browser now has 9.57 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox (opens in new tab) has slipped slightly from 9.18 percent to 7.57 percent.
Surprisingly, Internet Explorer is still being used on one percent (0.92%) of desktops globally, most likely by users that haven’t upgraded to Windows 11 or even Windows 10 yet. Microsoft is planning to retire its IE 11 app (opens in new tab) on June 15 of this year though, so these users will have to make the switch to Edge or even to an alternative browser like Opera (opens in new tab) which has 2.83 percent of desktop browser market share worldwide.
Mobile is a different story altogether
Although Edge is certainly making inroads on desktop, the same can’t be said for Microsoft’s browser on Android and iOS.
According to StatCounter’s mobile data (opens in new tab), Chrome is used on 63.26 percent of all smartphones which makes sense as there are currently over 3bn active Android devices in use and Google’s browser comes preinstalled on Android smartphones (opens in new tab). Likewise, Safari, which comes preinstalled on iPhones (opens in new tab), has 24.81 percent of the mobile browser market share worldwide. Samsung’s browser, Samsung Internet (opens in new tab), meanwhile is currently in third place at just under five percent (4.99%).
Although Microsoft Edge doesn’t even appear in StatCounter’s mobile browser market share data, its usage is growing on mobile. According to Edge’s Play Store listing, the browser’s mobile app has been installed over 10m times and has 4.5 stars based on 453k user reviews. Apple’s App Store doesn’t provide the same detailed install data that the Play Store does but Edge for iOS is ranked #18 in utilities and has a 4.6 rating based on more than 78k user reviews.
A recent report from Windows Central says that Microsoft is reportedly planning to consolidate its Android efforts (opens in new tab) into a single division to offer tighter integration between Google’s mobile operating system and Windows 11 (opens in new tab). While the move is likely more geared towards having Android apps run better on Windows, the software giant’s renewed interest in Android could see it double down on Edge’s mobile app for the platform.
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