The news that Microsoft will switch to Chromium for its Microsoft Edge browser comes as a big surprise given the effort the tech giant put into making EdgeHTML a success.
And while this transition makes sense, considering how slowly Microsoft Edge has improved, opinions on whether it's the right move for the industry are mixed. Google, for example, has no reason to be unhappy with Microsoft finally giving in and moving into the Chromium era.
“Chrome has been a pioneer of the web since the beginning, and we’re excited to welcome Microsoft to the Chromium community of partners,” a company spokesperson says. “We look forward to working with Microsoft to advance the open web, support user choice, and deliver great browsing experiences.”.
With Microsoft promising substantial contributions to Chromium, there is a strong possibility that the entire industry will benefit from this decision, including browsers based on the same technology, such as Google Chrome and Vivaldi.
But on the other hand, Mozilla has no reason to be happy with Microsoft's move to Chromium. The company says that while this decision gives Google a significant advantage in the browser market, it will continue to invest in its own browser in order to offer consumers a strong alternative to Google Chrome.
“Microsoft’s choice simply increases the importance of Mozilla Firefox’s role as the only independent choice. We are not going to back down in believing that Google’s Chrome is the only choice consumers should have. That’s why we built Firefox and we will always fight for a truly open web,” a Mozilla spokesperson said.
Microsoft says the first preview build of the new Microsoft Edge will be ready for testing in early 2019, with the final version due next year.
