Google Chrome’s newest replace proves its resilience
It’s no shock Google is determined to maintain Chrome inside its steady, pushing again on the DOJ’s marketing campaign to drive a sale of the browser. However Chrome is proving itself to be remarkably resilient—simply as it’s with a brand new replace that’s notably unhealthy information for Microsoft and its Home windows OS.
Microsoft has campaigned onerous to modify Chrome customers to its Edge browser, taking flak for the nags and advertisements stitched into Home windows itself, together with ones that interrupt Chrome installations on a PC. Whereas this has confirmed broadly ineffective, Microsoft has additionally deployed a stronger tactic, pushing customers to modify to Edge for safety causes, particularly inside an enterprise surroundings. As I’ve commented, if customers change to Edge at work maybe they’ll do the identical at residence.
Edger default popup in Home windows
However whereas Edge is steadily rising its market share, up greater than 2% year-on-year to 13% of the desktop market, the already dominant Chrome was truly rising extra rapidly as 2024 ended. As picked up by Neowin from Statcounter’s newest numbers, “Chrome opens 2025 with a robust and unreachable 66.88% market share, growing its market share by 0.5 factors in a single month and 1.65 factors year-over-year.” As such, it appears the Microsoft Home windows marketing campaign is simply not working.
Desktop Browser Market Share Worldwide (Jan – Dec 2024)
The most recent Home windows advertisements pushing customers to the Edge cropped up in improvement simply earlier than the vacations, with Windows Latest reporting that “Microsoft Edge gained’t cease nagging customers to set itself as default on Home windows 11.” However whereas there’s clearly some conversion it’s not almost sufficient to dent Chrome.
Edge default push
To be honest to Google’s PR workforce, they’ve confirmed themselves to be equally resilient, batting away all method of current Chrome headlines—the reversal on tracking cookies, Apple’s fabled ad mimicking The Birds, safety warning after safety warning, and the unimaginably painful Privacy Sandbox regulatory stalemate. They don’t must overreact—Chrome’s person base has confirmed that it cares way more concerning the browser’s options and efficiency than its report on privateness and safety bugs.
However 2025 could possibly be completely different—we don’t but know the place the U.S. antitrust marketing campaign will finish, and whereas Apple has jumped to its frenemies defense on Chrome, there’s numerous floor nonetheless to cowl. That mentioned, Microsoft has its personal considerations right here. As Neowin explains, “browser makers and advocacy teams lately despatched a letter to the European Fee asking it to topic Edge to DMA rules and mark Microsoft as a gatekeeper that hurts different companies with predatory practices.”
Pleased new yr? Perhaps not for lengthy.
