Microsoft is finally ready to enter the web browser market yet again, and this time, it is taking help from Google to build its product. The company has announced that the consumer-ready version of the Edge browser based on the Chromium engine is now downloadable for all users on Windows, Android as well as macOS.
The browser was first made available in beta version a few months back, and now it’s publicly available to download from Microsoft’s website.
Unlike the previous web browsers from Microsoft (remember Internet Explorer?), the new Edge browser is expected to be faster and support all the latest web features thanks to the Chromium engine, which also powers Google’s Chrome web browser, the most popular in the world among users.
“The new Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium and was released on 15 January, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. Downloading the browser will replace the legacy version of Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 PCs.”Microsoft Support page
Reports about the development of the new Edge browser first made news back in 2018, when Microsoft corporate Vice President of Windows Joe Belfiore, said, “this will not change Edge in any way, just the websites’ loading experience will be more smooth and consistent.”
Features of Chromium-based Microsoft Edge
- Head over to the Microsoft Support page over here to download the Edge browser
- Install the Edge.exe file on your Windows PC
- You can import data from Google Chrome or start afresh
- The new Edge supports built-in Microsoft Defender to protect users from opening malicious websites or download infected files.
The Redmond-based software giant has taken this decision to improve its revenue streams on the web platform, something that has been hard to come by with Edge, especially with limited users and businesses opting for it.
It has taken Microsoft a long time to become relevant in the web browser space, where it will compete with Google Chrome (leading player), Mozilla Firefox and Vivaldi among others. But it’s important to note that Microsoft is adding its own tweaks to ensure that users and their data remain in safe hands.
This is critical because users have become concerned about Google’s use of its monopoly in the browser segment, and how it tracks their web history to push ads relevant to them.
Will Microsoft be following Google’s rule book and adopt the same ploy? We’re hoping it does not and we have reasons to believe its claims. The Chromium-based Edge browser gets better security with the integration of ‘Balanced Security’ mode.
With this enabled, the browser will be able to secure trackers from websites you haven't visited, including those which are known to be harmful.
By upgrading existing Edge users to the new version, Microsoft is probably hoping that people will give it another chance, which in many ways, will appeal to users, who’re looking for alternatives to Google’s Chrome browser across platforms and devices.
We’ll be trying out the full version of the new Edge and tell you if Microsoft has finally found the right match.
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