Safari web browser statistics

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Safari is the default web browser for Macintosh systems. It took this place from Internet Explorer way back in 2003. Safari is also the default browser on other Apple devices – the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the iPad. Since June 2007, the web browser has also been available for the Windows operating system. On this page we shall look at the Safari web browser statistics for both Macintosh and Windows operating systems.

Note: Except for one, all other graphs on this page are based on the usage of Safari by visitors to this web site. These stats and numbers may not be the same for your web site as it’s demographics would be different.

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Safari web browser statistics - Updated: 2010-11-02

The above graph shows the percentage of visitors (Windows and Macintosh operating systems combined) who’ve surfed this web site using the Safari web browser. The line is fairly straight at the beginning – there are no sharp increases or decreases in the number of people using this browser. But since the start of 2008, there has been a small though perceptible jump in Safari usage and this is especially apparent in the second quarter of 2010.

Statistics of Safari for Windows

If we segregate the browser based on operating system, a clearer trend emerges. In the early months of 2008, usage of Windows Safari shows a big increase, though still quite small compared to other browsers. This can mean two things – a preference of using this browser on the Windows operating system or migration of Macintosh users to Windows who still want to work with the browser they were familiar with; the latter reasoning being more plausible.

Sometime back I received an interesting feedback from a user named Matt who says the only reason Safari for Windows got a “big(?) spike” was because it was sneaked into the Apple (iTunes) update. 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.

Statistics for the Safari web browser of the Windows operating system - Updated: 2010-11-02

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.

Comparing the statistics of Safari on Windows and Macintosh operating systems - Updated: 2010-11-02

Macintosh browsers war – Safari vs. Firefox

On checking the web browser statistics for Macintosh systems, I arrived at some interesting conclusions. Firefox for Mac systems also shows a clear and steady increase overtaking the numbers for Safari in the first quarter of 2007!

Firefox usage further increased during 2008 and early 2009. This was probably because of the tremendous boost it got from distribution via the Google software pack and the Google Adsense promotion.
A comparison of Safari and Firefox usage statistics on the Mac - Updated: 2010-11-02

However, in the mid 2009, the Firefox graph line has been on a downward trend.

Safari browser on mobiles

The graph below is the usage of Safari on various mobile devices – iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android, Nokia etc.
Safari mobile usage. Separate stats for iPhone, iPod, iPad, Android etc. Updated: 2010-11-02.

Global Safari browser usage statistics

The stats from two famous aggregators – NetMarketShare and StatCounter – show that Safari usage has steadily risen over the past two years.
Safari global usage stats from NetMarketShare and StatCounter. Updated 2010-11-02.

Updates

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.

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.

June 8, 2009

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

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.

February 1, 2010

Safari shows a minor improvement in gathering more users though there has been a decrease for the Windows operating system, which means the consolidation was primarily on Mac. Also, Safari takes the top position from Firefox which seems to be reeling under pressure from all fronts – I.E., Chrome etc.

July 10, 2010

Browsers for Mac: Safari and Chrome comparison
Apple shouldn’t be too happy with the way Safari web browser has performed over the years. When it recovered the lost ground to Firefox, Chrome made it’s entry and that has resulted in Safari usage being quite flat. Google’s web browser, which needs to be downloaded and installed (refer Chrome on Mac), has been able to get almost 10% of the share – a great achievement!

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