Devices and Browsers used

Devices used to access the Internet

A large range of devices was nominated with Windows computers being the most popular used by 58.8% of respondents followed by the iPhone at 44.4% and iPad at 42.4%. Of those using a Windows device to access the internet, 54.6% also used an Apple device.

128 respondents selected “Other” when asked to specify why 63 of the 128 went on to advise they don’t use the internet themselves as they have a family member or support person who helps them.

Note: the above questions allowed multiple answer selection.

We hypothesised there may be a significant relationship between devices and level of vision loss (blindness or low vision), but there was nothing significant found.

Respondents use a range of devices including phones and computer products from across the Windows, Apple and Android segments, sometimes combinations of these brands.

We found there was a correlation between the age of the respondent and the type of device they use. The older age groups more often used Windows devices or chose the “Other” option as they had a support person assisting them to access the internet. Younger people are more likely to use iOS devices.

Desktop and Mobile Browsers used to access the Internet

39.2% of respondents use Chrome as their primary desktop browser. The second most popular desktop browser was Safari at 19.0% followed by Internet Explorer at 12.2%. Edge and Firefox were the only other browsers of note with just over 8% of respondents using each as their primary browser. Respondents who answered “Other” primarily didn’t know what browser they used or didn’t use a computer as a family member / carer used one on their behalf.

Desktop browser usage varied by assistive software technology used. For example, 50.7% of JAWS users used Chrome as their primary browser and 19.9% used Edge.

When it came to the primary browser for tablet and mobile, Safari was the most popular (43.8%) reflecting the popularity of Apple for mobile devices. Chrome was the second most popular primary browser for tablet and mobile at 35.4%. Those who selected “Other” commented that they either “didn’t know” or “not applicable”. There was also some mention of Google and Edge as tablet / mobile browsers.

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