14 DAY TRIAL // The transition to the Chromium engine has completely transformed Microsoft’s browser, and one of the best things it happened to the application is the cross-platform debut.
Thanks to Chromium, Microsoft Edge is no longer exclusive to Windows 10 but is also available on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, macOS, and even Linux. And with mobile versions already live, Microsoft Edge is now available on almost every platform out there.
Without a doubt, this is huge news for Microsoft, but the more important thing for both the software giant and its users is the actual experience that the browser is able to provide.
And after using Microsoft Edge for nearly one year, I can finally confirm this is the browser Windows 10 really needed.
In many ways, Edge is Microsoft’s very own version of Google Chrome, all with a personal touch that allows the app to better fit the needs of Microsoft users. So if you’re committed to Microsoft services in the long term, you can very well give Edge a try, as it sports one of the best feature packages available right now.
But what’s even more important is that Edge doesn’t force any feature on its users. And the living proof is the recent shopping update that provides us with coupons and price comparisons whenever we’re shopping online.
Microsoft itself is betting big on these capabilities in Microsoft Edge, and they are already live in the latest stable version of the browser.
“Microsoft Edge is the best browser for shopping this holiday. In fact, Microsoft Edge is the only browser with built-in tools to help you save time and money while shopping online with new features like auto-fill coupons and more proactive price comparisons. And this month, our new shopping hub, Shop the Look, and deals hub in Microsoft Bing make shopping even easier and quicker than before. And with many of us online more than ever, we want to be sure we’re safe when shopping online,” Microsoft said a few weeks ago.
And the software giant just doesn’t stop here. The company uses every single occasion to highlight how its browser is better than the ones built by rivals, including here Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
“Microsoft Edge is more secure than Chrome and Firefox by offering better protection against phishing and malware attacks on Windows 10. Just another reason to switch to Microsoft Edge. If you haven’t yet tried the new Microsoft Edge, launch it on your Windows PC and give it a spin. If you’re on a Mac or mobile device download it and let us know what you think!” the company said.
But as I said, what I like the most about Microsoft Edge is this new approach that lets users choose how they want the browser to work. The aforementioned shopping capabilities, for example, can be disabled in a matter of seconds, and certainly, this straightforward approach from one end to another is good news for the future of the browser in the long term.
Third-party statistics indicate Microsoft Edge is already the world’s second most-used browser on the desktop, as it managed to overtake Mozilla Firefox shortly after its debut earlier this year. Of course, it’s still far from Google Chrome, which controls some 70 percent of the desktop market (so more than 7 in 10 PCs out there run Google’s browser), but thanks to all these improvements, there’s no doubt Edge is already heading in the right direction.
In the meantime, if you haven’t tried Microsoft Edge just yet, you really should. And you don’t have to be a Microsoft user to like it, as there’s a little something for everybody in there.