Microsoft announced in 2018 that it would launch an Edge browser built on Chromium, and launched a new version of Edge in January 2020. Now, after three years, according to statistics, the market share of Edge’s entire platform is only 4.23%. If only the desktop is considered, Edge’s market share is 10.98%. Both figures are far behind Chrome’s 64.68%. and 66.14%.
In addition, Edge is now the default browser of the Windows system, such a market share and development speed can only be said to be unsatisfactory.
To make Edge more competitive with Chrome, Microsoft has an internal project called Edge Phoenix, which has been in development since 2022 and is an internal redesign of the Edge browser. Microsoft uses the browser to collect changes and feedback internally, and then make development decisions based on this.
Twitter netizen WalkingCat and foreign media Windows Central recently shared some of their findings.
The animation above shows the Split View feature currently being developed by Microsoft, which allows users to display two web pages side by side in a single tab , rather than two different windows side by side. In this view, the address bar is divided into two, and the two URLs are displayed side by side, separated by "|". This feature is currently available in the development version of the Edge browser.
The picture above is a feature called Tab Activity Center that Microsoft is testing. This feature is similar to the screen usage time in iOS and the digital health function in Android. It can provide browser usage time, website usage time, Statistics about browser usage by website category, percentage, etc.
Another improvement in Phoenix is that Microsoft is considering better integration of Edge with the Windows system, including the ability to add Edge as a system-level password manager. Added to Windows reinstall or activation steps to provide a better out-of-the-box experience.
Other changes include a Windows 11-compatible user interface, with an updated UI with circular tabs and corresponding visual effects that make the browser look more like native Windows 11 apps. Users can enable the corresponding functions in the Edge development version through the following settings:
- Show Windows 11 visuals in title bar and toolbar:
edge://flags/#edge-visual-rejuv-mica - Enable circular label functionality:
edge://flags/#edge-visual-rejuv-rounded-tabs - Enable Windows 11 Acrylic effects in the menu:
edge://flags/#edge-visual-rejuv-materials-menu
Through these unique features, and deeper integration with Windows systems, Microsoft Edge should win some users' favor and make them switch camps. It's unclear if Microsoft plans to release all Edge Phoenix improvements at once, or if the feature will be rolled out gradually with subsequent releases. How many of our readers have already replaced Chrome with Edge?