Often criticized, the browser launched by Microsoft in 2015 to replace Internet Explorer nevertheless has many advantages. Is it underestimated?
Who will get rid of Google Chrome (3/5)
Following proceedings initiated in 2020, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) could soon issue a historic decision: a breakup of Google, including the sale of its Chrome browser. If this scenario were to be confirmed, it would be a turning point whose consequences remain difficult to assess. While awaiting the conclusion of this standoff, BDM is launching a five-part series dedicated to the hypothetical pretenders to the throne left vacant by Chrome. These outsiders, from Arc to Firefox, are trying to carve out a place for themselves in a market crushed since 2008 by the “Big Browser.” Each with their own strengths.
For this third episode, we return to Edge, the browser launched by Microsoft in 2015 to succeed Internet Explorer, whose legacy is difficult to assume.
In June 2022, Microsoft turned a page in web history. By permanently shutting down Internet Explorer, Bill Gates’ company ended the long ordeal of the software that was, for nearly twenty years, the default browser installed on Windows devices. With it, this relic of the 90s web took with it decades of memories and memes about its interminable loading times. As is often the case, Microsoft didn’t dwell on the past. The designated successor, Edge, had been unveiled seven years earlier and was just waiting for its ancestor to die so it could shine in its turn. But it’s hard to shake off such a stubborn image. Despite its strengths, Edge has, from the very beginning, carried the bad reputation of its predecessor. Does Microsoft deserve a second chance?
Microsoft Edge, or how to succeed a web relic
From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, Internet Explorer enjoyed near-total dominance in the browser market, reaching up to 95% of the market share in 2004. This success was due as much to its performance as to its systematic inclusion in the Windows ecosystem, to the detriment of competitors like Netscape. This strategy was then perceived as an obstacle to free competition and led to several lawsuits in the United States and Europe against Microsoft. This same Microsoft, which is now accusing Google in court of locking down the search engine market.
From the middle of the decade, Explorer found itself overtaken by the arrival of new competitors, Mozilla Firefox and (especially) Google Chrome, which distinguished themselves by frequent updates, higher performance and better compliance with web standards. Faced with this evolution, Internet Explorer struggled to keep pace, which led to an increasingly frustrating browsing experience for its users: slowness, bugs, defective display of certain sites, but also frequent security breaches, which made it a prime target for online attacks. Between 2004 and 2015 (the year Edge was launched), Internet Explorer went from a monopolistic position to only 20% market share.
With Edge, Microsoft wanted to start from scratch. But while the company’s marketing strategy was to portray the successor as a radical departure from Internet Explorer, technical constraints forced Microsoft to choose a middle ground. The first version of Edge relied on a new rendering engine called EdgeHTML, separate from Internet Explorer’s, but still developed internally by Microsoft. This choice aimed to create a faster browser that was more compliant with modern web standards, while still ensuring some compatibility with legacy technologies used in professional environments. But this version struggled to convince: it still suffered from compatibility issues with certain websites, a limited extension ecosystem, and remained closely tied to Windows 10.
Chromium: the real break with Internet Explorer
It wasn’t until 2019 that Microsoft Edge made a more radical shift. The browser then had “a rather mixed reputation,” according to the euphemisms of group vice president Joe Belfiore, mainly due to its compatibility issues. Several possibilities were then considered: integrating Edge into the Microsoft Store to make it accessible to older versions of Windows and bring updates closer together, investing more engineering resources to fix bugs, continuing with EdgeHTML and gradually improving its compatibility… But none of these options were deemed sufficient to revive the browser, and the company ultimately opted for a clean break, switching Edge to Chromium, Google’s open-source project that serves as the technical basis for Chrome.
To build the current version of Edge, Microsoft actively collaborated with Google’s teams on the Chromium project. “Fortunately, as soon as we made this announcement, we received a lot of positive responses from Chromium engineers and other Chromium browser vendors, who were very excited to have us join this community,” recalled Jatinder Mann, Microsoft Edge program manager, in The Verge.
Mozilla is also concerned that the move from Edge to Chromium will encourage developers to focus solely on Chromium and Safari, leaving other players behind. A spokesperson told VentureBeat: “We’re not going to concede that Google’s implementation of the web is the only option consumers should have. That’s why we built Firefox and why we’ll always fight for a truly open web.” But the move from Edge to Chromium has only amplified the open-source browser’s fall.
Microsoft Edge: What’s it worth?
Ten years after its launch, Microsoft Edge has never really taken off. It remains under 6% market share, a far cry from Internet Explorer, which held more than double that at its twilight. But isn’t it time to take a fresh look at Edge?
A gentle way to quit Google Chrome
If you live in France, there’s a roughly 7 in 10 chance that you’re currently using Chrome. Microsoft Edge’s ability to replace Google’s browser will therefore be a determining factor in assessing its value, particularly in the event of a Google breakup. Using Chromium is therefore a significant advantage. In concrete terms, this means that:
- The interface—general presentation, menus, and layout—follows the familiar cues of Chrome.
- The browser supports all sites designed for Chrome, including complex web services and business applications. This ensures stable display even on the most demanding platforms.
- Extensions from the Chrome Web Store can be installed without any modification.
- The transition from Chrome is seamless, thanks to the automatic import of bookmarks, passwords, settings, and browsing history.
A less power-hungry browser than Chrome
Microsoft Edge includes several optimizations to reduce RAM usage, including automatically putting inactive tabs to sleep. This feature frees up memory without closing tabs, which can improve performance, especially on machines with limited resources. Additionally, Edge offers an Efficiency mode designed to limit power consumption, especially when running on battery power. This feature reduces CPU activity and increases battery life for portable devices.
If you’ve been traumatized by Internet Explorer, you might be wondering if this power saving comes at the cost of unbearable slowness. On this point, Edge doesn’t seem to be able to compete with Chrome yet. Most tests conducted over the past year, including those conducted by PC World, Selectra and Magic Lasso Adblock, seem to indicate that Chrome and Safari remain superior in this regard. But there’s no comparison with Internet Explorer: even before its switch to Chromium, Edge was already ahead of its predecessor. Currently, and except for certain intensive uses, Chrome’s advantage in terms of speed is barely noticeable.
Exclusive features
Microsoft Edge isn’t as radical an alternative as Arc and its flexible workspaces, but it does have some features missing from Chrome that are worth exploring. Here they are:
- Tracking Protection: Edge comes with a built-in tracking protection feature designed to limit data collection while browsing. There are three levels of protection: Basic , Balanced , and Strict. The latter level blocks a large number of trackers and some ads, without requiring a third-party extension.
- Immersive Reading Mode:Â The browser allows you to activate a simplified reading mode (shortcut F9), which removes superfluous visual elements from a web page (ads, menus, distracting backgrounds) to keep only the main text. The content is then displayed in a readable format, with options for customizing the font size and background.
- Vertical tabs:Â Edge displays tabs in a vertical column along the left side of the screen. This arrangement, while confusing at first, quickly becomes very useful for improving readability and tab management by displaying the title of each page rather than simple icons.
- Copilot integration: Microsoft Edge now includes the AI ​​assistant Copilot, which can help you accomplish various tasks directly in the browser. Accessible from the sidebar, it can summarize articles, answer your questions, and even analyze visual content.
As for the default search engine, it is still possible to use Bing to change it in the settings.
