What just happened? The browser battlefield saw some minor shifts in April 2024, according to the latest figures from StatCounter. While Google’s Chrome solidified its iron grip on the market, Microsoft’s Edge made modest gains that could spell trouble for its competitors down the line.
Let’s start with the reigning champion, Chrome. Google’s browser saw its desktop market share rise marginally to 65.94% last month, up 0.17 percentage points. The company’s not resting on its laurels either, recently ensuring Chrome will have a native ARM64 version for the next crop of Windows 11 AI PCs with ARM chips.
But the biggest story might be Microsoft Edge’s slow and steady ascent. The browser snagged 12.82% of the desktop market in April, moving 0.12 percentage points higher. There’s a slight chance that the controversial tactics of force-feeding Edge to Windows users via updates and sly upgrade prompts could be partially fueling the gains, but Microsoft deserves credit for genuinely improving the browser with new AI-powered features, among other things.
However, despite these gains, Edge’s numbers are still lower than the late 2023 achievement when it closed the year with its highest-ever share of 12.96%.
Rounding out the podium on desktop is Apple’s Safari, holding down third place with 8.44% of the market despite a 0.19-point dip. But Safari is still well ahead of the veteran Firefox, which clings to 6.67% – a slight 0.06% uptick.
Speaking of Firefox, Mozilla has hinted at shifting focus away from its fabled open-source browser to double down on AI services instead. A pivot like that could spell trouble for its future in the browser battles.
On the mobile front, the story is much the same: Chrome rules the roost with a 65.68% share, up 0.39 points. Safari trails in second with 23.75%, while Samsung Internet takes bronze at 4.33%. Interestingly, Microsoft’s mobile Edge browser lags far behind in ninth place with just 0.39% of the mobile pie.
On a personal note, my stubbornness to prevent Chromium from becoming the only browser engine has kept me loyal to Firefox, despite its flaws – the most glaring of which is the absence of tab groups. The slick Android app is another factor that keeps me returning. Which browser are you all rocking these days? Do you stick with the tried-and-true favorites, or have you explored some of the newer, more niche options out there like Arc? Let us know in the comments below.