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Microsoft is reportedly working on a new browser based on Chromium. This would eventually replace Edge as the standard browser in Windows 10, according to Windows Central.

Edge saw the light of day in 2015 together with Windows 10, but hasn’t been able to get much traction since then, no matter how hard Microsoft tries. Today, with a market share of 4.34 percent, even Internet Explorer (11.19%) still has to endure on the desktop (figures according to NetMarketShare).

Microsoft built Edge based on the new rendering engine EdgeHTML. It made the browser fast, light and secure. However, many problems arose during the launch, so that users and web developers quickly ignored the browser and Edge never had a fair chance.

Anaheim

According to information from Windows Central, Microsoft is therefore throwing in the towel with EdgeHTML and working on a new browser based on Chromium. This is the rendering engine that was first made popular by Chrome, but also drives several smaller browsers.

The new browser is being used internally by Microsoft under the name of Anaheim and could already appear in the next major feature update of Windows 10 (19H1). According to Windows Central, it is not yet clear whether the browser will eventually appear under the Edge brand name or be given a new name.

Chromium

The choice for Chromium means that the new browser will behave in the same way as Google Chrome. With a market share of more than 60 percent, Chrome is by far the most popular browser, so websites and online services are almost always optimized for this.

In addition, greater adoption of Microsoft’s desktop browser could also boost its mobile variants. They already work today with the native engines of Android and iOS, respectively.

It was previously known that Microsoft developers had contributed code to the open source Chromium project, which seems to support Windows Central’s reporting. If the news is correct, it could be an important step for Microsoft to re-establish its presence in the browser market.

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.