Microsoft Edge has now become the second most popular web browser after Google Chrome. Microsoft’s offering leapfrogged to the second spot, leaving Mozilla Firefox behind, statistics portal NetMarketShare said. This is the first time ever that the desktop version of Microsoft Edge has surpassed Mozilla Firefox in market share.
Microsoft Edge captured 7.59 per cent market share, that is, 0.40 per cent higher than Firefox’s 7.19 per cent. Google Chrome maintained its lead with 68.50 per cent share. According to NetMarketShare, Firefox's share was at 9.27 per cent in March 2019, but in March 2020 it dropped by about two per cent. Microsoft Edge, on the other hand, had a 5.20 per cent market share in March 2019.
While it may not be a big margin, the numbers show that Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge is gaining popularity. The company unveiled the browser in November last year and launched it in January. It is able to use all the extensions available in the Chrome web store and supports all versions of Windows and macOS.
It also has a reader mode and has the ability to switch profiles. Apart from features, the Microsoft Edge also boasts security features like built-in tracking security and Collections – Microsoft’s take on bookmarking. To put it in layman’s words, the new Edge browser is basically Google Chrome with a Microsoft skin.
