Internet users have long poked fun at Internet Explorer and any of its users. While the browser can be used across any mobile broadband connection, it hasn’t exactly been a favorite of the internet savvy. Earlier this year, there was even a faux study released that suggested that internet users who preferred Internet Explorer were actually less intelligent than other internet users who chose different browsers.
In spite of these jabs and the negative commentary, however, Internet Explorer had continued to account for over 50 percent of all web browsers used – mainly because it came with every computer that operated on Windows. It’s hold, however, ended in October.
Due to the increase in Apple products using Safari, such as the iPhone and iPad, and Firefox’s growing popularity, Internet Explorer is no longer able to account for over 50 percent of browsing on the web – a percentage it relinquishes after a decade long hold. The only area in which the browser maintains its majority status, at 52.63 percent, is with desktop browsers – otherwise, it is becoming more and more obsolete, especially as the dependency on mobile browsing rises.
As of right now, Internet Explorer only accounts for 6 percent of browsing on smartphones and tablets. Safari on the other hand, has a majority of the mobile market with an astonishing 62.17 percent – most of which the iPhone can be thanked. Firefox, which is the second most popular overall browser, accounts for 21.20 percent of traffic, while Chrome and Safari account for just a fraction more than Firefox when combined.
While Internet Explorer is still the most widely used browser, most people are wondering who actually still uses IE, and a majority of those users are most likely those who are too lazy to change their default browser after they purchased a PC operating on Windows.
Unfortunately, Internet Explorer will only continue to lose ground as more and more mobile devices take over where desktops and laptops leave off. Simply put, people love their smartphones and tablets because of their portability, and their use has exponentially grown over the first year alone. Unless Internet Explorer evolves to offer an exceptional browsing experience, it will most likely lose out to Firefox in the near future and become nonexistent in the mobile browsing world.
Which really isn’t all the bad considering that only those of lower intelligence actually uses the browser. It’s simply a matter of survival of the fittest.