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MCD

Platform Support Recommendations

2014 Fourth Quarter

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Quarterly, Magnani Caruso Dutton tracks

the use of stable releases of browsers,

operating systems, and devices for the

general U.S. population, identifying the

current share of the user base and

potential velocity for large-scale adoption

of new and obsolesce of old platforms.

Overview

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The following table is our recommended

platform support policy. Both velocity

and lifecycle are factored. Platforms that

fit into these categories change

regularly, some faster than others.

Full and partial support types are defined

after the table.

Overview

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Upcoming <=2%

Experimental <=1%

Antiquated <=1%

Aging <=2%

Might not function or display properly; no longer supported

Full core functionality with some display errors acceptable.

Full functionality and error-free display. Full core functionality with minor display & formatting errors acceptable.

Might not function or display properly; future support may be needed.

None Partial Full Partial None

Support Policy

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Full Functionality

All features and functions display and

operates as designed and specified.

Support Type Definitions

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Partial Functionality

Core functionality works correctly but

may have some display errors.

Functional errors may occur but will not

impinge on core functionality. Special

features, overlays or advanced

animation, may not function properly or

at all.

Support Type Definitions

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As a new stable release of a browser, device, or

operating system moves into the Upcoming

category, it does not necessarily displace any

other supported platform. Conversely, a platform

in the Experimental category may never move

into the mainstream environment. We also

monitor certain platforms that have been “stuck”

in the Experimental group for some time but have

a high potential to suddenly break out and

become an Upcoming or even Modern platform.

A Note on Support Type Definitions

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The recommendations outlined in this

report are based on the general U.S.

consumer market; with a couple of noted

exceptions. An individual website’s

platform support should be identified

based on its measurement analytics and

inform the design and development

specifications throughout the project.

Recommendations Summary

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The following table summarizes the

browser by operating system support

recommendations as of December 2014.

Supporting documentation is provided

later.

Browser Support Recommendations

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Browser Support Recommendations

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• Add full support of Firefox 33 and 34 to Win XP, Win 7, and Mac 10.9• Drop support for versions of Firefox prior to version 33• Add full support of Chrome 39 to Win XP, Win 7, and Mac 10.9• Drop support for versions of Chrome prior to version 39• Chrome 40 is not added to the list since the stable version was just

recently released. As of this report, support isn’t warranted but we

expect full support by the end of the 1st quarter 2015 due to

automatic upgrades.

 

As of this report, the Chrome for Mobile Browsers has slowly gained share on mobile devices. However, this share is almost completely on Android. For Android devices, its share is 23.41% and for iOS devices its share is 0.01% according to NetMarketshare. Therefore, we are not recommending the support of Chrome for Mobile on iOS devices.

Recommendation Changes for This Report

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Device Support Recommendations

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• Add partial support of iOS 6 on iPhone and iPad.• Add partial support of Samsung Galaxy S5 on Android v4.4.• Add partial support of Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 on Android

v4.2.

As of this report, Kindle Fire Phone market penetration is not available; as a result, we will continue to monitor this device for possible inclusion later this year.

As of writing this this report, the market penetration for Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD combined is 2.3% according to IDC. At this point, we recommend partial support of Kindle Fire devices since usage of Amazon Kindle Fire family.

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25409815

Recommendation Changes for This Report

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This section details the operating system (OS)

versions that garner 1% or more of total sessions.

Operating System Version Analysis

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Desktop (Windows and Macintosh)

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Windows 7 is the top operating system in use with over 55% market share. Also note the remaining percentage includes operating systems such as Linux and Windows NT.

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Desktop (Macintosh Only)

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We recommend adding full support to the Mac 10.10 operating system since it passed 3% market share this quarter. Mac 10.6 and 10.8 are significantly dropping against Mac 10.10; as a result, we recommend dropping support of 10.6 and 10.8 for this current quarter.

