Internet Explorer 11 may have officially launched just for Windows 8.1 users in October (the version for Windows 7 is still a preview build), but in terms of overall web browser market share, the IE family is well ahead of Chrome and Firefox, according to Net Applications. The latest numbers from the research firm show that in October, IE was being used by 58.22 percent of the desktop web browser users worldwide, up from 57.80 percent in September.
The same numbers show that Firefox resides in second place with 18.70 percent in October, up from 18.60 percent in September. Chrome is in third with 15.42 percent, down from 15.96 percent in September. In fact, October"s numbers for Chrome are the lowest overall for Google"s web browser family in over two years.
In terms of individual web browsers, IE8 is still in front with 21.76 percent, followed by IE10 with 18.94 percent, and Firefox 24 with 12.79 percent (Firefox 25 launched earlier this week). Chrome 30 was fourth with 10.45 percent.
IE11 is well behind many other browsers on the list at just 1.49 percent in October, but it should get a big boost when Microsoft launches the final version of the browser for Windows 7. Microsoft has already released an IE11 Automatic Update Blocker Toolkit for Windows 7, which is usually a sign that the final release is near.
Source: Net Applications via The Next Web | Image via Microsoft