- Nov 10, 2017
- 3,250
Despite being the world’s number one desktop browser for a long time, Internet Explorer has never been everyone’s favorite browser, and the massive improvements that Google and Mozilla released for Chrome and Firefox provided users with alternatives that many embraced.
Microsoft introduced Edge browser with much fanfare in Windows 10, promising a truly powerful rival to the likes of Chrome and Firefox.
Eventually, Edge turned out to be just another failed experiment, and despite the more or less significant improvements released as part of new Windows 10 feature updates, the new browser eventually failed to make any difference.
So in late 2018, Microsoft announced another major change in this regard, as it decided to migrate Microsoft Edge from the EdgeHTML engine to Chromium. This is the same engine that powers Google Chrome and a series of other browsers like Vivaldi.
At first glance, switching to Chromium is seen by many as living proof that Microsoft can’t succeed in the browser market on its own. But after trying out the unofficial preview build of Edge browser, it becomes more obvious that Microsoft Edge can finally become a leading browser on both the desktop and mobile.
All Google Chrome features
First and foremost, because it’s based on Chromium, Microsoft Edge technically has all the features of Google Chrome, and Microsoft can give its own touches to each update to specifically tailor it to match its own user base.
In other words, Microsoft Edge would no longer lag behind rivals when it comes to features, and long-time Windows users certainly know how important this is.
Google Chrome is currently the leading browser worldwide, and there’s a good reason for this. The feature lineup plays a key role in the overall feature package, and now Microsoft Edge can score big in this regard as well.
Finally available cross-platform
The Chromium engine also allows Microsoft to release Edge on more platforms than just Windows 10.
This means the company can significantly increase the number of users running its browser, as Edge would offer support for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7, but also for macOS and Linux.
Windows 10 and Windows 7 are currently the world’s most popular desktop operating systems, and despite the latter reaching the end of support in January next year, it’s still a widely-used platform across the world. So there’s no doubt that by making Edge available on Windows 7, Microsoft not only that wins more users, but it can also convince some to upgrade to Windows 10 and enjoy the benefits of native integration.
Just like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge is also available on mobile, and Microsoft releases updates for both Android and iOS versions on a regular basis.
The world’s largest distribution platform
One of the biggest advantages over Google Chrome is that Microsoft Edge would benefit from the largest distribution platform on the desktop.
It’s Windows itself, and Microsoft not only that will offer Edge as the default Windows 10 browser, but it’ll also encourage users running older versions of the OS to replace Internet Explorer (or other browsers) with its new app.
Windows 10 has already become the number one desktop operating system after it managed to overtake Windows 7 a few months ago, and the target for Microsoft is to bring it to 1 billion devices worldwide. This means Microsoft Edge would come pre-installed on 1 billion devices, and while not everyone would stick with it, the opportunity to target such a large audience is huge.
Microsoft is projected to release the new Edge browser later this year, but a preview build should go live any day now. An unofficial Microsoft Edge version is already up for grabs if you want to try it out.
Source
news.softpedia.com
Microsoft introduced Edge browser with much fanfare in Windows 10, promising a truly powerful rival to the likes of Chrome and Firefox.
Eventually, Edge turned out to be just another failed experiment, and despite the more or less significant improvements released as part of new Windows 10 feature updates, the new browser eventually failed to make any difference.
So in late 2018, Microsoft announced another major change in this regard, as it decided to migrate Microsoft Edge from the EdgeHTML engine to Chromium. This is the same engine that powers Google Chrome and a series of other browsers like Vivaldi.
At first glance, switching to Chromium is seen by many as living proof that Microsoft can’t succeed in the browser market on its own. But after trying out the unofficial preview build of Edge browser, it becomes more obvious that Microsoft Edge can finally become a leading browser on both the desktop and mobile.
All Google Chrome features
First and foremost, because it’s based on Chromium, Microsoft Edge technically has all the features of Google Chrome, and Microsoft can give its own touches to each update to specifically tailor it to match its own user base.
In other words, Microsoft Edge would no longer lag behind rivals when it comes to features, and long-time Windows users certainly know how important this is.
Google Chrome is currently the leading browser worldwide, and there’s a good reason for this. The feature lineup plays a key role in the overall feature package, and now Microsoft Edge can score big in this regard as well.
Finally available cross-platform
The Chromium engine also allows Microsoft to release Edge on more platforms than just Windows 10.
This means the company can significantly increase the number of users running its browser, as Edge would offer support for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7, but also for macOS and Linux.
Windows 10 and Windows 7 are currently the world’s most popular desktop operating systems, and despite the latter reaching the end of support in January next year, it’s still a widely-used platform across the world. So there’s no doubt that by making Edge available on Windows 7, Microsoft not only that wins more users, but it can also convince some to upgrade to Windows 10 and enjoy the benefits of native integration.
Just like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge is also available on mobile, and Microsoft releases updates for both Android and iOS versions on a regular basis.
The world’s largest distribution platform
One of the biggest advantages over Google Chrome is that Microsoft Edge would benefit from the largest distribution platform on the desktop.
It’s Windows itself, and Microsoft not only that will offer Edge as the default Windows 10 browser, but it’ll also encourage users running older versions of the OS to replace Internet Explorer (or other browsers) with its new app.
Windows 10 has already become the number one desktop operating system after it managed to overtake Windows 7 a few months ago, and the target for Microsoft is to bring it to 1 billion devices worldwide. This means Microsoft Edge would come pre-installed on 1 billion devices, and while not everyone would stick with it, the opportunity to target such a large audience is huge.
Microsoft is projected to release the new Edge browser later this year, but a preview build should go live any day now. An unofficial Microsoft Edge version is already up for grabs if you want to try it out.
Source
Three Reasons Chromium Microsoft Edge Can Be Bigger than Google Chrome
Microsoft has a big chance to win the browser market
