A pre-release of Microsoft Edge under Chromium has leaked and it could upset the highly competitive market of Internet browsers. If the Windows 10 browser relies on the Chrome engine, who will still want to install Google's browser?





The current browser market is essentially a fight between three competitors: Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge, each using its own rendering engine. However, Microsoft announced last December to abandon the software in its current form to rely on Chromium, the project that is the basis for Google Chrome. That means the end of the EdgeHTML rendering engine, and therefore the use of the Blink engine, like Chrome or Opera.





If Microsoft has not yet launched a public beta of the new version of the Edge under Chromium, some have been able to get their hands on the development version, which has the number 75.0.3744.0. The result is a browser that looks and works like Google Chrome. This could harm Google because it will be integrated directly into Windows 10. Why install Chrome if the computer already has a browser almost identical? This could have a big influence on the web to come, the two giants must now cooperate for the evolution of the Chromium project and the adoption of new standards.





A little more than a copy and paste of Chrome





This version of Edge 75, however, brings differences with Chrome and reveals a little more the vision of Microsoft for its browser. The transition from Chrome is very simple since Edge offers to directly import favorites, history and other personal data. Microsoft has changed the layout of the interface to be consistent with other software in the firm, such as adding a menu on the left side of the settings. The Redmond giant has also added its own services to replace those that Google includes in Chrome, such as Windows Defender SmartScreen, which fulfills the same role as secure browsing.





Microsoft has also created a browser extension catalog for beta testers, which contains over 80 add-ons like Adblock, Boomerang, LastPass, and Dashlane. This catalog should fill up quickly enough, the new version of Edge is compatible with the extensions of Chrome . It will, however, allow in the settings installation from the catalog of Chrome, Edge considering all other sources as "unverified".





A pre-version still in development





Finally, Microsoft has also added new "flags", experimental hidden options. To access features still in development, either on Chrome or Edge, just go to the address chrome: // flags. Additions in Edge include rendering Microsoft Fluent style forms, a dark theme, DRM PlayReady protection, and installing extensions from the Microsoft Store.



