Microsoft Edge

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Microsoft Edge

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Basic data

developer Microsoft
Publishing year 2015
Current  version 84.0.522.63
( August 20, 2020 )
operating system Windows , macOS ,  Android , iOS , Xbox One
programming language C ++
category Web browser
License EULA ( proprietary )
German speaking Yes
Website

Microsoft Edge is a web browser from the software manufacturer Microsoft . It was released on July 29, 2015 with Windows 10 and has replaced Internet Explorer as the standard browser on PCs , smartphones and tablet computers .

A previous version was released on March 30, 2015; On April 29, 2015, it was announced that the browser previously called Project Spartan was officially called Microsoft Edge. Versions for iOS and Android have been available since November 30, 2017.

Functions

Compared with Internet Explorer, Microsoft has announced three new features: Websites can use notes are provided and the document resulting similar to a screenshot be shared with friends or colleagues; a " reading mode " can hide elements that disrupt the flow of reading; and an Instapaper- like bookmark service is built into the browser.

Edge uses the newer EdgeHTML engine instead of the previous Trident HTML rendering engine . Edge no longer supports old technologies such as ActiveX and Browser Helper Objects ; instead, an extension system based on the new standard browser extensions is used, which is also supported by other browsers such as Firefox and Chrome . Almost 80% of the CSS properties with - prefix are no longer supported by Edge. Instead, Microsoft is bowing to the dominance of WebKit -based browsers in the mobile market and now supports the prefix for over 90 properties . The document modes supported in Internet Explorer, with which the browser can display websites as older browser versions did, have also been removed. Like Internet Explorer 10 and newer, Edge no longer supports conditional comments . -ms-webkit

Like Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge is firmly integrated into the operating system and can hardly be deleted due to the operating system. So Edge uses the built-in Windows 10 Adobe Flash - plug-in ; Microsoft Edge also displays PDF documents in the browser without any additional tools and installs automatic software updates using the Windows update function. Unlike Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Cortana voice assistant can be used with Edge .

Edge initially only supported the licensed codecs H.264 and H.265 for the HTML5 video element, but since version 14.14291, WebM videos with VP9 and Opus audio files can also be played.

Since the Creators Update (Windows 10 Version 1703), Edge also shows e-books in EPUB format, as long as they are not DRM- encrypted.

A version is available for Android based on Google Chrome's Blink rendering engine .

In December 2018, Microsoft announced that future versions of Edge would be based on Chromium and shortly afterwards versions for macOS as well as for the older operating systems Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 were released.

On January 15, 2020, the stable version was released via the Windows update and replaced the old Edge browser system-wide. It is supplied as standard in Windows 10 from version 20H2. The browser was also available for download and via the Windows update for the older Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating systems, although support for Windows 7 ended the day before.

Market shares

Market shares of browsers on desktop PCs worldwide (as of March 2020)
Google Chrome
  
 68.1%
Mozilla Firefox
  
 9.2%
Apple Safari
  
 8.9%
Microsoft Edge
  
 4.6%
Internet Explorer
  
 3.8%
Other
  
 5.4%

The browser struggled with acceptance problems. It was strongest in 2017/2018 with over 80 percent on the Xbox and on Windows Phone with around 70 percent. In the desktop segment (all platforms), it fluctuated over many months from October 2017 with little changes at just over four percent, of which 4.8 percent in Windows, although it is also preinstalled here. In all other areas, it is either not available or does not have any noteworthy market shares (average values ​​from August 2017 to August 2018). Since the end of 2019, Edge has been more common than IE, according to statistics from Net Marketshare. Edge has been more common than Firefox since April 2020.

criticism

When Windows 10 was released, Edge was considered unfinished. In the version supplied with Windows 10 Build 1607, the menu bar, among other things, can only be configured to a limited extent. Search engines only need to be inserted when you are on their website, the search engines cannot be removed again.

Sometimes there are display errors in Edge. Here you can visit the website with Internet Explorer . You can either initiate a manual switch to Internet Explorer (to the Trident Engine) every time you access it, or define “Enterprise Mode” rules for an automatic switch for certain pages in advance.

It is also criticized that users are prevented from using other browsers, which is not permitted for reasons of competition law. Microsoft already followed this practice in the so-called browser wars .

