MICROSOFT

Company intensifies dispute against Chrome forcing use of Edge

Although the Windows operating system remained at the top of preferences, with a presence in 87.7% of computers, according to the Net Market Share tool, Microsoft's browser, first launched as Internet Explorer and renamed Edge, plummeted in the preference of users as it lagged behind in performance.
Today, Google's Chrome browser is the preference of 65.9% of people. To try to change that, Microsoft has invested in the efficiency of Edge and has gone a step further: now there is no option to exclude the browser from Windows computers, unless you are a programmer.
In its last update, Edge was incorporated into Windows Update. In practice, it becomes an integral part of the Microsoft operating system, not a program to be installed and uninstalled. Thus, browser versions will be updated automatically with updates to the operating system itself.
In a recently updated support document, Microsoft justified the move as a way to "ensure that all Windows customers have the latest Microsoft Edge browser for performance."
Since 2008, when it had almost 70% presence on computers, the Microsoft browser has been losing space. The turning point came in 2012, when Chrome surpassed Internet Explorer numbers, according to the StartCounter tool.
To try to leverage its browser, Microsoft not only changed the name of the old - and badly spoken - Internet Explorer, but reprogrammed the app, launching Edge in 2015. But just changing the name would not be enough to make Windows users resist the temptation to download another browser faster, like Chrome.
Since the launch of Edge, the company has invested in its optimization to use less RAM. The browser has the same engineering as Google's rival and allows extensions that were previously only made for Chrome. Importing user account information was also made easier.
Although it has not yet managed to emerge, with only 3.03% of the market share in April 2020, the Edge has already achieved a performance similar to that of Chrome, with speed tests showing good performance.

AVnews