Microsoft’s new browser already out-performs Chrome, wuut?

Microsoft Edge is the new browser you’ll want to try

Microsoft is celebrating the launch of Windows 10 in a big way. After years of developers’ persistent nagging about the pitfalls of Internet Explorer, Microsoft has finally reinventing their browser. The new browser, Microsoft Edge, is reported to be 112% faster than Chrome. You read that right: 112% faster.

This is a huge step up from the sluggishly slow speeds IE users have been accustomed to. If you’re a bit suspicious about how Microsoft measured this speed, they used benchmarks created by Apple and Google teams. Microsoft’s latest blog post makes it clear that they are excited about their impending Windows 10 launch.

Optimizing, tweaking, and more optimizing

Gabe Au, Head of the Windows Insider program, announced the performance findings, stating, “the Edge team has been continuing to optimize performance since first adding the new browser to Windows 10. In this build, Microsoft Edge is even better and is beating Chrome and Safari on their own JavaScript benchmarks.”

He goes on to state, “on WebKit, Sunspider Edge is 112% faster than Chrome; on Google Octane, Edge is 11% faster than Chrome; and on Apple JetStream, Edge is 37% faster than Chrome. [Microsoft] is really pleased with those performance gains and we hope that you’ll enjoy faster browsing with Microsoft Edge along with the many great features we’ve added over the last several builds.”

If you’re unfamiliar with these programs, SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark is developed by the Apple Webkit development team. While it is intended for the iOS, Mac, and Windows versions of Safari that are powered by the Webkit engine, it is popularly used to benchmark browsers across platforms.

Are these figures accurate?

I have heard some scuttlebutt that third-party benchmark testing tools are not coming up with the same figures, but this could be due to Microsoft’s not releasing the full, final version of Edge to beta-testers. They may be holding back until their final release, although I do not know this to be a fact.

However, if these figures are true, then it’s time to re-evaluate which browser you use, especially if you are already using the Microsoft ecosystem; Edge is expected to turbo-charge your browsing experience.