Microsoft Edge is a web browser developed by Microsoft and released in 2015. It replaced Internet Explorer as the default web browser on Windows Operating Systems. It is built on the same engine as Google Chrome but with a redesigned user interface and additional features.
Edge includes features such as highlighting web pages using a stylus. It also has a built-in reading mode to improve the readability of web pages and the ability to pin tabs for quick access.
Edge also includes support for extensions, allowing users to customize their browsing experience. These extensions are available from the Microsoft Store and can be added easily. It can also use extensions from other web stores, such as the Google web store.
Edge offers improved security features over Internet Explorer, including features such as SmartScreen to help protect users from malicious websites and users from malicious downloads.
Is Microsoft Edge a good browser or not?
Microsoft Edge was redesigned and released based on Chromium and was rebuilt with Blink and V8 engines. It has seen a lot of performance improvements and the addition of new features.
Thanks to its backward compatibility with its counterpart, Internet Explorer, Edge supports most old web pages and loads them quickly.
Pros of Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge is fast and responsive, responding faster than some modern web browsers. It features a SmartScreen which warns users about harmful websites before loading and prevents them from downloading malicious software and files.
It comes with an immersive reading mode that filters distractions from web pages and allows users to continue reading articles without any interruptions. A read-aloud option is also present, which allows users to listen to the websites they visit.
The web browser can annotate PDFs with features like adding text, editing, and highlighting, which most premium applications and web browsers do not feature. It has a library of extensions on its web store with the option to add extensions from other web stores, which helps users get a seamless browsing experience.
Edge comes with a performance optimization option that can be used to add inactive website tabs to sleep mode to save RAM. The website is quickly re-activated when the tab is opened.
Cons of Microsoft Edge
Microsoft has a record of collecting data from users, which is no different for its web browser, Edge. Edge also has a very limited amount of options to customize and change layouts and appearance.
Conclusion
Microsoft Edge is currently one of the best web browsers. It has some of the most advanced features yet to be introduced in most modern web browsers.
Although it collects data which is a privacy concern, it is common for most web browsers to do the same. Furthermore, it has better privacy compared to most of its competitors.
It is widely available on most platforms, such as Windows, iOS, Android, and macOS, and will soon be available for Linux, making it great to sync around multiple devices.