14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is putting a lot of effort into getting Edge browser right, but for the time being, all these efforts don’t really seem to be paying off.
The latest market share figures provided by NetMarketShare for the month of January 2017 reveal that Microsoft Edge remains very far behind rival Google Chrome, even though it indeed posted a growth.
Edge browser managed to increase its desktop share from 5.33 percent to 5.48 percent, a growth that was most likely the result of the boost that Windows 10 itself experienced during the month.
But when compared to Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge is hardly a threat. Google Chrome is currently powering no less than 57.94 percent of the world’s PCs, a growth from 56.43 percent the month before. This obviously makes Chrome the browser of choice on the desktop, and chances are the same growth will continue in the coming months as well.
The Edge effort
Microsoft Internet Explorer remains the runner-up with 19.71 percent, but it won’t take long until it loses this second position, especially because it no longer receives updates other than security patches. Microsoft has switched focus entirely to Edge browser, so Internet Explorer is only getting security updates until it’s abandoned for good.
Mozilla Firefox is currently the third most-used browser on the desktop with a market share of 11.77 percent, so it has double the share of Microsoft Edge.
As far as the market share of the default Windows 10 browser is concerned, there are several reasons for this. And the most important is without a doubt the limited availability of the application. Microsoft Edge is only offered to Windows 10 users, and Microsoft has no plans of bringing it on other platforms, such as the older Windows 7 or non-Windows operating systems.
Adoption of Edge, however, could increase in the coming months, especially because the browser is one of the company’s main focuses in the Windows 10 Creators Update due in April. Edge will get a long list of improvements, including new security tech and features refining usability and performance.