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Chrome Overtakes Internet Explorer For Most Popular Desktop Browser (thurrott.com)
Google Chrome is now the most widely used desktop browser. According to the latest figures from marketing and research firm Net Applications (which looked into data from over 40,000 websites), in April, Chrome captured 41.66 percent of the market, surpassing Internet Explorer which now sits at 41.35 percent. Brad Sams writes:This growth by Chrome should not be too surprising as Microsoft has left Internet Explorer behind for Edge but unfortunately, the Edge browser available to the vast majority of Windows 10 users is a sub-par experience as it lacks basic features like extensions. This is a big milestone for Google as their browser faced and uphill battle against Internet Explorer when it was introduced back in 2008.Also read: Windows Desktop Market Share Drops Below 90%
99% of people out there don't understand what they are and they are for, so, unlikely.
The two most important reasons are: firstly, Google loves to peddle its browser whenever possible (they own the largest ad network for that), and, secondly, IE has a reputation of being slow and unreliable.
As for the Edge browser - it is really fast but its fonts rendering on low DPI screens is beyond awful (just like all other UWP apps). Also its UI is way too cumbersome for a lot of people.
At the same time with the advent of Windows 10 Microsoft has stopped caring which browser you actually use - they own your PC and your data.
Internet Explorer is STILL the most popular browser used to download Chrome so that you can install it! (But Edge is gaining...)
At least IE is good for something. Back in the Win 9x days we would call it "Aiiiieeeee!" because of how insecure and terrible it was.
Chrome is far better in terms of features, stability, and security. Though given the history of Microsoft browsers, that isn't saying much. Too bad I consider Chrome to be spyware. I really, really don't like anything that phones home. Much of the tracking "features" are optional, some are not. Chromium isn't bad but I still don't like the Chrome-ish interface. Yes there are extensions for Chrome (including a good ad blocker) but nothing like what you can get with Firefox.
What I really want: a multi-process Firefox, compatible with currently available extensions, that's just a web browser. With something like the old Firefox interface, with useful status bars and everything, before it decided to imitate Chrome. If I wanted Chrome-ish I would use Chromium for my main browser - why Mozilla can't understand that is a mystery to me. If Mozilla did all of this, they'd give Chrome and everybody else some serious competition again.
By "just a web browser" I mean I also don't want RTC or any of that other bullshit that's not relevant to web browsing. If I want a chat program I'll pick one myself based on merit, not bundling. If I really wanted RTC, it should be a plug-in or extension so I can pick the implementation I like best.
that's what happens when the OS (android) and browser (chrome) are owned by the same company as the online services they drive users to (google, gmail, etc), and the advertising networks they use (doubleclick, adwords).
i fully expect adblockers to be yanked from the google 'store' for desktop and chromeos users at some point in the not-so-distant future. considering chrome's new position as the top desktop browser, that time may be sooner rather than later. companies love to abuse market position.