Microsoft Edge
Price: Free update
The new Edge browser is here. Microsoft is pushing it out to Windows 10 PCs, a complete revamp built on the Chromium technology of Google Chrome. This review, based on a late beta version available via the Windows Insider program, is a solid, mainstream browser with a few tempting features. But it’s facing a real uphill battle.
By any estimate, Microsoft’s Edge – new or old – won’t make a splash. That’s because, at least where market share is concerned, it’s Google Chrome’s world, and we’re just living in it. As of December 2019, Chrome commanded over 67 percent of the browser market, as measured by NetMarketShare. Firefox, currently the second most popular browser, captured just 9 percent.
Edge’s thin market share is an opportunity for Microsoft to switch horses midstream. Because the new Edge is built upon the Chromium open-source engine (earning it informal monikers such as ‘Edgium’ and ‘Chredge’), Edge is now closer to Chrome than ever before, and can tap into Chrome’s vast library of extensions. Microsoft may have painstakingly gathered around 100 productivity extensions for Edge, with more for ad blockers and other utilities, but it still can’t hold a candle to the hundreds (thousands?) of extensions available via the Chrome Web Store.
Beginning 15 January, Microsoft began replacing the old Edge with the new Edge on consumer PCs with
