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Windows 8.1's web use doubles shortly after launch
Web traffic doesn't directly translate to market share, but it's handy for tracking the adoption of brand new operating systems -- take Windows 8.1, for example. Net Applications notes that Microsoft's new OS nearly doubled in web share upon its official launch in October, climbing to 1.7 percent. Clearly, a lot of web surfers had been waiting to upgrade. As you might imagine, though, the software took share from its predecessor as customers either replaced PCs or downloaded the free update. Windows 8 declined for the first time ever, falling half a point to 7.5 percent; the two 8.x revisions gained 0.4 points when put together, but Windows as a whole dipped slightly to 90.7 percent. Redmond wasn't the only one releasing a new platform, of course. Apple's OS X Mavericks accounted for more than 0.8 percent of web traffic last month, or enough to put it past Tiger and Leopard almost overnight. While the overall Mac platform only grew by a tiny amount to hit 7.7 percent of web use, we doubt that the crew at 1 Infinite Loop is complaining. It's not clear how the dueling Apple and Microsoft upgrades will compare in the long run, but you can check the historical trends both after the break and at the source link.
Windows 8 reaches 8 percent of web traffic, but Windows 7 grows quicker
Web traffic for a major new operating system typically grows at a consistently faster pace than its predecessor. That's not true for Windows 8, however -- NetApplications now estimates that Windows 7 outpaced its newer counterpart for the first time in September. While Windows 8 did grow to a symbolic 8 percent of web use last month, its ancestor grew slightly faster, hitting 46.4 percent. We wouldn't necessarily say that Windows 8 is in trouble based on these figures, though. The rise in Windows 7 use corresponds to a drop for Windows XP (shown after the break), which suggests that corporate customers are in the midst of upgrades; they're less likely to choose a young OS. Microsoft still faces long-term problems, but they're more likely to stem from customers' shift toward mobile devices and away from PCs.
Net Applications: Safari still the top mobile browser
According to the latest data from Net Applications, Apple's Safari still dominates mobile browser web traffic. As reported by John Paczkowski at AllThingsD, Safari for iOS grabbed 61.79 percent of all mobile browser web traffic in March of 2013, up from 55.41 percent in February. Net Applications bases its numbers on 160 million visits to more than 40,000 websites each month. The numbers show that despite being installed on many more devices than Safari, Google's Android browser on captures 21.86 percent of mobile web traffic, followed by Opera Mini at 8.4 percent. Users of Microsoft Windows Phones, which use Internet Explorer, apparently haven't found out that they can use their devices to visit websites, as that mobile browser claims only a 1.99 percent share. BlackBerry devices trailed the pack with only a 0.91 percent share.
Serial upgraders: OS X customers consistently upgrade
California-based Net Applications measures operating system and browser adoption rates by checking stats from visitors to about 40,000 Web sites. A Computerworld post today highlighted the fact that Apple's OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), 10.7 (Lion) and 10.8 (Mountain Lion) have been adopted by Mac users at a rate about three times that of Windows 7, Microsoft's best-selling version of Windows to date. Snow Leopard was installed on 32 percent of all Macs within five months of its launch, while Lion and Mountain Lion were at the 29 percent level after five months. With Windows 7, only 11 percent of all Windows users had upgraded at the end of five months. That number, however, dwarfs Windows Vista, which saw only a 5 percent adoption rate after five months. Net Applications' data is showing that the uptake rate for Windows 8 appears to be about the same as Windows Vista, although that could change after the holiday buying season. So why do Mac users consistently upgrade faster? Well, part of it could be pricing. The last three versions of OS X have been available for less than $30, while Windows upgrades are much more expensive -- an upgrade to Windows Vista Home Edition was $159 in 2007. Microsoft appears to be trying the lower-price path with a $40 deal for Windows 8 Pro upgrades that expires at the end of January 2013. The biggest difference, though, is that most Mac users are consumers, who can choose to upgrade at any time. On the other hand, many Windows machines are located in enterprises, which tend to be very cautious about upgrading to a new OS.
Internet Explorer holds onto top browser crown while Chrome and Firefox tussle over second place
Both Net Applications and StatCounter have released their figures for browser market share for 2011 and it makes for largely unsurprising reading. Internet Explorer's full share has dropped but it still maintains the top spot -- a 52 percent share according to Net Applications and 39 percent according to StatCounter. Meanwhile, second place remains tantalizingly within reach for Chrome, which has made headway catching up with Firefox, whose growth had apparently stalled during 2011. According to Net Applications, Firefox held a 21.8 percent share of browser users this month, while Chrome reached 19.1 percent, up just under 8 percent and capping off a second year of impressive growth. Meanwhile, StatCounter pegs Google's browser at second place for the end of the year, claiming 27.3 percent versus the 25.3 percent share grabbed by its vulpine rival. Unsurprisingly, the Windows Team Blog takes a different slant on recent browsing trends, trumpeting that its latest version, Internet Explorer 9, continues to grow on Windows 7. This is, however, balanced out by a corresponding drop in the users of its predecessor, IE 8. Better luck next year, eh, Microsoft?
