@Mark Ollig
At CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee was working as a software engineer in 1990.
At CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, British computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee was working as a software engineer in 1990.
By the end of 1990, he had written the first code for a combined web browser and web page editor using a NeXT computer workstation, built by NeXT Computer, a company founded by Apple co‑founder Steve Jobs.
Berners-Lee’s first browser was called WorldWideWeb and later renamed Nexus to avoid confusion with the “World Wide Web” itself.
He also created Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) to organize webpages and developed Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to share them across the internet.
He wrote the code for Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) and configured the first web server on a NeXT workstation at CERN.
Built specifically for the NeXT computer workstation, Nexus never reached the mainstream PC market and was discontinued in 1994.
Netscape Communications introduced Netscape Navigator in 1994. The browser helped make the web a place for business and soon became popular with early users. AOL stopped updating Navigator 9 March 1, 2008.
1993: Mosaic makes the web visual
In 1993, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications released Mosaic, the first browser to make the web truly graphical by displaying images alongside text. Its development ended with version 3.0 Jan. 7, 1997.
1994: Netscape arrives
Netscape Communications launched Netscape Navigator in 1994.
It helped turn the web into a commercial platform and quickly became a favorite among early users before AOL ended updates for Navigator 9 March 1, 2008.
1995: Microsoft enters the browser market
Microsoft joined the browser market Aug. 16, 1995, when it introduced Internet Explorer through the Plus! add-on for Windows 95.
After years of dominance, Internet Explorer reached the end of the road when Microsoft ended support for Internet Explorer 11 June 15, 2022.
In February 2023, Microsoft permanently disabled the desktop app and steered users to Microsoft Edge.
1996 to 2013: Opera’s evolution
Opera Software, a Norwegian company, released Opera 2.0 in 1996 as a shareware alternative to Netscape and Internet Explorer.
In 2003, Opera 7.0 introduced the Presto layout engine, which supported emerging web standards and powered the Opera Mini browser on mobile devices.
In 2013, Opera retired the Presto-based version and adopted Google’s Blink engine. Opera remains available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
2000s: Users shift away from Internet Explorer
In the 2000s, users moved away from Internet Explorer, seeking better standards support, tabs, improved security, faster performance, and fewer browser-specific pages.
2003: Safari launches
Apple introduced Safari Jan. 7, 2003, at Macworld Expo for Macintosh computers running Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar), Apple’s desktop operating system at the time.
It featured built-in Google search, improved bookmarks, pop-up blocking, and a SnapBack feature, marking Apple’s move away from Internet Explorer as the default Mac browser. Safari continues to be supported.
2004: Firefox 1.0
The Mozilla Foundation released Firefox 1.0 Nov. 9, 2004, as a free, faster alternative to Internet Explorer for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
It offered tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, built-in search, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, live bookmarks, fraud protection, and add-ons. Firefox remains supported.
2007: The iPhone puts the web in your hand
At Macworld in San Francisco Jan. 9, 2007, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone as a groundbreaking internet device running Safari.
He described it as a breakthrough that put a fully usable web browser in people’s hands for the first time.
2008: Chrome changes everything
Google released the Chrome beta for Windows Sept. 2, 2008. The V8 engine made JavaScript run faster by compiling it into machine code. Chrome also kept tabs separate, so if one crashed, the others stayed open.
That same day, Google released Chrome’s source code as the open-source Chromium project, which later became the shared base for browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave.
2012: Chrome expands to mobile
Google released Chrome for Android Beta Feb. 7, 2012, for devices running Android 4.0.
Google launched Chrome for iPhone and iPad June 28, 2012, enabling cross-device sync. Samsung Internet launched in 2012 as the default browser on Galaxy devices and remains Samsung’s main mobile browser.
2013: Blink arrives
In 2013, Google introduced Blink, a rendering engine that converts website code into the text, images, and buttons you see on-screen.
Blink now powers the Chromium-based browsers that dominate modern web use, including Edge, Opera, and Brave.
2015 to 2020: Edge and the Chromium transition
Microsoft launched Edge in 2015 with Windows 10, replacing Internet Explorer as its modern browser.
Edge continues to receive updates. Vivaldi 1.0, released April 6, 2016, by Vivaldi Technologies in Oslo, Norway, remains supported.
The Brave browser, which blocks ads and trackers by default, launched in 2016. Version 1.0 arrived in 2019 for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux, and Brave remains supported.
In December 2018, Microsoft announced plans to rebuild Edge using Chromium to improve compatibility.
The new Microsoft Edge was released Jan. 15, 2020. Internet Explorer 11 was the final version of Internet Explorer.
Microsoft now directs users to Edge, which includes Internet Explorer (IE) mode for legacy websites and apps and is expected to remain available through at least 2029.
2024 to 2026: Artificial intelligence (AI) becomes part of the browser
In 2024, the Browser Company launched Arc Search for iPhone, a mobile browser with AI-powered search features. Arc Search remains supported.
AI is now built into many web browsers, letting users summarize pages, compare tabs, draft text, fill out forms, and get step-by-step guidance without leaving the browser.
In 2025, San Francisco-based Perplexity AI introduced Comet, an AI-powered browser for web research, page summaries, organization, and online tasks. Comet remains supported.
In Microsoft Edge, Copilot AI can summarize webpages, videos, and Portable Document Format (PDF) files, surfacing key points without extra searching.
Copilot also works inside Microsoft Word, where it can answer questions about a document, draft and rewrite text, and help shape rough ideas into polished paragraphs.
Google’s Gemini AI in Chrome acts like a helper that sits beside the page you’re viewing. It can explain a confusing paragraph, clarify an idea, or boil a long article down to its key points.
If you allow it, Gemini can also look at your other open tabs to understand what other tasks you are working on.
This year, Samsung extended its browser beyond mobile with Samsung Browser for Windows. Its AI features can summarize, analyze, and compare information across multiple tabs.
This year: Browser market share
Statcounter reported that, in April of this year, the leading web browsers worldwide were Chrome (68.02%), Safari (17.04%), Edge (5.53%), and Firefox (2.26%).
WebRTC and the shift to remote life
Web Real-Time Communication, or WebRTC, is the open-source technology behind live voice, video, and data in modern browsers.
Google introduced it in 2011, and it became a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard in 2021.
WebRTC is built into current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge on both desktop and mobile devices, and can be used without installing any extra plug-ins or add-ons.
When many of us moved to online life during COVID-19, WebRTC was needed for business meetings, virtual classrooms, telehealth appointments, and staying connected with family and friends.
The continuing transition toward AI-powered browsing marks the beginning of a new era in how we use the web and experience the internet.
