A first look at Microsoft’s new Chromium-powered browser

BoraMurdar

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Microsoft is rebuilding its Edge browser on Chromium. The software maker has been testing versions of this browser internally at Microsoft, and now The Verge has secured an exclusive first look at the early work thanks to a source who wishes to remain anonymous. While the previously leaked screenshots made Edge look very similar to Chrome, Microsoft is adding its own touches and animations to make it look and feel like a Windows browser.

When you first install the Chromium version of Edge, Microsoft will prompt you to import favorites, passwords, and browsing history from Chrome or Edge (depending on your default). The setup screen also prompts you to pick a style for the default tab page before you start browsing.

Most of the user interface of the browser is a mix of Chrome and Edge, and Microsoft has clearly tried to add its own little touches here and there. There’s a read-aloud accessibility option, and it simply reads the page out loud as it does in existing versions of Edge. Some features that you’d expect from Edge are missing, though. Microsoft hasn’t implemented a dark mode just yet, the set-aside tabs feature isn’t available, and write on the web with a stylus is missing.

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Images via TheVerge
A first look at Microsoft’s new Chromium-powered Edge browser
 

SeriousHoax

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It's time Chrome has some serious competition. It is not healthy that they dominate the market like this. And the only one who can give Google a run for their money is M$. So it's a good thing.
What you're thinking is completely wrong. This new Microsoft edge is based on Chromium. So, Edge is actually contributing to the Chrome monopoly. Microsoft built something new with EdgeHTML but they accepted their defeat to Chrome. So, if you really want to give Google a run for their money and don't want them to dictate the world wide web then use Firefox. The only major browser who uses their own engine Gecko, not Chromium.
 

shmu26

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What you're thinking is completely wrong. This new Microsoft edge is based on Chromium. So, Edge is actually contributing to the Chrome monopoly. Microsoft built something new with EdgeHTML but they accepted their defeat to Chrome. So, if you really want to give Google a run for their money and don't want them to dictate the world wide web then use Firefox. The only major browser who uses their own engine Gecko, not Chromium.
Thanks for your opinion. Unfortunately, Firefox (and its many derivatives) has never grabbed a large portion of the market, and I doubt it ever will, so I can't consider it much of a competitor. The Chromium-based browsers seem to be much more popular. And fortunately, Chromium is open-source.
 
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mouselette

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Thanks for your opinion. Unfortunately, Firefox (and its many derivatives) has never grabbed a large portion of the market, and I doubt it ever will, so I can't consider it much of a competitor. The Chromium-based browsers seem to be much more popular. And fortunately, Chromium is open-source.

Thats not strictly true though is it. Firefox was a huge shareholder. I'm with SeriousHoax on this one. The move to Chromium is catastropic for the internet as a whole, following Opera who also gave up on their engine development. Firefox is the "last stand" of sorts. We should openly embrace it and support it if you want to see a free, open and private internet for the coming generations.

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shmu26

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Thats not strictly true though is it. Firefox was a huge shareholder.

View attachment 211194
Okay, you are right on the historical facts, but let me put it in perspective. In 2010, Firefox had over 30% of the market. But keep in mind, this was before Chrome, and the only serious alternative to Firefox was the absolutely horrible Internet Explorer.
After the market opened up, Firefox declined.
 

mouselette

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Okay, you are right on the historical facts, but let me put it in perspective. In 2010, Firefox had over 30% of the market. But keep in mind, this was before Chrome, and the only alternative to Firefox was the absolutely horrible Internet Explorer.
After the market opened up, Firefox declined.
I am a little bias as i struggle to accept googles practices and privacy violations... A drive to chromium engines, in my mind, ultimately monopolises the internet to Google. As developers will only develop for chromium dereratives, and lets be honest, noone will use anything other than the browser with by far the most investment leading to leaps in innovation. Albeit leaps tainted by privacy violations and advertising. In any market, you need competition to hold majority stakeholders accountable.
 

Handsome Recluse

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What you're thinking is completely wrong. This new Microsoft edge is based on Chromium. So, Edge is actually contributing to the Chrome monopoly. Microsoft built something new with EdgeHTML but they accepted their defeat to Chrome. So, if you really want to give Google a run for their money and don't want them to dictate the world wide web then use Firefox. The only major browser who uses their own engine Gecko, not Chromium.
What about Safari's Webkit?
 

Windows_Security

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The under the hood renderer and javascript engine don't define the functionality of a browser. Opera, Edge, Brave chromium based browser code base will drift apart so the differences in appearance and functionality will become more distinct in time.

Less variance means less time wasted on testing websites (will a website render okay in different browsers) and web-application development. Also new W3C standards will be implemented faster with one rendering engine less. So I don't see it as a loss, but more as something positive.
 

Marko :)

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Do you think it will be available for Windows 7, as a download?
Well, they said the new Edge will be available for Windows 7 and macOS. Since Windows 7 has less than a year left of support, I'm not sure they will make Edge support it, but you never know.
Thats not strictly true though is it. Firefox was a huge shareholder. I'm with SeriousHoax on this one. The move to Chromium is catastropic for the internet as a whole, following Opera who also gave up on their engine development. Firefox is the "last stand" of sorts. We should openly embrace it and support it if you want to see a free, open and private internet for the coming generations.
I think some browsers embraced Chromium engine because its stability, as well as compatibility with websites. Almost all websites are made to work in Chrome; and to make them work in Firefox, devs need to do more coding. Firefox also supports less web standards then Chrome.
 

SeriousHoax

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What about Safari's Webkit?
Yes, Webkit is another one. But Google's Blink is actually a fork of Webkit, they have some similarities. Besides, Safari is available on MacOS and iOS only so it's far less important. As we all know, Apple is also kind of stubborn and they like to do things their own away. So, Firefox is the only major competitor to Chromium I think.
Thanks for your opinion. Unfortunately, Firefox (and its many derivatives) has never grabbed a large portion of the market, and I doubt it ever will, so I can't consider it much of a competitor. The Chromium-based browsers seem to be much more popular. And fortunately, Chromium is open-source.
Firefox had a huge market share in the past then Chrome came with simple design and everyone loved it. It was nice and simple back then. One of the reason Chrome even got more popular is Android. Even now every Android phone comes with Chrome installed(which is about to change because of pressure from EU or something) and year by year it surpassed every browsers. But don't forget Google is an ad company, 85% of their revenue comes from ads and by using Chrome, users are letting google know what they do on the web. One of the reason Firefox fall behind is Firefox OS. You probably know few years ago Mozilla tried to create an OS, so back then they shifted their main focus from Firefox as a result Firefox fall behind of Chrome on adding new features.
BTW, Chromium is open source but Chrome isn't. If everyone switches to Chromium, it would give google the complete control over the web, there would be no open web standards. They'll do what they want to do to fulfill their needs. Take Google's AMP pages as an example. Almost no one wanted to use AMP pages at first. So, to force publishers, Google started to show AMP pages at the top of their search results so publishers were forced to have an AMP version of their pages so that they can appear on the first search result page. Manipulation of their power.
Currently Firefox is very good actually, as fast as Chrome except on most Google's sites. A Microsoft engineer said few months ago with proof that Google intentionally slows down YouTube on other browsers.
Even Google Earth, it's been two years I think Google released the new Google Earth web version and few months later they teased with a screenshot that Firefox support is coming soon, 1.5 years has passed since that announcement and still no news of Google Earth on Firefox.
There are many cases like this where Google does evil things.
That's why I support Firefox, a non-profit organization trying their best to fight against Google's monopoly.
 

BoraMurdar

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