Microsoft to replace Edge with a Chromium-based browser 'Anaheim'

Microsoft Edge has failed to be marketable in comparison to its entrants, since the launch of Edge back in 2015. Windows Central reports that Microsoft is working on a replacement for its Edge browser – which is the default option in Windows 10 – that will use Google’s Chromium base under the hood. Microsoft could announce its replacement as early as this week.

Microsoft swap out the EdgeHTML engine it built from scratch for the one that’s part of the open source Chromium base, and powers Google Chrome, Opera, and Brave. Besides what Windows Central has heard, the rumor is supported by code contributions made to the Chromium project by Microsoft engineers. The new browser is said to have been codenamed ‘Anaheim.’ 

The move could help fix some of the performance issues that have plagued Edge for some time now – though it’s possible that, like Chrome, Microsoft’s browser could eventually become a memory hog with its new underlying platform. It’s still unclear as to whether the new browser will be called Edge or get a whole new brand, and whether it’ll get a different user interface. The Chromium-powered browser would likely have more flexibility, should the company ever choose to really go all in on a Chromebook competitor, rather than pushing a stripped-down version of Windows 10. 

According to analytics service Net Applications, Edge currently has a 4.2 percent share of the browser market as of this November, while Chrome is at 65.6 percent. It remains to be seen if improved performance and stability will be enough to get more folks on Windows 10 to switch from Google’s offering in the near future.

All of this is still early for the project that has been floating around with the internal name “Anaheim”, but Internet Explorer’s replacement will hopefully address some stability and compatibility issues that have hampered adoption. It could also help the browser work better on those ARM-powered Windows machines.

Microsoft is going to need some help on that front if it hopes to regain a solid chunk of the browser market share from Google. According to recent numbers, Chrome controls well over half of the global browser market.