Microsoft claims Edge consumes 70% less battery power than Google Chrome

Which browser are you using on your Windows 10 PC? For most people, the answer is simple. Google Chrome is near ubiquitous in culture, attached to a “cool” brand and chock full of whatever extensions you want.

It’s also available on the two popular mobile platforms, iOS and Android. With that in mind, one would be hard-pressed to find a reason not to simple go with the flow and make use of Google’s Chrome browser for browsing the web.

Microsoft hopes to change that soon and shift more users on to its Edge browser for Windows 10 devices. In a test carried out by Microsoft’s Edge team utilizing the top 4 browsers – Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera – Microsoft’s Edge browser came out on top.

So there's been a lot of talk about ? in browsers lately. We decided to get scientific about it. https://t.co/FAPrT3q2f2

— Kyle Pflug (@kylealden) June 20, 2016

On the @windowsblog: Get more out of your battery with Microsoft Edge https://t.co/NNsdCMEyI7 pic.twitter.com/FpfnWtPknk

— Microsoft Edge Dev (@MSEdgeDev) June 20, 2016

https://youtu.be/rjrxOOfi54k

Now, while users may be cynical in observing that of course a test carried out by Microsoft would have Microsoft technologies coming out on top, this isn’t the first time Google Chrome has been dinged for gobbling up power on both Windows and macOS (formerly OSX). Edge is both lighter and faster to start-up, and exclsively integrated with Windows for use with Cortana.

For power users though, Edge lacks common features like saving web pages and extension support among others. While the latter is scheduled for a release in the anniversary update next month, small features like the former make end up keeping users off Edge full-time, moreso than battery life.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, Edge is lighter on your battery life, supports WebRTC for web streaming and is slicker and easier to use. For users who don’t particularly mind, there isn’t much of a reason not to use Edge. Nevertheless, Its up to Microsoft to improve the list of definitive and decisive advantages Edge has over other browsers than simply relying on battery life and speed.