On the Edge of Success: Why Microsoft Edge Failed (Topic)

Microsoft Edge has all the prerequisites to be successful. But in two years, he never managed to gain any large market share. Why did this happen and what is it lacking to compete with the leader Google Chrome?

In March 2015, as part of the next preview build of Windows 10, a new browser appeared, which replaced Internet Explorer. It was called Project Spartan. A month later, the developer announced that the browser was dubbed Microsoft Edge.

Windows 10 was officially released on July 29, 2015 . A year and a month later, in August 2016, the Anniversary Update was released, which added support for extensions for Edge. There are still not many of them, but the main ones, like ad blockers, are available. Microsoft Edge outperforms even Google Chrome in various tests.

It is more economical than other browsers in terms of battery consumption on laptops. By googling the reviews, you can see that users generally agree on the performance and economy of Edge. But it's the end of 2017, and its share of the browser market is 4.43%. It grew by less than two percent in a year.

This is called failure

And if you look closely, such a failure does not look surprising. Performance doesn't equal functionality. The user is not so critical that the page will load two milliseconds faster. But the inability to select text on this page, and right-click to select the option to search for the selected one in Yandex or Google is already a tangible inconvenience.

Instead, the context menu contains the " read aloud " item. The lack of elements that have long been presented in other browsers, having become essentially basic, and questionable innovations in return - that's the first problem.

The second is the distribution model. Edge only ships with Windows 10, and this is a major flaw. Overboard, users of Windows 7, which is still installed on 42% of the world's computers, are Windows 8 and Linux.

And even in Windows 10, the browser is not available in all editions - it is not in the Enterprise (LTSB) version. One would assume that Microsoft chose to go Apple's path by making Edge exclusive, like Safari for Mac OS. But why release an Android version then?

In addition, it is naive to think that it is enough to preinstall the browser on the system to start using it en masse. The "Google model" works, when advertising is pouring from everywhere, and every second program installer contains the option "try Google Chrome". Of course, this method will not work if the product itself is bad, but Edge is competitive, but it has 4% of the market, while Chrome has 63%.

A third point could be added. Whatever one may say, there is a trail of problematic Internet Explorer behind Edge, and many users do not believe in the built-in browser out of habit. It cannot be ruled out that Microsoft's over-data collection scandals also have an impact. But in reality, if not for the limited platforms and passive distribution model, these things would not play a special role. Google is also accused of aggressive data collection, so what?

Honestly, it's a shame for the guys from Redmond: they made an overall worthwhile product, and there were not a couple of steps to success. It remains to be hoped that this is still a question for the future. Do you use Microsoft Edge?

The Topic of Article: On the Edge of Success: Why Microsoft Edge Failed.
Author: Jake Pinkman