Top spider web browsers 2020: Edge makes double digits

In October, Google'south Chrome browser shed market share for the third month in a row. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Edge broke into double-digits — the largest ever proceeds for Edge in a single month

Senior Reporter, Computerworld |

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Table of Contents
  • Top web browsers, September 2020
  • Top web browsers, August 2020
  • Top spider web browsers, July 2020
  • Top web browsers, June 2020
  • Acme web browsers, May 2020
  • Acme web browsers, April 2020
  • Top web browsers, March 2020
  • Summit web browsers, February 2020
  • Top web browsers, January 2020
  • Top web browsers, December 2019

Testify More than

Microsoft'due south Border last month posted its beginning ever double-digit browser share, while Google'due south Chrome slid for the third calendar month direct.

Mozilla'southward Firefox in one case again held steady, keeping its head above h2o.

According to data published Sunday by California-based metrics company Net Applications, Border's October share climbed by 1.4 percentage points, ending the month at 10.2%, the starting time time Microsoft's browser broke through that psychologically important barrier. The gain was the largest ever for Edge in a single month, almost double that of the previous record set in December 2019.

The increase was so large that it immediately raised suspicions that it was a miscount past Cyberspace Applications rather than a reflection of reality. Bolstering that was an even greater boost to the share of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE), the obsolete browser the Redmond, Wash. visitor has started to strip of some of its support. IE's share for October — 5.6% — was 1.7 points higher than the month prior, a leap and so out of character as to exist unbelievable.

Edge'south gain was understandable, at least. Microsoft relaunched that 2015 browser earlier this year when it recast Edge with the Google-dominated Chromium applied science, the same that powers Chrome. Not but did Microsoft make Edge a Chrome re-create, only information technology besides expanded support to versions of Windows other than x, as well as macOS and, more recently, Linux.

Since Jan, Edge has slowly been adding share; 3.2 points since the Chromium-based Border went final in the Stable channel. In the past 12 months, Edge has gained 4.1 percentage points, for an average of a tertiary of a point per month.

At that pace, Edge should sit at most eleven% by year'south end and at 15% by December 2021. Of grade, that assumes Edge can maintain growth, which in plough requires one or more rivals continues to give up share.

The near likely loser? Chrome, mostly considering of its titanic share but also because Border is, well, Chrome wearing a different outfit.

Microsoft's launch of Windows 10 20H2 — the H2 signifying the yr'due south 2nd feature upgrade — last month may help Edge as it continues to climb: 20H2 includes Chromium Border. That should accelerate the replacement of original Edge, the version introduced in mid-2015 that ran only on Windows x, with the sounder Chromium browser.

Chrome down for tertiary consecutive month

Chrome dumped seven-tenths of a percentage point in October, falling back to 69.iii%. The reject was the 3rd in as many months, an unusual run that'south occurred only four times in the browser'due south 15 years. (The last time information technology happened before this was in September-December 2019.)

Whenever Chrome suffers losses in two or more directly months, information technology's tempting to wonder whether the browser has peaked. Computerworld has tentatively pegged more than a couple such milestones before but been proven wrong each fourth dimension. The browser could easily bounce back equally it has earlier.

Computerworld's latest forecast — equally ever, based on Chrome's 12-calendar month average — stayed with growth, albeit pared significantly from 30 days ago. Chrome should return to 70% by March 2021 and reach 71% by September 2022. (The latter was three months later than last month'south forecast, showing how present declines chop-chop impact future gains.)

Border remains Chrome's most dangerous competitor, primarily — and this is Google's ain doing to some caste — because the erstwhile is the latter, what with both relying on Chromium. Only Microsoft has cards to play here that Google cannot match; Microsoft volition leverage its enterprise management reputation and expertise in an attempt to wean commercial customers from Google's browser.

Microsoft'southward strategy, and then, would exist the contrary of Google's. The latter pushed Chrome to consumers until its share reached tipping signal, and employees demanded the right to run the same browser they'd become familiar with at home. Microsoft would instead hope to win over concern users in the expectation that they might want to run the same browser on dwelling house PCs, tablets or even phones.

Firefox: Not expressionless notwithstanding!

Firefox didn't move its share needle last calendar month; information technology stayed at the same 7.2% marker it earned in September. That meant Firefox didn't gain any ground. It also meant it didn't lose any, probably its most important goal for at present and the foreseeable future.

Mozilla'southward browser likewise stuck to the bad news forecast of last month, although Computerworld's current prediction puts it under 6% in Baronial 2021, 2 months after than concluding month'due south estimate. At its 12-month rate of refuse, Firefox will dip below five% in May 2022.

Elsewhere in Net Applications' numbers, Apple'due south Safari slumped by two-tenths of a per centum bespeak in Oct, sliding to 3.four%. Opera Software's Opera vicious by a slightly-larger three-tenths of a point to end the month at an best depression of seven-tenths of a bespeak.

Net Applications calculates share by detecting the agent strings of the browsers used to achieve the websites of Net Applications' clients. The company counts visitor sessions to measure browser activeness.

Or it used to.

At the same time it published October'due south share numbers, Internet Applications appear that it's pulling the plug on the information source. "Oct 2020 is the final month of data," the firm said. "Why? An upcoming change in browsers will break our device detection technology and will cause inaccuracies for a long menses of fourth dimension."

The alter Cyberspace Applications cited would remove much of the agent string information used non only to compile analytics such every bit browser and operating system share, merely also by advertisers and/or scammers to "fingerprint" individuals so that they can be more thoroughly tracked as they conduct their online lives.

Computerworld has not yet decided whether to proceed the "Elevation spider web browsers" serial, and if so, which alternate information source might be used.

Stay tuned.