Last month, Google announced Chrome for iOS. The new third-party browser quickly made its way to the top of the app charts but soon fell to #12 under the “Top Free” category in the iOS App Store. Were iOS users ready for Chrome, or is Safari always going to dominate iOS browsing?
A recent analysis from Chitika shows the dominating presence Safari has on iOS browsing. However, you might be surprised by Chrome’s current market share on iOS. The analysis isn’t based on all iOS users, but “hundreds of millions” of impressions across sites using Chitika’s advertising network through iOS browsing.
According to Chitika, Safari dominates, holding 85.6 percent of the iOS market share. Third-party browsers account for only 14.5 percent, while Google Chrome only holds 1.5 percent of the entire third-party browsing applications. In less than a month Google Chrome has scooped up 10.3 percent of all third-party browsing. Not too shabby.
The main problem with Chrome is the inability to use it as a default browser. With iOS restrictions, any links opened via text, email, Twitter, etc.. all open through Safari. Because of this restraint, many users may give up on third-party browsing and revert back to using Safari. Chitika’s analysis also doesn’t convey whether these numbers are based on first time or returning users.
Chrome’s usage may not be much, but usage percentages clearly show iOS users have been giving the new browser a fair chance to survive. In a few more months we’ll be able to tell if Google Chrome will be a real iOS contender, or if it was just a fad.
Source: Chitika via TechCrunch