Report suggests iOS hit all-time market share high
Last week, TUAW reported on the recent rise in the market share of Mac OS X. The numbers, compiled by Net Applications, show a rising acceptance of Mac OS X in the global marketplace. Now Net Applications is reporting that iOS has hit an all-time market share high of 54.65 percent. As you can see from the chart above, iOS has been slowly but surely gaining market share, mostly at the expense of the Java ME and Symbian mobile operating systems. Android has been steadily gaining share as well; in less than a year, Android's share of the mobile OS market has risen from 10.27 percent up to 16.26 percent. That gain, while less dramatic than what iOS accomplished, is still quite steady and demonstrates that flooding the market with a plethora of devices from different manufacturers is just as effective as one really good device from a single manufacturer at gaining market acceptance. Net Applications provides usage share statistics by compiling information on which browsers are used to access various websites. document.getElementById("na634532341243105427").src="http://www.netmarketshare.com/report-base.aspx?qprid=9"+String.fromCharCode(38)+"qpcustomb=1"+String.fromCharCode(38)+"qpf=16"+String.fromCharCode(38)+"qpwidth=456"+String.fromCharCode(38)+"qpdisplay=1111"+String.fromCharCode(38)+"qpmr=10"+String.fromCharCode(38)+"site="+window.location.hostname
More proof of growing Mac OS X acceptance
Chart by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, CNNMoney, from Net Applications data With all the attention on Apple iPads and iPhones, you might have missed reports that OS X is steadily increasing its share of web traffic, which means there are more and more Macs out there. Net Applications reports a 25 percent increase in Apple global desktop share in Fiscal 2011. The firm thinks the bump may be because students and parents are getting ready for school, and notes that there was a similar jump in September 2010, but that increase was much smaller than what the research is showing now. Net Applications puts OS X with a 13.7 percent share here in the US, and 6.45 percent worldwide. Those numbers are record highs for Apple. This reports parallels similar research from Chitika which shows similar gains for Apple in September.
Mobile Safari still dominates mobile browsing
Mobile Safari continues its reign as the dominant mobile browser according to new data from web analytics firm Net Applications. Mobile Safari grabs a respectable 53% of mobile browser usage share, while its closest competitor, Opera Mini, grabs only 20.77%. Coming in third is the Android browser with 15.73% usage share. Much of the success of mobile Safari can be attributed to the popularity of the iPad. Recent studies show that most people with an iPad use it primarily as a web browser. It's so popular as a browser that the iPad grabs 25% of US mobile browser market and 2% of the overall browser market. Android, however, has yet to produce a competitive tablet and most measurable web browsing activity is coming from smartphones. Yes, smartphones are convenient for occasional searching on the go, but the smaller screen is not designed for extended browsing sessions. [Via GigaOm]
iPad grabs 1% of global browser share, 25% of US mobile browsing
Not surprisingly, recent statistics from New Applications, a web analytics firm, show that many people are using their iPad to browse the web. The iPad now accounts for 1% of the global web browser market and 2% in the US. This number has steadily increased since the original iPad debuted in early 2010. In the US mobile browser market, the iPad grabs a respectable 25.5% which trails the iPhone (35.2%) and Android devices (31.6%). Together, the iPhone and iPad grab almost two-thirds of the US mobile browser market (60.7%). This figure is twice almost twice as much as Android's share and more that eight times greater than Blackberry's 6.9% share. Symbian, Windows Mobile and webOS account for less than 0.5% each, which is a mere speck on the radar. [Via The Register]
iOS now accounts for 2% of global web browsing traffic, Chrome rounds the 10% mark
After the desktop stalwarts of Windows 7 and Mac OS, the world's third most popular platform for web browsing turns out to be Apple's iOS. The software that makes iPhones, iPod touches and iPads tick has been identified by Net Applications as responsible for over two percent of the global traffic data analyzed in the web statistician's latest report -- the first time iOS has crossed that threshold. The UK and Australia had more than five percent each, while the USA clocked in at 3.4 percent. Leaving operating systems aside, Chrome has continued its steady growth on the browser front and now stands at a 10.7 percent share, more than doubling its slice from this time last year. Internet Explorer overall has dipped to its lowest level yet, at 56 percent, however Net Applications indicates IE8 is showing nice growth. So at least it's looking like we're finally ready to bury the zombies known as IE6 and IE7, whatever other browser we choose to migrate to.
