It's not news that Google's Chrome is now more popular than Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) web browser. What is news is that Adobe is reporting, in its Google I/O Digital Index Report, that Android and iPhone users are moving from native browsers to Chrome.

Adobe

Adobe Digital Index (ADI) analysis has found that Chrome smartphone browsing is growing at a quicker pace than Safari smartphone browsing, This increase in Chrome use is taking place on both Android and iOS devices, which is surprising since Safari is the default browser on iOS devices.

"IPhone users have to go out of their way to download the Chrome browser," said Adam Lloyd, an ADI analyst, in a statement. "The fact that people are actually doing so is a sign that Chrome offers an experience consumers are interested in."

Specifically, ADI found from analyzing over 600-billion web site visits from January 2015 to March 2016, Chrome use grew 77 percent year-over-year on Android smartphones and by 20 percent on iPhones.

In a survey, ADI discovered that the reason people were going out of their way to add Chrome to their devices was because it was seen as both easier to use and faster than the alternatives. The bottom line: "Regardless of device, users preferred Chrome over other browsing experiences. Millennials, specifically, sway heavily toward Chrome use, with 60 percent citing it as their preference."

On desktops, Chrome now has nearly 50 percent of the browser market. That's an increase of 5 percent year over year.

IE? It's down to a 24 percent share and continues to decline. IE has lost 7 percent since Edge was launched in May 2015. Edge has only seen slow adoption. ADI shows it as having a mere 4.5 percent market share. Desktop Safari remains stagnant at 10 percent.

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