With all versions pooled together, Internet Explorer’s browser dominance is clear to see. It holds 54.29 percent of the market, compared with just 16.55 percent for all versions of Google Chrome, its closest rival.
Firefox holds at 6.45 percent while “other” makes up the remaining 22.7 percent. This category consists primarily of Apple’s Safari followed by alternatives like Opera and smaller integrated browsers.
The figures come courtesy of analysts Net Market Share and are representative of browser usage during April 2015. The most popular browser for this month was Internet Explorer 11 — the latest version — at 25.04 percent.
Predecessor IE10 retains 5.1% share while outdated and insecure IE8 still hangs around with 16.05 percent — nearly as much as Google Chrome. IE8 is primarily used on Windows XP systems but Chrome can also run on these. Clearly, people are more prepared to stick with dated software than to try something new.
It will be interesting to see how Internet Explorer’s share dwindles as Microsoft phases it out in favour of its new “Edge” browser — previously known as Project Spartan — with the launch of Windows 10.
With a host of new features designed to convince consumers to switch, it is possible that the company will be able to steal even more users from Google Chrome if the initial offering is successful. Many people now frequently view IE in only a negative light as a consequence of how Microsoft neglected development of the previously unbeatable browser for many years.
With Cortana built-in, a synchronized reading list, extension support and the ability to directly annotate webpages, Edge might have enough to draw in the users. It will have to attract some from versions of Internet Explorer as old as 8.0 though — and if people are still using that today, they are probably going to take some convincing before they change.
