Holding in line with their recently adopted rapid-release strategy, on March 13th Mozilla released Firefox 11, the latest version of the independent, open-source browser. One of main improvements coming with the release of Firefox 11 is the ability to synchronize add-ons across different computers, devices, and versions of Firefox. Prior to this latest release, users were only able to sync their history, bookmarks, passwords, preferences, and tabs. As with previous Firefox version updates, Chitika Insights sought to uncover the level of adoption of the browsers newest version as it spread across the web.
To measure the adoption rate of Firefox 11, which happens to also be the second browser upgrade released by Mozilla in 2012, Chitika Insights analyzed a sample of impressions seen on the Chitika Ad network, taken between March 19th and March 25th, covering hundreds of millions of unique impressions. Below is a graph depicting the latest version of distribution of the Firefox web browser:
The graph above reveals that after less than two weeks in the market, Firefox 11 is already the most used version of Firefox with 37.4% of all Firefox users opting to use that version as their browser of choice. This rapid rate of adoption, though likely due to the auto-update feature, is impressive no matter which way you look at it. Though Firefox 3 still makes up 24% of all Firefox use, over half of all Firefox users are on the latest two versions, indicating that the auto update feature is in fact working.
For advertisers and publishers, the rapid-release strategy of browsers and on a grander scale, software, is on its way to become a fact of life for those doing business in the world of technology. This shift in release strategy is becoming all the more evident, with Firefox 12 set to release April 24th, little over a month after Firefox 11 was released. To prepare and adapt to this change, the respective parties should ensure that their business, regardless of the platform, is up to date and able to run smoothly and efficiently on the latest versions of software. This will ensure minimum downtime in the face of new version releases, if any update is even required (in the case of browsers, newer versions are often able to view content on sites optimized for older versions).
Stay tuned to future research coming out of Chitika Insights on the web browser market.
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