The proposed acquisition of Opera has once again shed the spotlight on mobile browsing and China. The takeover bid has come from a consortium of Chinese companies, another strategic initiative by the country to position itself as the smartphone powerhouse of the world.
China boasts the highest number of smartphone users in the world, and Chinese mobile internet interests are beginning to expand outside of the mainland to a more international audience.
Look at the data for the top 5 mobile browsers globally, and you will see a Chinese name at #2: UC Browser.
With a 20 percent global market share (as of February 2016), the browser has been making quick progress inside China (where it’s #1, but challenged by the default Android browser, and Chrome). It has also risen rapidly in a number of emerging markets, particularly India and Indonesia, where it is far in the lead.
Breaking down the regions
The North American market has been the focal point of mobile browsers over the past few years, which stems from the two biggest mobile OSes being created there. But the region with the highest growth right now is Asia. China is approaching maturity just as similar sized India is beginning to take off, and smaller (but still big) Indonesia is evolving fast. And this doesn’t even factor in the larger African market and Latin America. So let’s look at each region individually.
Note: The charts show the percentage market share of the top 5 most used browsers in each region.
Safari holds strong in North America
In the last 12 months, Safari has maintained its lead consistently over Chrome, with the other browsers, except for the default Android browser, barely registering. It speaks to the ubiquity of the iPhone in the US and how much of a stronghold Apple has in that market. No Android browser can dethrone Safari, even though Chrome is device agnostic.
Android leads in Europe
Chrome has a massive lead over Safari in Europe, a lead that has significantly increased in the last 12 months. While most other browsers have either reduced or stagnated, Chrome has been pulling away from the rest of the pack, with around 50 percent of the total market.
Safari slips to third in South America
Safari is #1 but not really growing in Australia and New Zealand
Africa runs on Opera
Competition at the top in Asia
What does this tell us?
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