The last time we did a report on the operating system and browser stats was back in October 2008. At the time Google Chrome was just starting to gain some traction, and it was still too early to tell whether Apple’s new MacBooks would help them attract new users to their platform. Here we are a few months later, and things are definitely getting interesting.
According to Net Applications Internet Explorer has dropped several percent since our last report, and the Mac market share is nearing 10%. In November 2008 Microsoft saw the Windows market share fall below 90%, which is a huge blow for them. They haven’t been able to recover since then, and it continues to get worse as Windows approaches 88%:
Note that our tables below are comparing the stats from October 2008 to that of January 2009.
–Web Browsers–
It comes as no surprise to me that Firefox is continuing on its journey to dethrone Internet Explorer once and for all. Google Chrome has also started to get its act together, and has even managed to surpass Opera after being out a mere 5-months.
| October 2008 | January 2009 | Change | |
| Internet Explorer | 71.27% | 67.55% | -3.72% |
| Firefox | 19.97% | 21.53% | +1.56% |
| Safari | 6.57% | 8.29% | +1.72% |
| Chrome | 0.74% | 1.12% | +0.38% |
| Opera | 0.75% | 0.70% | -0.05% |
| Netscape | 0.45% | 0.57% | +0.12% |
| Mozilla | 0.09% | 0.07% | -0.02% |
| Opera Mini | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.00% |
| Playstation | 0.03% | 0.04% | +0.01% |
–Operating Systems–
Windows is still dominating the market, but the Mac operating system is definitely creeping up.
| October 2008 | January 2009 | Change | |
| Windows | 90.46% | 88.26% | -2.20% |
| Mac | 8.21% | 9.93% | +1.72% |
| Linux | 0.71% | 0.83% | +0.12% |
| iPhone | 0.33% | 0.48% | +0.15% |
| Playstation | 0.03% | 0.04% | +0.01% |
The most interesting thing that I found between the browser and operating system stats is the change in Safari/Mac market share. The two numbers are equal, which likely indicates that most new Mac users are choosing Safari as their primary browser.
Nice post, except the percentages should reflect the overall gain/loss percent.
Chrome usage for instance, was up 50% not the .38% you state.
The numbers regarding the change in market share are correct, but do not show the relative change which I also think would be at least as interesting to see. As for Mac users being Safari users – that’s what I first thought too, but you have to remember that the iPhone also uses Safari. That would mean that (only) about 9% (15/172) of the Mac users start to use Firefox instead of Safari.
A gain of 0.12% for Netscape is puzzling to say the least. I assume other browsers’ users are changing their user agent, but still…
I’m surprised more people use Chrome compared to Opera.
Why is Opera doing so badly?
Well, seems like Microsoft is losing ground slowly but steady.
Firefox and Macs are doing great, hope that continues. Competition is good for the market and brings innovation.
Change is in the wind! Finally!
I have been saying all along, that Microsoft is lost in the Internet world. They are clinging to strategies of yesteryear (i.e. the computer desktop).
Their bread and butter is Windows operating system and Microsoft Office, both glued to your hard disk. The fresh start ups prefer to place their software on the Cloud. That is where the action is.
Steven Ballmer is a survivor of the dinosaur era, and will follow the way of the Dodo. I feel Microsoft needs to bring in fresh blood; people who understand how the Internet works.
Lol! Why PlayStation are being placed here?! At least Windows and IE still leads.
I’m just keeping it consistent with what I’ve done in the past.
I think for the same reason Vista hasn’t been successful… they haven’t managed to capture the word-of-mouth. I don’t feel like I’d recommend Opera to a casual user simply because there are several areas where I could see them running into problems, particularly with site compatibility.