Microsoft saves address details of visited pages complete with parameters in unencrypted form. In the data protection declaration, anonymous use is granted, but the unique account ID (SID) is transferred. Other browsers store checksums of visited pages in encrypted form in order to warn of dangerous page views.

Since June 2020, Edge has also been installed with Windows updates of older versions without being asked and browser data from other browsers is automatically copied into the Edge environment.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release notes for Microsoft Edge Stable Channel . (accessed on August 23, 2020).
  2. ↑ Microsoft Edge supported Operating Systems. Retrieved April 12, 2020 (English). Windows 7 - Microsoft Edge support until July 15, 2021 - Windows 10 from 1709. Retrieved on April 12, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Microsoft Edge for Android (from version 4.4). Retrieved July 12, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Microsoft Edge (from iOS 10.0). Retrieved October 18, 2019 .
  5. ^ This is Microsoft Edge, the replacement for Internet Explorer . April 29, 2015. Accessed May 1, 2015.
  6. ↑ Edge now available for iOS and Android
  7. ↑ Microsoft officially announces Project Spartan, its new web browser for Windows 10
  8. ↑ IE successor: Spartan shows up with Chrome Agent in Windows 10. Golem.de, January 27, 2015, accessed on January 28, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Jason Weber: Spartan and the Windows 10 January Preview Build . Microsoft. January 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ heise.de: Microsoft Edge buries proprietary Internet Explorer technologies from May 7, 2015, accessed on August 5, 2019
  11. ^ Can I Use. Retrieved April 26, 2019 .
  12. ↑ WebM, VP9 and Opus Support in Microsoft Edge . Windows Blog. April 18, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  13. ↑ Microsoft releases Edge for Android - based on Chrome. In: derStandard.at. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Microsoft Edge goes Chromium (and macOS). In: TechCrunch. Retrieved December 6, 2018 (American English).
  15. ↑ Microsoft Edge Team: What to expect in the new Microsoft Edge Insider Channels. In: Windows Blog. Microsoft Corporation, April 8, 2019, accessed May 4, 2019 .
  16. ↑ The new Microsoft Edge is available for Windows 10, version 1903 and 1909. Microsoft , accessed February 28, 2020 .
  17. ↑ What's next for Windows 10 updates. Microsoft , accessed June 23, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Update for the new Microsoft Edge for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1: 17. June 2020. Microsoft , accessed June 23, 2020 .
  19. ↑ Witold Pryjda: Microsoft: Windows 7 is dead! Also Microsoft: Here, Edge for Windows 7. In: WinFuture. January 16, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Desktop Browser Market Share Worldwide - March 2020. In: StatCounter. Retrieved April 5, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Edge 8/2017 to 8/2018 at netmarketshare.com, accessed on August 29, 2018
  22. ↑ Distribution of Internet Explorer and Edge 2019/20. In: Net Marketshare. Retrieved March 14, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Darren Allan April 03, 2020: Firefox's popularity falls further as Microsoft Edge becomes second most popular web browser after Chrome. Retrieved April 5, 2020 .
  24. ^ Daniel Berger: Ade, IE! Edge: the new standard browser for Windows 10. heise.de, July 24, 2015, accessed on August 24, 2015 .
  25. ↑ a b Microsoft Edge Team: How Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 work better together in the Enterprise. microsoft.com, August 26, 2015, accessed September 1, 2015 .
  26. ↑ Chris Beard : An Open Letter to Microsoft's CEO: Don't Roll Back the Clock on Choice and Control. In: The Mozilla Blog. Mozilla Foundation , July 31, 2015, accessed August 16, 2015 .
  27. ↑ Daniel Berger: Mozilla criticizes Microsoft: Windows 10 makes it difficult to choose a browser. In: heise online. Heise Medien GmbH & Co. KG, July 31, 2015, accessed on August 16, 2015 .
  28. ↑ Windows 10 annoys testers with browser regulations. Retrieved July 18, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Stay away from this Microsoft browser! He has this dangerous disadvantage. futurezone.de, accessed on July 29, 2019 .
  30. ↑ Microsoft Edge uses Firefox data: Now the software giant is commenting on it. In: chip.de , June 30, 2020, accessed on July 1, 2020.