Microsoft Edge revamp: Google Chromium-powered browser brings new design, Chrome apps

Microsoft’s revamped Edge browser supports Chrome applications. Are the changes good enough for you to switch the browser?

Microsoft’s new Chromium-powered Edge browser leaked (Microsoft)

Microsoft last year embraced Google's Chromium open-source engine to rebuild its Edge browser. The revamped Edge browser, however, looks very similar to Google's Chrome browser and even supports apps from Chrome store.

Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser is expected to be available to Windows Insiders very soon. Ahead of an official release, a few publications have gotten access to the new browser. Windows Central has published a detailed walkthrough of the browser as well.

Google Chrome currently dominates the desktop browser market. According to statista, Chrome has the highest market share at 67.7% followed by Firefox at 10.96%. Microsoft's dated Internet Explorer is the third most popular app (6.97%) whereas Edge ranks fifth with mere 4.24% shares.

Google Chrome-lookalike

Microsoft Edge will now look very similar to Google Chrome. For instance, it has an account profile on the top right corner followed by a three-dots menu option. The profile allows users to sync Edge data across all devices. Users can sign in with their Microsoft accounts.

The home screen has Chrome-like search engine box followed by shortcuts to frequently visited websites. You can also personalise the background and overall layout of the home screen.

Microsoft touch

Microsoft has retained some of its core features. For instance, users can launch a News Feed powered by Bing search engine. Users can also personalise the News Feed content. If you're setting up the browser for the first time, you can import browser data from other browsers as well. Microsoft has also introduced a range of customisation features such as giving flexibility to give or withdraw separate site permissions like cookies, Java Script, flash among others.

Chrome applications

While Microsoft already offers extensions for Edge browser, users can now also install Chrome extensions from Google's store. Users can do so by switching the settings for extensions. According to TheVerge, Microsoft Edge browser supports extensions such as like 1Password and Ghostery just like Chrome.