14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has performed a new series of benchmarks to determine the most energy-efficient browser on Windows 10, and unsurprisingly, its very own Edge that’s integrated into Windows 10 came out on top ahead of the competition.
Redmond says that Edge was specifically designed to “prioritize power efficiency and deliver more battery life without any special battery saving mode or changes to the default settings.” So to prove that its new Windows 10 browser is well ahead rivals Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera, the company performed a series of tests on a Surface Book.
The first benchmarks were conducted in a controlled lab environment, and using specialized power monitoring equipment, the company tried to determine which browser takes the most power for typical activities, including opening websites, scrolling through articles, and watching videos, with new tabs for each of these. The tests were performed on the same websites in every case, namely Facebook, Google, YouTube, Amazon, and Wikipedia.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft Edge topped the charts with 2068 points while Chrome got 2819 points (lower is better). Firefox performed the worst in these tests and obtained 3161 points.
Comparing benchmark data with telemetry figures
Microsoft then used telemetry data (which is information collected from Windows 10 computers around the world) to compare its results with real-life figures, and it turns out that it was right. Edge is indeed the most energy-efficient browser, followed by Firefox and Google Chrome.
And last but not least, Microsoft managed to deliver between 17 and 70 percent more battery life than the competition in a video streaming test where browsers were each thrown in a benchmark to see which one can play movies longer.
“Microsoft Edge lasted three hours longer than Google Chrome - long enough to finish the final movie in your favorite trilogy, while the competition stalls out halfway through,” Microsoft explains.
And while these figures could indeed make Edge browser quite appealing, there’s one reason people don’t rush to replace Google Chrome and Firefox with the new Windows 10 app: the lack of features. Microsoft is, however, working to address this issue with the release of the Anniversary Update next month, when many more features will be added, including the eagerly awaited extension support.
