14 DAY TRIAL // With Windows 10 Mobile already dead, Microsoft is all-in on its Android and iOS apps, and by the looks of things, this strategy is working.
Microsoft Edge, the browser which until recently was exclusively available on Windows 10, recently reached a new milestone on Android, as it recorded the 5 millionth download on the Google Play Store.
For Microsoft, this is without a doubt an important achievement showing that its strategy is working, but when looking at the rest of browsers currently on the Store, it’s pretty clear that the company still has a long way to go to compete with the giants of the mobile browser world.
Google Chrome is obviously the number one browser on Android with no less than 1 billion downloads, which means that Microsoft Edge has only managed to reach 0.5 percent of its rival’s download count.
Also, Mozilla’s Firefox is also pretty successful with more than 100 million downloads, so again, Microsoft Edge needs to maintain the existing trend and even accelerate it to become a serious rival of these already-famous mobile browsers.
Edge on Android
Microsoft Edge brings on Android features that Windows 10 users might actually enjoy, and this is the arsenal that the parent company is betting big on. For example, Microsoft Edge includes Continue on PC, a feature that makes it possible to start browsing on mobile and then resume from where you left off on a Windows 10 device.
Also, more recent releases integrated Timeline support, a new Windows 10 tool that saves activity snapshots including apps and websites and restores them at a later time.
With Microsoft Edge, the Redmond-based tech giant tries to bring Windows 10 PCs and Android phones in sync, and it hopes that this strategy can make its mobile app successful.
As an ending note, this 5 million install count only includes downloads from the Google Play store, as the number could be significantly higher given that users can also get the browser with the stand-alone APK.