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Sunday, April 2, 2023

Review: Microsoft Edge

So it is time to take a look at  Microsoft Edge and give it a chance as my daily driver browser.

I'm traditionally and since many years a avid Firefox user. It has been my primary web browser since many years now, it feels like I have used Firefox for the past 10 years at least.

Design, speed, privacy has been a few of the keywords that made me choose Firefox above Chrome, until recently it has been my go to browser in my private life. For work I've used Microsoft Edge for the past three to four years. Let's be honest, a lot of the reason why I've stuck with Firefox is also habit.

Some things I liked with Firefox, that is not necessarily exclusive to that specific browser is the sync between computer and phone. It also has a generally nice password manager that is easy to use. It also felt good standing up to the big corporations. As of late I also discovered the nightly version, which basically keeps the browser with the latest consumer available updates at the expense of a few bugs (but seeing as it is my private browser it doesn't impact my browsing experience).

I'm not leaving Firefox, but I might be moving over to Microsoft Edge and here is why:

With the recent rise of AI-based search engine improvements for Bing, it has created a really nice search experience. This in conjunction with the Microsoft Rewards has become a feedback loop. I use the search more and sometimes make use of the AI chat to get the right information. From the reward redeeming page I could calculate (based on one product) that 145 points equals 1 SEK. Remember that you also get points from searching in your phone, the easiest way to get points is to just make Bing your default so that the point keeps stacking up "passively".




Since I am making it my main browser I also had to import favorites and passwords, something which you easily do these days. Remember to also start syncing your data so that it is accessible in your phone.

Converting to a new browser religion also includes using the mobile app. Here I opted for the dev channel, simply out of curiosity. This is also where I have had the most issues with Microsoft Edge. The starting page is giving me the wrong temperature unit (showing Fahrenheit when I want Celsius) and there are also no extensions for the phone app. Which means that you can't use an adblocker like you can on Firefox mobile. So Firefox mobile is still my go to app when it comes to listening to long Youtube videos. On the computer there are a few addons and themes for the Edge browser, but you can also use the Chrome Web Store since the addons and themes are compatible with the chromium based browser Edge.

It also feels better when the choice is mine, and it is not a preloaded default. Setting Edge as my default and go to browser was my decision. So far I'm giving it 8/10 compared to 10/10 for Firefox. It seems marginally lighter on the resources as well.

Hope you found the review interesting, thank your for reading it.

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