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Mobile and Tablet

  Total iOS Android Others

January 4.00% 1.23% 1.93% 0.84%

February 4.00% 1.21% 2.01% 0.78%

March 4.00% 1.32% 2.01% 0.67%

April 4.03% 1.20% 2.10% 0.80%

May 4.16% 1.27% 2.14% 0.75%

June 4.34% 1.23% 2.31% 0.73%

July 4.17% 1.13% 2.46% 0.58%

August 4.44% 1.37% 2.51% 0.56%

September 3.86% 1.11% 2.34% 0.41%

October 4.32% 1.10% 2.36% 0.86%

November 4.58% 1.12% 2.72% 0.74%

December 4.81% 1.18% 2.73% 0.90%

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Android and iOS are both enjoying growth in current quarter. However, we’re

beginning to see hints Android-based systems (mostly Samsung mobile devices

and tablets) are creeping into new territory as they pass 2% market share.

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The following tables and charts

highlight desktop browser types and

versions with 1% or more of total

sessions.

Browser Type Analysis

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Browser Type Analysis

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We compared browser use for January 2014 to December 2014 by general market browser share, as reported by w3schools, and noted some interesting differences in browser use. Chrome use is significantly higher among the browsers in the general market as it outpaces Firefox and Safari. Also note the very large difference in Safari – a browser primarily used in iOS devices.http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

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Internet Explorer

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We’re seeing the slow deflation of the IE10 and 9 browsers largely due to Microsoft auto updates. At 1.10% and 1.60% respectively, we recommend partial support of these browsers in the current quarter. There is a possibility 2015 will continue to see large corporate users upgrading directly to IE 11, Firefox, or Chrome.  IE11 has been intensely watched due to the connection between the latest browser version auto updates on Windows 8 and 7. Until recently, IE11 was only available on Windows 8 machines and Windows RT devices, such as the Surface. However, Microsoft pushed IE 11 auto updates to Windows 7 machines as well. As a result, we can reliably say that IE 11 will take a large percentage of market shares in the coming quarter against all IE Browsers. At 3.60%, we recommend full support of this browser.

Internet Explorer

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Firefox

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Firefox

Firefox has considerable competition from Safari and Chrome. We see Firefox version 30 dropping sharply from its release date to now. Since the browser continues to drop, we can reliably project it will fall below 1% by the end of the 3rd quarter of 2014.

Little more than a month after the release of Firefox 34, Mozilla released Firefox 35 beta on January 17th, 2015. Firefox 35 market penetration is less than 1%; therefore, we will monitor Firefox 35 in the coming quarters for possible inclusion.

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Safari

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Safari

We’re watching a gradual decline in Safari 5 on the desktop. But at 0.93% and gradually moving down, therefore, we recommend not supporting Safari 5 in current quarter. However, Safari 6 usage significantly drops in the past quarter and at 0.90% and gradually moving down, we recommend not supporting Safari 6 in current quarter. Safari 7 usages significantly dropping against the Safari 8 browser, at 1.21, we recommend partial supporting Safari 7 in the current quarter. Since Safari 8 market penetration gradually increasing, we recommend full support of Safari 8 in current quarter.

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Chrome

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We’re seeing a substantial deflation of Chrome 37 gradually

moving down, we recommend partial or no support for these

browsers.

Google released Chrome 40 version on January 6th, 2015. Chrome 40 market penetrations is less than 1%, therefore, we will monitor Chrome 40 in the coming quarters for possible inclusion.

Chrome

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http://gs.statcounter.com/#desktop+mobile-browser-US-monthly-201304-201403

