Internet users in the U.S. have finally caught up with the rest of the world in their browser choice today, with Google’s Chrome taking over third place from default Apple browser Safari. The browser, first released just two years ago, has led Safari worldwide since last September, but just this week surpassed it in the U.S. as well, according to Internet traffic analytics company StatCounter.
For some, this is seen as a big win for Google over Apple, as the two companies battle over the search and mobile spheres.
“This is quite a coup for Google as they have gone from zero to almost 10% of the US market in under two years,” commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter, in a release. “There is a battle royal going on between Google and Apple in the internet browser space (Chrome v Safari) as well as in the mobile market (Android v iPhone).”
Worldwide, the browser market is dominated by Internet Explorer, which holds nearly 53% of browser use, with Firefox coming in at just over 31%. Chrome follows with 9% and Safari with under half of that at 4%. The picture is similar for the U.S., but with Chrome and Safari coming in nearly even at around 9%. According to StatCounter, Chrome just barely took the lead over Safari this week with 8.97%, as opposed to Safari’s 8.88%.
Chrome has steadily gained ground over the past year, and recently has been stealing away the geeks and early adopters from open-source alternative Firefox. For many of these same users, it has been Chrome’s lack of features that has held them back, but as the little-browser-that-could has added functionality like extensions or location awareness, its speed and minimal design have drawn an ever-increasing user base.
