Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer continue to bleed users according to the latest data from US web analytics firm Net Applications (via Computerworld). Last month, the combined user share of both apps fell to 21% (down 0.9% points, the largest decline since January), placing Microsoft’s web browsers far behind Google Chrome and its 60% user share.
“While the share loss in the eight months of 2017 has been just over half that of same period of 2016 — illustrating a slowing of the bleeding — IE+Edge has shed almost a full percentage point each month so far this year,” explained Computerworld. “If that reduction rate keeps up, the browsers will vanish before this time in 2019.”
This is obviously a worst-case scenario, but Microsoft should still be worried about Internet users neglecting the company’s latest web browser. Leaving Internet Explorer 11 aside, the two main issues with Microsoft Edge today are that it only gets new features twice a year, and it’s still exclusive to Windows 10 devices. As Android is now the most-used OS for Internet usage, it really makes sense for Microsoft to release its web browser on the mobile platform. As for Windows 10 PCs, Edge is a competent browser but it still lacks the huge collection of extensions that Chrome and Firefox users have been enjoying for years.
It will be interesting to see if the release of Windows 10 S PCs (where Edge is the default and only web browser) could eventually slow or reverse this trend, though we doubt it. We’re now living in a post-PC world, where Microsoft Edge is unfortunately nowhere to be seen.
