Safari is a perfectly acceptable browser to most iOS users, and the default Android browser is perfectly acceptable to most Android users. That’s that takeaway from a new study from ad network Chitika, who analyzed recent mobile browser usage in the U.S. and Canada.
Chitika looked at hundreds of millions of online impressions from their ad network during a week-long span, and found that outside web browsers and still struggling to gain any ground on default browsers, when it comes to their usage on the two popular mobile operating systems. According to their study, 85.03% of the iOS web browsing share belonged to Safari, while 91.26% of the Android web browsing share belonged to the default Android browser.
Although users of both OS seem content with sticking to their default browsers, it appears that iOS users are a bit more adventurous. Around 15% of iOS users opt for a non-default browser, with Google Chrome leading the way at 3.07%. The remaining 12% or so is spread out among many other mobile browsers including Firefox, Dolphin, Atomic, Mercury, and more.
When it comes to Android users, Opera is the #2 browser with 5.83% of the share. Chrome sees 2.34% usage, while Firefox only comes in at 0.56%.
Chrome for iOS, which launched to immediate popularity, continues to receive its first batch of updates and bug fixes. Google also just released an update for Chrome for Android which they say makes the browser more secure.
Meanwhile, Apple just released iOS 6, which included updates to Safari. These included full-screen mode, iCloud tabs, offline reading lists, and the ability to snap photos or take videos without ever leaving the app.
[Image courtesy Virtualwayfarer, Flickr]