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New Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge browser leaks online
An early-build copy of Microsoft Corp.’s new Chromium-based Edge browser has been leaked online, giving a first look at what the software giant has in store for its latest browser incarnation.
Microsoft was first reported to be developing a new version of Edge based on Chromium, the open source code base used by Google Chrome, on Dec. 4, with a report Dec.6 suggesting that Microsoft was also developing a version for Mac computers.
Edge was first released alongside Windows 10 in 2015 as a replacement to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer but failed to gain traction despite having been built from the ground up. As of February, Edge held a 4.33 percent market share versus Internet Explorer at 10 percent and Chrome at 65 percent.
Microsoft offering a Chromium-based version of Edge opens the browser up to support for existing Chrome add-ons and extensions, immediately extending its appeal. The leaked early build of the new version of Edge, which is available from a number of file sharing and BitTorrent sites, shows a browser that looks a lot like Chrome, albeit with a Microsoft design laid on top.
According to Thurrott over the weekend, the new version of Edge integrates with a Microsoft account and includes an onboarding experience that allows users to import Chrome and other browser setting and configurations.
Support for extensions is offered via both the Microsoft Store and the Chrome Store, though at least in the early build, not all extensions are said to be working perfectly. In addition to supporting Chrome extensions, the new version of Edge is also said to have a dark mode, something that is only in testing with Chrome for now.
Microsoft has not officially given a date for the final release of the new Edge, but the leak and its features already have some suggesting that it may offer a serious challenge to Chrome.
“As Windows dominates the desktop/laptop OS market and if Edge performs and offers the same features as Chrome, including full access to Chrome’s extensions, many users may just use Edge instead,” Lawrence Abrams at Bleeping Computer wrote. “This could offer more control to Microsoft who may be able to influence how the browser is developed and what new web standards are pushed.”
Image: Microsoft
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