14 DAY TRIAL // If you’re trying to figure out which browser is currently the number one choice for users worldwide, it pretty much depends on who you ask. As my colleague Gabriela Vatu has told you earlier today, market researcher StatCounter says that Chrome is the world’s favorite browser, but the folks over at Net Applications claim otherwise.
Basically, if we’re looking at statistics for the month of August 2014, Internet Explorer continues to be the number one browser on the planet, with a market share that’s more than double the one of Google Chrome.
Specifically, Internet Explorer is currently being used by 58.46 percent of the desktop computers worldwide, while the runner-up is Google Chrome with a share of 19.61 percent. Firefox is doing decently with a share of 15.23 percent, while Safari is next with 5.32 percent.
Version-wise, Internet Explorer 8 continues to lead the charts with a share of 21.40 percent, followed by Internet Explorer 11 with 17.54 percent.
Chrome 36 is third with 11.05 percent, while Firefox 31 is next with 10.51 percent. Three other Internet Explorer versions come really close, namely 9.0, 10.0, and 6.0 with 9.24 percent, 6.18 percent, and 3.33 percent, respectively.
Microsoft continues work to make Internet Explorer better, and the company has recently admitted in an AMA session on Reddit that it even considers choosing a different name for the browser in order to fight the negative perception affecting the application since version 6.0.
While this hasn’t been made yet, changing the browser’s name could indeed help, but Microsoft is anyway working to make it better by adding new features and improving security.
This month, for example, Internet Explorer will be updated to start blocking outdated ActiveX controls, with old Java versions to stop working with the browser. Microsoft is also preparing a major overhaul for the application, and we’re hearing that Internet Explorer 12 could be part of the Windows 9 rollout scheduled for April 2015.
Needless to say, Microsoft wants and needs Internet Explorer to be better than its rivals, and no matter which market researcher is right, the default Windows browser is well positioned to gain ground and become a much more powerful solution for loading your favorite websites.
At this point, Microsoft is working on two different fronts to improve both the desktop and the Modern client, so as far as touch is concerned, Internet Explorer is the only viable option for those who purchase a Windows RT device.