iOS now responsible for 2 percent of all web traffic
According to a report from NetApplications, Apple's iOS now has a 2 percent share of all web traffic. Combining for a worldwide average of 2.06 percent, the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch OS has passed the 2 percent mark for the first time ever and has even reached a whopping 10 percent market share in Singapore. The study also shows that the Mac OS kept steady at 5 percent while Windows maintained its solid lead at just under 90 percent of worldwide internet traffic. With the iPad claiming .03 percent of all internet traffic just 10 short days after its launch last April, and estimates that it will represent 2.3 percent of total traffic in 2011, we can only speculate just how high iOS' share will be next time the report is released. Anyone care to guess? [via electronista]
iPhone grew more than Android in May
At least that's the word from Net Applications, the company that measures visits to clients websites. The latest report says the iPhone not only keeps a large lead over Android, but it actually enlarged its global share last month, going from 30.4% to 32.8 %. At the same time, Android increased from 5.3% to 6.2%. If you look at a percentage increase, Android is still moving up faster, growing its share 17% month after month, while the iPhone grew 8.25%. Java ME, still in heavy use by many older smartphones, including phones from RIM, Sony Ericsson and Nokia, keeps a number one position as the most popular platform for mobile surfing, but Net Applications says it is rapidly losing market share to both the iPhone and Android. Recently, Apple and Android made news when another research firm, NPD, reported that Android sales were much better than the iPhone in the U.S. But that wasn't unexpected -- there are many more Android handsets to sell, and even NPD admitted that report was "very limited."
Internet Explorer market share falls below 60 percent for first time, according to NetApplications
NetApplications has just released its browser market share stats for the month of April, and there is something notable here: Internet Explorer has fallen to a "historic low" of 59.95 percent market share, losing about 0.69 points since last month. Google's Chrome continues its assault on Safari, reaching a 6.73 percent share (while Safari nabbed 4.72). Of course, Internet Explorer is still so far ahead of the rest of the pack it's hard to make these losses -- however significant -- into a tragedy of epic proportions story for Microsoft, so we're not going to do that. Keep in mind, as well, that NetApplications is not the only measurement of market share -- and StatCounter, by comparison, currently estimates IE's share at about 51.42 percent. Hit up the source link for the full battery of data.
iPad claiming .03% of all 'net traffic already
I must say, my iPad has become my primary way to access the Web when I'm at home, and it looks like Apple's latest device is getting a lot of exercise from other iPad users too. In a report from NetApplications, the iPad averaged 0.03 percent, per day, of all Web traffic for the ten days after its launch. Launch weekend had particularly high numbers, and then the numbers trended down as people went back to work, presumably without their iPads. The numbers actually approach the number of users for Blackberry and Google Android phones. That doesn't seem like a large percentage necessarily (it's less than half of one percent), but when you consider that it's .03% of all Web traffic, for a device less than a week old, it is worth noting. NetApplications' numbers are based on a selective sampling of Web sites whose logs they have access to and can analyze. Of course, the iPhone and iPod touch have higher numbers, 0.51 and 0.11 respectively. But even after just a week of sale, the iPad is challenging other browsing devices. It's likely that the iPad numbers will climb even higher, both when the 3G model comes out later this month, and when the iPad has an international release. We'll be on the lookout for other data and keep you posted. For our iPad users out there, is your experience similar to mine? Has the iPad become a preferred device for dealing with mail and the Web when you are home, or even at work? [Via Ars Technica]
Stats: iPhone OS is still king of the mobile web space, but Android is nipping at its heels
AdMob serves north of 10 billion ads per month to more than 15,000 mobile websites and applications. Thus, although its data is about ad rather than page impressions, it can be taken as a pretty robust indicator of how web usage habits are developing and changing over time. Android is the big standout of its most recent figures, with Google loyalists now constituting a cool 42 percent of AdMob's smartphone audience in the US. With the EVO 4G and Galaxy S rapidly approaching, we wouldn't be surprised by the little green droid stealing away the US share crown, at least until Apple counters with its next slice of magical machinery. Looking at the global stage, Android has also recently skipped ahead of Symbian, with a 24 percent share versus 18 percent for the smartphone leader. Together with BlackBerry OS, Symbian is still the predominant operating system in terms of smartphone sales, but it's interesting to see both falling behind in the field of web or application usage, which is what this metric seeks to measure. Figures from Net Applications (to be found at the TheAppleBlog link) and ArsTechnica's own mobile user numbers corroborate these findings.
