Microsoft claimed earlier this week that Windows 10 installations have surpassed 110 million. More than 75 million devices had upgraded to the new OS at the end of one month following its launch on July 29. It indicates a slowdown in the pace of upgrades in September. The number of devices running Windows 10 may rise substantially after Microsoft’s new Lumia 950 and 950 XL, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Book hit the stores. But the company’s Edge browser may prove to be a cause of worry.
Only 12% of Windows 10 browsing activity comes from Edge browser
Microsoft’s Edge browser comes with a lot of bells and whistles, and it is the default browser on Windows 10. But users have ignored it so far, preferring Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Edge browser got a temporary popularity when Windows 10 began rolling out in late July. But its market share among all browsers on Windows 10 currently stands at a meager 12%.
According to the latest data from Quantcast, Chrome remains the dominant browser with over 70% market share in the U.S. Quantcast measures web traffic at more than 100 million websites worldwide. Quantcast software engineer Jackson Newhouse said more than 70% of Web browsing activity on Windows 10 originates from Chrome. It means Chrome’s share on Windows 10 is even higher than 63% on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.
Can Edge topple Google Chrome?
Even Mozilla Firefox accounted for 15% of browsing activity on Windows 10, handily beating Edge. Internet Explorer continues to be a laggard with less than 5% share. Quantcast’s data is in line with figures from other companies like StatCounter and Net Applications. StatCounter says Edge browser accounted for 18% of browsing activity on Windows 10 in the U.S. in September.
Microsoft has aggressively promoted the Edge browser. Its poor performance can be attributed to the lack of support for add-ons, bugs, and the lack of “Save As” function. The Redmond-based company is set to release the Wave 2 of Windows 10 later this year, which would bring some improvements to the Edge browser. Only time will tell if Edge can dethrone Google Chrome.