Mobile and Tablet Browsers

Android

Mobile Safari

Blackberry

Mobile Chrome

January 22.21% 34.57% 3.25% 9.05%

February 21.10% 33.89% 2.52% 12.46%

March 19.96% 34.61% 1.64% 14.11%

April 18.56% 33.91% 1.43% 15.92%

May 17.56% 33.57% 1.35% 17.95%

June 16.56% 34.26% 1.32% 19.54%

July 15.03% 33.88% 1.29% 20.62%

August 14.05% 34.11% 1.20% 21.84%

September 12.63% 36.28% 1.15% 22.44%

October 12.54% 39.27% 0.78% 23.86%

November 11.56% 35.39% 0.90% 26.56%

December 11.30% 35.00% 0.76% 29.31%

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We are watching considerable difference between the Mobile Safari and Android browser usage on mobile phones and tablets. Also note that the usage of the Mobile Chrome browser is significantly increasing. At 29.31 % and gradually moving up, we recommend full support of this browser in current quarter. However, it is worth monitoring in 2015, as there is a possibility by the end of second quarter numbers of people may opt for the Nexus devices, LG G3, and Galaxy S5, along with existing Android devices, which will impact the market share.  Despite Blackberry having market penetrations just above 0.76%, the general trend for Blackberry continues down; therefore, we recommend not supporting this browser and will not include the device in future reports.

Mobile and Tablet Browsers

39http://gs.statcounter.com/#desktop+mobile+tablet-comparison-US-monthly-201404-201406

Desktop and Tablet/Mobile Analysis

Desktop Mobile Tablet

January 70.50% 20.47% 9.03%

February 69.53% 21.36% 9.11%

March 69.88% 21.43% 8.69%

April 71.31% 20.24% 8.45%

May 70.88% 20.78% 8.34%

June 68.00% 23.17% 8.83%

July 68.92% 22.18% 8.91%

August 65.79% 24.45% 9.70%

September 65.08% 25.22% 9.77%

October 64.11% 27.00% 8.88%

November 64.67% 26.14% 9.20%

December 66.37% 25.29% 8.38%

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March

April

MayJu

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Augus

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Sept

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Octob

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Novem

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Decem

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

DesktopMobileTablet

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The desktop versus mobile and tablet difference is considerable. Note that touch device usage is considerably lower than might be expected given the hype of touch devices in the general market. Even though mobile and tablet use is small – it is worth monitoring in 2015, as there is a possibility by the end of the year to see an overwhelming majority of people opting to use touch devices instead of desktop. The last quarter already shows this growth beginning to happen.

Desktop and Tablet/Mobile Analysis

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By the end of the 4th quarter of 2014, 52.08% percent of U.S. mobile and tablet owners had a device that runs iOS.

http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-US-quarterly-201302-201401-bar

 

Tablet/Mobile Operating System Overview

RIM

iOS

Android Others

Q1 2014 2.06% 60.62% 32.44% 4.88%

Q2 2014 1.56% 51.66% 42.36% 3.97%

Q3 2014 1.27% 52.13% 42.84% 3.76%

Q4 2014 0.94% 52.08% 44.62% 2.36%

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In the U.S. iOS continues to dominate market share of mobile and tablet operating systems. Given RIM 0.94% and the Blackberry browser share usage hovers at .94% we do not recommend support for this browser at this time and we will eliminate tracking in the next report.

Tablet/Mobile Operating System Analysis

45http://netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=1

Android Analysis

Android 2.3

Android 4.1

Android 4.2

Android 4.3

Android 4.4

January 4.80% 11.69% 5.72% 4.85% 1.07%

February 4.55% 11.58% 6.34% 6.07% 1.37%

March 4.35% 11.42% 6.64% 6.18% 2.30%

April 3.89% 11.19% 7.13% 5.70% 3.92%

May 3.88% 10.61% 7.49% 4.98% 5.54%

June 3.83% 10.33% 8.53% 5.58% 7.25%

July 3.29% 10.03% 8.77% 4.02% 9.28%

August 3.07% 9.56% 8.74% 3.78% 11.10%

September 3.02% 9.45% 9.13% 3.58% 12.76%

October 2.59% 8.45% 8.65% 3.33% 14.42%

November 2.44% 7.99% 8.24% 3.12% 15.40%

December 2.03% 7.01% 7.94% 2.88% 16.90%

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As of writing this this report, Android 3.1, 3.2 and 5.0 are less than 1% market penetration and falls below our recommended support policy.

