How Google won the browser wars in India... again

Like all good presentations, I am going to start this email with a statistic.

In early 2016, the most popular mobile browser in India by market share was UC Browser. Yes, the Chinese Alibaba-owned one. With a 60% market share. By comparison, Chrome was languishing at 15%.

Cut to black.

"Three years later" appears on the screen.

In April 2019, Chrome stands at a 60% market share. And UC Browser is down to 24%. 

What. On. Earth. Happened.

That’s our story today. 

I am really tempted to give you the answer here, but I won’t. Partly because it would spoil the fun, and partly because the answer isn’t that straightforward. But let me give you some clues. You see, UC Browser based its distribution strategy on two things: content and mobile phone manufacturers like Micromax, Oppo and Vivo. Chrome, on the other hand, based its distribution strategy on one thing: Google’s operating system, Android.

Browser wars are usually a war of distribution, not of product. The one who gets to the customer more efficiently usually wins. One company uses its operating system. The other uses OEM partnerships and content. We have seen this play out before.

This time, it’s different. Because apart from distribution, the product mattered. What Google did to win with Chrome mattered. And some of those were key, crucial product changes

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