Apple's web browser is more popular than Microsoft's but it still can't compete with Google's Chrome

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Likely helped by bumper Mac sales.

Safari Macos High Sierra Customize Website Options
(Image credit: Future)

Apple's Safari web browser is now the second most popular app of its kind on desktops, according to a new report.

Safari took the second spot from Microsoft's Edge browser, although only by the smallest of margins. The gap between Safari and the top of the chart where Google's Chrome sits pretty is much, much bigger, however.

With Safari making up 11.87% of the desktop web browsing market Chrome decimates the competition with a whopping 66.13% of the market.

A long way to second place

The huge difference between Chrome in top spot and Safari in second shouldn't be all that surprising considering the fact that Chrome is available on Windows and macOS, whereas Safari is obviously only available on Apple's devices. The fact that Safari has taken second place from Edge — according to numbers shared by Statcounter — is much more interesting.

It's likely that Safari's surge comes on the back of strong 2022 Mac sales, putting Safari at the fingertips of more people. As for why Apple sold so many computers, that's likely down to 2022 still benefiting from the tail end of the COVID-19 work-from-home sales boom not to mention the fact that Apple is now making some of the best Macs it's ever produced — the MacBook Air and latest 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros for example, while the 15-inch MacBook Air rumors suggest Apple isn't done yet.

As for the rest of the web browsers available on desktop machines, it's worth noting that Safari only beat Edge out by the finest of margins. Safari's 11.87% was enough to just edge out Microsoft's browser and its 11% share, while Firefox accounts for 5.65% of desktop web browser share. Opera makes up 3.09% while Internet Explorer still holds on to 0.55%. We have to imagine that's businesses running older versions of Windows and refusing to upgrade.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Mystakill
    I use Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome on my Mac, because I can sync it with my Windows desktop in the office. We'll likely never have Macs in the office due to our customer's security requirements and lack of effort to stay current.
    Reply
  • Up_And_Away
    “It's likely that Safari's surge comes on the back of strong 2022 Mac sales, putting Safari at the fingertips of more people. As for why Apple sold so many computers, that's likely down to 2022 still benefiting from the tail end of the COVID-19 work-from-home sales boom not to mention the fact that Apple is now making some of the best Macs it's ever produced”
    Not a specific shout out to Apple Silicon? Anyone think Apple sells as many Macs as they did if they are X86 based?
    Regardless, this is a pretty impressive stat for Safari given every windows PC’s first boot up will show you Edge.
    Reply
  • FFR
    Seems like chromes marketshare shrinks every year. Now at about 66% according to the article.
    Reply