Very few of you know of the time when Microsoft controlled the Internet, and that’s because the fast rise of Google made it possible for Google to not only take over the web through its most beloved search engine, but also through its reimagined Google browser – the Google Chrome. Today Google has taken over the Internet such that there isn’t anyone who can claim to be giving Google a run for its money on Search, or the browser market. Google Search controls 92% of market share, with Bing coming a distant second at 2.5%. Chrome has 68.5% market share well ahead of Microsoft Edge that now has 7.6% market share.
Microsoft Edge is not a browser to dismiss as coming a distant second on the browser market, the damn thing was launched in January this year for heaven’s sake – that’s three months ago. Okay I am lying. Microsoft Edge was launched in 2015 as part of Microsoft service oriented Windows, Windows 10. But just as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge just became known as the browser Window users would use to download Chrome, or Firefox by Mozilla Foundation; partly because of compatibility issues with web pages or apps that developers had tailor made to optimally work on Chrome, and secondly because Google rubbished Edge as an insecure browser.
It is the compatibility issues that forced Microsoft to swallow a big bout of saliva and opt to use Chromium, a Google’s open source project for browser engines, so that it could rebuild Edge from ground up using Chromium as the core engine, thereby abandoning its own proprietary engine EdgeHTML. After close to three years of rebuilding Edge, Microsoft finally released the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge – a decision that made it possible for Edge to jump from being the fourth most popular Internet browser with 6.2% market share by the end of 2019, to become the second most popular browser with 7.6% market share by April 2020.
Facebook Commenters on the Engadget post about Edge edging other browsers to become second most popular browser gave Edge beautiful reviews that would sway anyone to become a Microsoft Edge user too. With comments such as Edge is “lighter on RAM and CPU than Chrome”, “Edge used only 4.6% CPU and 1.4 GB RAM (20 tabs) while both Chrome and FF used 10% CPU and 1GB RAM (1 empty tab)…..EACH (20% CPU and 2 GB RAM – total)” and “The new Edge has a much cleaner interface, faster performance, way easier on the RAM and best of all runs on Chromium, which means I get to use all my beloved plugins and browse all websites without worrying about any coding issues. Additionally, we get more features than Chrome” , I couldn’t help myself but try Edge too. Luckily I had downloaded the new Edge a few weeks after it was launched to testing it was just but a click away.
As part of testing Edge, I wanted to write this very article on the browser, but I didn’t. First, even after clicking on Chrome a few milliseconds after clicking on Edge, Chrome still opened first (maybe this is because I have not used Edge since I set up after launch). Then after the browsers opened, somehow Chrome new how to load pages despite my slow Internet (Faiba 4G, if you are reading this can you finally sort out my Internet issues?), whereas Edge kept on searching and searching. Finally there is a way I have come to love how being signed into Chrome with my Gmail Account just makes my browsing life much easier, but Microsoft Edge wouldn’t allow me to sign to the browser with Gmail. Lastly I just don’t feel Edge – there is something not quite right about it, something I can’t seem to lay hands on.
Although Engadget and the few commenters seem to praise Chromium for the growth of Edge, a commenter on Engadget’s article at the website suggests that it is the requirement that those filing for unemployment in the US are forced to make their application via Microsoft Browsers.
Can’t file for unemployment online without using internet explorer, make sense with millions having to apply right now
If that’s the case, and given the over 6 million US citizens that are now jobless, it is easy to see why Microsoft Edge would suddenly rise to becoming the second most preferred browser worldwide.
