More people do the same thing, market share data shows

Nov 1, 2017 08:45 GMT  ·  By

A Microsoft engineer decided to give up on Microsoft Edge and install Google Chrome in the middle of a live presentation, all after the default Windows 10 browser stopped responding.

It goes without saying that this blunder made the rounds super-fast, and Microsoft critics had another reason make fun of the company’s browser. But as it turns out, the Microsoft engineer wasn’t the only one giving up on Edge browser last month, as the market share of the application is falling at a very worrying pace for the company.

It’s not a secret that Google Chrome is the number one browser on the desktop, but until now, Microsoft Edge was growing every month. That’s true, this growing process took place at a painfully slow pace, but at least adoption was on the rise, giving Microsoft the right to hope that someday it could become the number one browser out there.

Chrome up, Edge down

And yet, the latest batch of data from NetMarketShare shows that Edge is actually collapsing, while Google Chrome keeps growing and growing and growing.

Edge fell from 5.15 percent to 4.58 percent the last month, all after the browser previously dropped from 5.66 percent share. This means that in two months, Edge lost 1.08 percent market share points.

Google Chrome is currently at 59.84 percent, an increase from 59.61 percent the month before, and if the same trend is maintained, it should surpass 60 percent market share in the coming months.

The more worrying news for Microsoft is that Edge is losing share at a time when the company is fully committed to the browser. Last month, Microsoft started the rollout of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, while in mid-October, it brought Edge browser to iOS and Android. The figures here, however, concern only the desktop version of browser, though it’s expected the mobile version isn’t quite a top choice either.

It remains to be seen how the adoption of Edge improves in the coming months as the Fall Creators Update becomes available to more users, but don’t expect any miracle to happen overnight.