Macintosh and Windows - Safari web browser statistics

Safari is the default web browser on Macintosh systems. It took this place from Internet Explorer way back in 2003. And it's also the default browser on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. In an effort to get a larger share of the web browser market, Apple released Safari for Windows in June 2007.
Let us now look at the Safari web browser statistics for both Macintosh and Windows operating systems. Note: These numbers are based on the visitors to this web site and may differ from yours.

The graph above shows the percentage of visitors from both Windows and Macintosh operating systems who've surfed this web site using the Safari web browser. The graph line is fairly straight - at least there hasn't been any sudden increase or decrease in the number of Safari users. However, since June 2007, the browser statistics do show a small, though perceptible, increase in usage.

Statistics of Safari for Windows

If we segregate the browser based on operating system, a clearer trend emerges. Usage of Safari for the Windows system shows a big increase (still quite small compared to other browsers) in the early months of 2008. This can mean two things - the adoption of the browser on the Windows operating system or migration of Macintosh users to Windows who still want to work with the browser they are accustomed to.
I received an interesting feedback from Matt who says the only reason Safari for Windows got a "big(?) spike" was because it was sneaked into the Apple Update and most users simply click on the "OK" button without knowing what all they would be downloading and installing. This may be true but accidental installation does not guarantee people will use the browser, unless the installation also made Safari the default browser on that computer.

The good news for me is the moment a new browser is released (such as Google free web browser Chrome) it shows up on my web site statistics - it happened with Safari for Windows and also with Google Chrome (I got visitors using Chrome on the first day of its launch). Below is the comparison of Safari on both Windows and Macintosh systems.

Macintosh browsers war - Safari vs. Firefox

On checking the web browser statistics for Macintosh systems, I arrived at some interesting conclusions. The numbers I was looking at were for Firefox (for Mac) and Safari. Not only is Windows based Firefox usage growing but the Firefox for Mac systems also shows a clear and steady increase overtaking the numbers for Safari in the first quarter of 2007! More recent numbers point to the fact that Safari has been left behind by Firefox. Google's endorsement and promotion of Firefox via the Google software pack and the Adsense program has indeed helped the browser gain a good market share.

Safari for iPhone

Though I did see "some" statistics for the Playstation browser (both PSP and Playstation 3), there have been negligible hits from Safari browser via a iPhone or an iPod touch. The few hits would probably be from me checking the site on my iPhone.

Browser poll

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Updates

June 8, 2009

Overall Safari usage is flat for this month; however, under Windows these is a marked increase which has been compensated by the decrease on the Mac. No specific breaking news to report excepting the exponential graph line for Playstation browser usage.

April 2, 2009

New... BIG news, people! Check the huge jump in usage of Safari for Windows. I know the total numbers are not something to write home about but the huge increase should make Apple happy. And, by the way, the irony is that on Macintosh systems, Safari stats actually decreased by a small amount. However, the total usage of this browser has gone up.
Another thing to note is the last graph on this page - the Playstation web browser statistics. Numbers are very low no doubts but show an exponential increase.

March 2, 2009

Safari version 4 beta released by Apple which lead to a marginal increase in the usage but this was visible only for Macintosh systems. On Windows, Safari stats remained constant.

September 10, 2009

The Safari web browser produced the best numbers this month though the increase wasn't much. In the mobile browser market, Safari is playing a kind of lead role because it comes with the iPhone which is the preferred mobile device for surfing the web.