The Edge web browser, as we know it, is gone. Microsoft is today releasing the completely redesigned version of its browser.
This new version of Edge is based on free software Chromium, a web browser project started by Google in 2008. This is the basis for several other browsers, including Opera and, of course, Chrome. Now they all share the same source code.
This means that the functionality and interface of this new version of Edge is very similar to that of Chrome. The new Edge should also provide a better browsing experience for people, with most websites already optimized for Chrome. It is also able to work with the same extensions.
Its logo has also been updated and no longer looks like the famous blue E of Internet Explorer: the E now displays the shape of a wave, with a gradient of colors going from green to blue.
The new version of Edge will be downloaded automatically to users’ devices in addition to being offered on Mac, iOS and Android.
Launched almost five years ago, Edge aimed to replace Internet Explorer on Windows 10 computers. It is currently the fourth most popular browser in the world, after Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, with approximately 4% of the share of market.
Mozilla disappointed
The adoption of Chromium by Microsoft was announced more than a year ago, in December 2018. At the time, the manufacturer of Firefox, Mozilla, was more than disappointed with the decision of the American giant, l accusing of officially renouncing an independent shared platform for the Internet .
From a social, civic and individual point of view, ceding control of a basic Internet infrastructure to a single company is terrible. It is for this reason that Mozilla exists. Mozilla competes with Google not because it is a good opportunity to do business. Mozilla competes with Google because the health of the Internet and our digital lives depends on competition and choice , its director Chris Beard said on his official blog.
Chrome currently has more than 65% of the market share of web browsers, while Firefox has only about 9%.