Apple up, down in end-of-year report
Now that 2009 is officially behind us, web metrics firm Net Applications has released their final report of the year, which finds Apple up in some areas and down in others. Specifically, the iPhone OS has grown significantly, while Chrome has surpassed Safari. The iPhone jumped to 0.43 percent of the total OS market in December, a 20% increase over November and the largest monthly gain since its introduction. While holiday sales estimates are still unavailable, its expected that the quarter's numbers will eclipse the previous quarter's record-breaking 7.4 million units sold. At the same time, usage of Google's Chrome web browser has exceeded that of Apple's Safari for the first time. As for alternatives to the nearly-ubiquitous Internet Explorer, Firefox is first, Chrome second and Safari third, according to Net Applications. Specifically, Chrome is now at 4.63 percent of browser share and Safari is at 4.46 percent. The novelty of Chrome probably plays into these numbers, but it's also a nice product. I've been using it on Windows and Mac OS X (in beta, of course) and found it snappy and responsive. Overall this is a positive report for Apple. Here's to 2010.
Mac share of web browsing goes up after Windows 7 launch
It may seem a little strange, or downright counter-intuitive, but Net Applications is reporting that Mac OS X's share of computers using the web grew from September to October this year, while Windows' share of browsers declined. Windows (all versions of the OS) totaled 92.54% of computers browsing the web, a .25% drop, while Mac OS had a 5.27% share, up 2.73% from September. The iPhone, by the way, had a month to month increase of 5.71%. The numbers come from tabulating visits to 160 million websites. Windows 7 got 3% share in the daily tracking, largely at the expense of Windows XP. If Microsoft was depending on Windows 7 to quickly stop the Mac momentum, it hasn't happened yet, but at the same time, most Windows upgrades take place when new machines are bought. Also, the general release of Windows 7 didn't happen until October 22nd, so the jump in Windows 7 on the internet wasn't available for most of October except for pre-release users. [via Fortune Brainstorm Tech]
Apple market share tops 10%, Windows share lowest since tracking began
Microsoft's share of the operating system market is dropping, while Apple computers and handhelds have topped 10 percent for the first time, according to a new report on Internet-connected computers. NetApplications, the company that tracks browser and operating system market share for a variety of sites across the Internet, released its data for December 2008. According to a Computerworld analysis, the number of Windows users decreased in December by 0.94 percent to 88.7 percent. The fall was the steepest in four years since Net Applications began collecting data, and was also more than twice that of any similar period in the previous three years. The Computerworld article does note that December statistics do slant slightly towards the Mac due to the reduced number of in-office days for corporate users, but the overall shift is decidedly Mac-ward even once that's accounted for. Apple's share is just over 10 percent, if one combines the market share for both Macs and iPhones. Macs account for 9.63 percent of computers online. (Windows Mobile devices are included in the 88.7 percent figure.) Also of note, almost three quarters of Macs online have an Intel processor. This time last year, less than half had one. Overall, Mac OS X's share grew by 31.7 percent compared to a year ago. Windows XP remains the operating system with the largest installed base, with over 65 percent of the market.
Mac internet share hits record 8.87%
Apple 2.0's Philip Elmer-DeWitt notes some new Net Applications statistics that suggest 8.87 percent of all Internet users use a Mac: a new record. Add to that the iPhone platform's 0.37 percent, and over one in eleven use an Apple product to browse the web. The iPhone gained 12 percent more users compared to the month before. Also notable is that Windows users accounted for less than 90 percent of Internet users for the first time in recent memory. Also, market share for Internet Explorer dropped below 70 percent for the first time since its popularity surged in the late 90s. Linux also gained ground, increasing almost 17 percent to 0.83 percent of all Internet users. Net Applications tracks statistics from over 160 million visits to websites it monitors. The full report is here.
Mac OS X slips, iPhone rises in Net Applications survey
This post is for Apple fans who enjoy obsessing over minutia. The latest Net Applications survey has been conducted and shows differing results for Mac OS X users and iPhone users. Net Applications measures the percentage of users who visit some 40,000 web sites from a given operating system. In February, the number of Mac users dipped slightly to 7.45% from 7.57% in January, while the number of iPhone users rose to 0.14% from 0.13% in January (beating out the Playstation and Wii).Windows still accounts for 91.58% of web users, according to the survey. What this means is A.) Most people have windows (we knew that), B.) Some people have Macs (we knew that), C.) iPhone users like to surf the web (we knew that) and D.) People love talking about very small percentages. Awesome.[Via Macsimum News]
