Study: Android Owners “More Complacent” Than iOS Users When It Comes To Browser Choice

The majority of iPhone and Android owners use the default browser on their devices, though some have downloaded and use alternatives according to a new analysis from Chitika. The company looked a week’s worth of traffic from US and Canadian sites, amounting to “hundreds of millions of online impressions from [the Chitika] ad network between August 28th and September 4th, 2012.”

Notwithstanding the “complacency” of most mobile browser users Chitika discovered that iOS owners were more inclined to download and use alternatives. Chitika reported that more than 91 percent of Android impressions were from the Android browser. However “only” 85 percent of
iOS traffic came from Safari.

Source: Chitika (September, 2012)

Android browser distribution:

• Default Android browser: 91 percent
• Opera: 5.83 percent
• Chrome: 2.34 percent
• Firefox: 0.56 percent

iOS browser distribution:

• Safari: 85.03 percent
• Google Chrome: 3.07 percent
• Other (e.g., Dolphin, Atomic, Mercury): 11.9 percent

It’s not immediately clear why iOS users are slightly more inclined to try alternative browsers. One interpretation might be that Android browser users are more satisfied than Safari users. However another might be, conversely, that iOS users are more engaged and aware of their choices than Android users.