Internet Explorer usage increased by 4% during the past couple of months and September saw the largest jump for any browser since StatCounter began. Is the trend continuing in the latest figures…?
Worldwide Browser Statistics September 2013 to October 2013
The following table shows browser usage movements during the past month.
| Browser | September | October | change | relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IE (all) | 28.54% | 28.94% | +0.40% | +1.40% |
| IE11 | 0.00% | 0.13% | +0.13% | n/a |
| IE10 | 12.19% | 12.44% | +0.25% | +2.10% |
| IE9 | 5.93% | 5.99% | +0.06% | +1.00% |
| IE8 | 9.54% | 9.56% | +0.02% | +0.20% |
| IE7 | 0.65% | 0.59% | -0.06% | -9.20% |
| IE6 | 0.23% | 0.23% | +0.00% | +0.00% |
| Chrome | 40.88% | 40.45% | -0.43% | -1.10% |
| Firefox | 18.37% | 18.09% | -0.28% | -1.50% |
| Safari | 8.51% | 8.53% | +0.02% | +0.20% |
| Opera | 1.14% | 1.12% | -0.02% | -1.80% |
| Others | 2.56% | 2.87% | +0.31% | +12.10% |
Worldwide Browser Statistics October 2012 to October 2013
The following table shows browser usage movements during the past twelve months:
| Browser | October 2012 | October 2013 | change | relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IE (all) | 32.08% | 28.94% | -3.14% | -9.80% |
| IE11 | 0.00% | 0.13% | +0.13% | n/a |
| IE10 | 0.00% | 12.44% | +12.44% | n/a |
| IE9 | 17.95% | 5.99% | -11.96% | -66.60% |
| IE8 | 12.66% | 9.56% | -3.10% | -24.50% |
| IE7 | 0.98% | 0.59% | -0.39% | -39.80% |
| IE6 | 0.49% | 0.23% | -0.26% | -53.10% |
| Chrome | 34.83% | 40.45% | +5.62% | +16.10% |
| Firefox | 22.32% | 18.09% | -4.23% | -19.00% |
| Safari | 7.81% | 8.53% | +0.72% | +9.20% |
| Opera | 1.63% | 1.12% | -0.51% | -31.30% |
| Others | 1.33% | 2.87% | +1.54% | +115.80% |
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. 9.2% of IE7 users switched browsers last month. There are several caveats so I recommend you read How Browser Market Share is Calculated.
While October was less dramatic, IE was the only browser to make gains other than a tiny increase for Safari. IE is still down by 3% over the past year but it seems Microsoft is enticing users back from Google and Mozilla.
IE11 was released with the Windows 8.1 upgrade in mid-October and currently holds a tiny 0.13% market share. That’s certain to increase rapidly when it’s released for Windows 7. There’s no official statement from Microsoft but, since we’re in the eleventh month, what date would be ideal for an IE11 Windows 7 release?…
Overall, the chart was remarkably stable. Chrome 30 and Firefox 25 were released during October but neither could stop 1% of those users migrating elsewhere. Safari and Opera fluctuated but neither have been able to impact the big three.
One final point: Amazon’s Silk browser on the Kindle accounts for 0.16% of all users. I thought it would have been more dominant by now.
Mobile Browser Usage
Mobile web usage increased to 19.71% of all web activity during October — the highest since StatCounter’s records began.
The top mobile browsing applications:
| Mobile Browser | September | October | change | relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Android | 28.18% | 25.62% | -2.56% | -9.10% |
| iPhone | 21.04% | 19.18% | -1.86% | -8.80% |
| Opera Mini/Mobile | 16.62% | 24.03% | +7.41% | +44.60% |
| UC Browser | 11.80% | 10.45% | -1.35% | -11.40% |
| Nokia Browser | 6.58% | 5.84% | -0.74% | -11.20% |
| Chrome | 4.63% | 4.77% | +0.14% | +3.00% |
| Blackberry | 3.10% | 2.87% | -0.23% | -7.40% |
| Others | 8.05% | 7.24% | -0.81% | -10.10% |
This looks very odd. I doubt Opera increased more than 7% in one month, but that’s what StatCounter is showing? Either it’s a quirky blip or the data collection/analysis methods have changed.
Remember that all web statistics are based on an unstable tower of assumptions. Always approach figures with a healthy dose of skepticism!
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.
