August 1, Beijing time - According to foreign media reports, the latest data released by market research company Net Applications shows that as of July this year, Microsoft's IE remains the most popular browser with a market share of 56.61%. However, the share of IE9 has dropped below 10%. Meanwhile, Firefox's market share hit its lowest point in 50 months, while Google Chrome saw the largest increase in market share.
The second half of 2013 has seen the start of the browser wars. In July, it marked exactly four months since IE10 landed on Windows 7, one month since Firefox 22 was released, and also the release date for Chrome 28. Data published by Net Applications indicates that Google Chrome was the biggest winner in the browser market last month.
IE Market Share in July
From June to July this year, Microsoft IE's market share increased from 56.15% to 56.61%, an increase of 0.46%; Firefox's market share decreased from 19.15% to 18.29%, a drop of 0.86%; Google Chrome's market share grew from 17.17% to 17.76%, an increase of 0.59%. Additionally, Apple Safari's market share fell by 0.13% to 5.42%, and Opera's market share declined by 0.09% to 1.49%.
IE's market share reached 56.61%, marking a new high for the past year. In January, IE's market share returned to over 55%. The market trends in the following months suggest that while IE is unlikely to lose its leading position in the browser market anytime soon, reclaiming a 60% market share will still be a long journey.
In July, IE10's market share stood at 15.36%, despite a slower growth rate, it still increased by 1.84%. During the same period, IE9's market share was 9.69%, a decrease of 2.02%. Soon, IE11 will follow in the footsteps of previous versions by supporting both Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems.
Meanwhile, IE8's market share increased by 0.85% to reach 23.52%, making it still the most popular browser version in the world. It’s worth noting that IE10 primarily attracts users from IE9 on the Windows 7 platform, as Windows XP users cannot upgrade beyond IE8.
IE7's market share was 1.56%, down by 0.13%, while IE6's market share was 6.10%, with only a slight decrease of 0.03%. IE6's market share dropping below 5% may not happen until later this year or even into 2014.
Firefox Market Share in July
In July, Firefox's market share was 18.29%. The last time this browser's market share dropped to the 18% level was back in May 2008. Firefox 22 became available to all users in July and quickly captured 10.21% of the market share. However, other versions experienced declines: Firefox 21's market share fell by 10.74%, Firefox 20's market share fell by 0.29%, Firefox 19's market share fell by 0.08%, and Firefox 18's market share fell by 0.06%.
Chrome Market Share in July
In July, Google Chrome's market share was 17.76%, which is a significant climb compared to the 21-month low it encountered in May. Despite being available for less than a month, Chrome 28 already achieved a market share of 8.98%. However, other versions of Chrome saw declines: Chrome 27 dropped by 7.44%, Chrome 26 fell by 0.26%, and Chrome 25 and Chrome 24 collectively fell by 0.05%. Looking at the data from June and July, Chrome is on track to surpass Firefox this year.
Net Applications monitors 40,000 websites each month, collecting data through 160 million unique users. Another market research company, StatCounter, also tracks browser market shares, based on 15 billion page views.
According to StatCounter's browser market data for July 2013, Google Chrome had the highest market share at 43.12%, followed by Microsoft IE with a market share of 24.53%; Firefox ranked third with a market share of 20.09%. Apple Safari and Opera had market shares of 8.59% and 1.10%, respectively. The only commonality between them is that neither Apple Safari nor Opera managed to enter the top three positions in the browser market.