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Above are the top Android devices by market share as of June 2014. The Samsung

Galaxy S3, S4, and S2 are the far and away favorites with the S2 dropping

considerably against the S4 in the last quarter. http://www.appbrain.com/stats/top-android-phones

Android Device Analysis

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The Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 are now listed in the top

Android phone list. At 5.10% and 6.00%, we recommend

continue to full support of Samsung Galaxy S4 and S3 in

current quarter. The Samsung Galaxy S5 usages crosses

2.00% As a result, we recommend partial support of this

device in current quarter. It is worth monitoring in 2015, as

there is a possibility by the end of the 1st quarter to see an

overwhelming majority of people opting to use Samsung

Galaxy S5.

Android Device Analysis

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Android Tablet Breakdown

Amazon Kindle Fire Samsung Galaxy Google Nexus

1Q 2014 7.70% 6.10% 1.90%

2Q 2014 6.10% 8.30% 2.20%

3Q 2014 7.30% 6.30% 2.10%

4Q 2014 6.70% 6.0% 1.80%

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Over the past year, the tablet market has seen major changes. Chikita completed a study to determine which tablet devices are seeing the most success in the terms of usage. This chart shows the Kindle Fire holds the top Android tablet market share while Samsung Galaxy tablets are second with Google Nexus Tablets coming in third. At this point, we recommend full support of Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy tablet and partial support for Google Nexus 7 tablet.htttp://chitika.com/insights/2014/Q3-tablet-update

htttp://chitika.com/insights/2014/Q3-tablet-update

Android Tablet Analysis

52 https://mixpanel.com/trends/#report/ios_frag/from_date:-122,to_date:-32

iOS Breakdown

iOS 5.x

iOS 6.x

iOS 7.x

iOS 8.x

January 2.65% 15.66% 81.25%

February 2.15% 12.55% 85.04%

March 1.73% 9.98% 88.14%

April 1.51% 8.36% 89.95%

May 1.37% 7.29% 91.14%

June 1.29% 6.96% 91.49%

July 1.14% 5.66% 92.76%

August 0.98% 5.07% 93.30%

September 0.73% 3.94% 73.60% 21.45%

October 0.70% 3.44% 43.42% 52.13%

November 0.65% 2.93% 35.38% 60.75%

December 0.59% 2.44% 28.90% 67.74%

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In the U.S. iOS 7 continues to dominate market share of mobile and tablet operating systems until iOS 8.x released over iOS 6 and 5. Note that iOS 8.x adoption rate significantly high as it hit over 60% in little over 3 months. At this point, we recommend full support for this operating system. However, also note that iOS 5.x market share falls below 1% and gradually moving down. At 0.59% we do recommend no support for this operating system at this time.

 

As of this report, iOS5 is less than 1% market

penetration and falls below our recommended

support policy.

iOS Analysis

55 http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=1

iPhone versus iPad Breakdown

iPhone

iPad

January 21.51% 32.34%

February 22.48% 29.87%

March 23.15% 29.58%

April 22.31% 28.80%

May 21.75% 26.10%

June 21.03% 24.14%

July 21.18% 22.61%

August 21.49% 22.45%

September 20.74% 22.76%

October 21.23% 22.67%

November 21.99% 22.41%

December 21.88% 20.99%

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57http://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/

iPad Breakdown

iPad 2G iPad 3G iPad 4G iPad Mini iPad Air

iOS 5.x 0.60% 0.90%     

iOS 6.x 4.10% 8.00% 5.00% 1.10% 

iOS 7.x 45.40% 55.30% 51.40% 51.50% 30.30%

iOS 8.x 49.90% 35.80% 43.70% 47.50% 69.70%

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The adoption rate of iOS 8.x is significantly higher than iOS 6.x and iOS 7.x among iPad users. At this time, we recommend full support of iOS 8.x in current quarter. It is worth monitoring in 2015, as there is a possibility by the end of the 1st quarter to see an overwhelming majority of people upgrading their devices to iOS 8.x.

iPad Analysis

Look for the next quarterly update in April 2015.

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MCD

Platform Support Recommendations

2014 Third Quarter