Apple's Safari grows faster than Chrome in July

Meanwhile, Internet Explorer continues to bleed share

 

Computerworld - Apple's Safari last month posted its biggest increase ever in usage share, beating perennial champion Chrome in the gain game, Web metrics vendor Net Applications said today.

The browser bundled with Apple's revenue troika of Mac, iPhone and iPad boosted its share by six-tenths of a point, its largest one-month increase, enough to put it at 8.1% for July, a record.

According to Net Applications, iOS devices like the iPhone accounted for more than a third of Safari's browser share.

But while Safari climbed -- something it's done 17 straight months -- Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) dropped by nine-tenths of a percentage point, its biggest decline since January 2011, and ended July at 52.8%, a new low for the browser.

Browser wars

• Apple's Safari grows faster than Chrome in July
• Mozilla hustles to handle demise of Google Toolbar for Firefox
• Apple patches 58 Safari bugs to deflect drive-by attacks
• Mozilla slates Firefox 5 update to fix Lion crash bug
• Microsoft ignores IE slide, touts IE9 success on Windows 7
• QuickPoll: Has Mozilla lost its way in blowing off the enterprise?
• Google patches 7 bugs in Chrome browser
• Mozilla moves 55% of Firefox 4 users to new version in first week
• Opera follows rivals with minimalist 'Featherweight' UI
• Mozilla mulls Firefox 3.6 retirement, too

More: Browser Topic Center

If IE's decline continues at the pace of the last three months, it would fall under the important psychological line of 50% in November.

Google's Chrome was the only browser other than Safari to improve share in July, growing by three-tenths of a percentage point to finish the month at 13.5%. That keeps it on track to break the 15% bar by October.

Both Mozilla's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera lost ground, slipping two-tenths and one-tenth of a point, respectively, adding to those browsers' long-standing problems.     More