For years, Microsoft has tried their hardest to shove their new browser, Edge, down PC users’ throats. Unfortunately, for Microsoft, people have been keeping their distance with the browser for more than one reason. The majority feels that the browser of their choice, Google Chrome, is just far superior to Edge. There were just no logical reasons to replace it.
In reality, Chrome does have some major contenders such as Firefox, Safari, and Edge. For now, let’s just focus on Edge. So why does some people say that Edge is getting better? Here are some reasons:
#1. Uses fewer hardware resources
Despite its high market share, Chrome is not without faults. People have been complaining about how Chrome is a such memory hog. Millions of Chrome users can share with you their tale of how Chrome gobbles up all the Gigabytes they throw at it.
The new Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium, the very same engine Google Chrome is based on. Some people considered Microsoft’s move from HTML/Chakra to Chromium in 2018 was a bad call since it’s a loss of engine diversity. However, despite having the same engine, Edge uses less memory than Chrome does.
Anecdotal evidence shows that Edge uses around 20% less memory. If you’re browsing the internet heavily using a laptop, you’ll gain an hour or two of extra battery life by making the switch to Edge.
#2. Has wide extension support
Since the new Edge is based on Chromium, the thousands of browser extensions available for Chrome are good for Edge too. You don’t have to worry about replacing your favorite installed extensions.
From the Extensions page, flip the button than says “Allow extensions from other stores” if you want to install the extensions from the Chrome Web Store. You can also check out the add-ons from Microsoft Edge Add-ons page or
#3. Offers better privacy
Microsoft Edge comes with very strict privacy settings, many websites think you have an ad blocker on. The strict setting is not on by default but it’s easy to switch it on from the settings tab. On chrome, even blocking third-party cookies won’t do a thing to stop the barrage of ads on every site you visit.
Nothing is surprising about Google’s reluctance to make ad blocking easy since Google is arguably the largest advertising company in the world. Google makes a ton from Adwords so making it easy to block ads by tinkering with the settings on their browser seems counter-productive.
The strict privacy setting does more than blocking ads though. With less tracking, you have more protected from cybercrimes such as identity theft. That’s a big deal.
“So, should I make the switch now?”
The answer is, of course, depends on what you want and what you need. Some offices require their workers to use a specific browser to access their work-specific tools and sites. On such occasions, it can be hard to suggest a change. The IT department may need to install some workarounds to ensure everything works flawlessly. That can turn into a nightmare for the IT support.
The Edge also has one major drawback you’ll notice right away – it’s using Bing as the default search engine. If you’re looking for a decent result, Bing is alright, but it cannot beat Google search. Nobody in their right mind will stick with Bing.
Setting Google as the default search engine has a slight catch too. Edge will develop the bad habit of crashing every time you type into the address bar. The fix? Just go to edge://setting/search and turn off Search Suggestion. So easy.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you should give Edge a second chance. Both the PC and mobile versions are now good enough to warrant a second look by those who had loathed the earlier versions of Edge. Who knows? Maybe you will even forget you’re not using Chrome as the experience is too similar, but without the memory hog issue, thankfully.
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