Microsoft shift to Chronium Engine

One of those audiences may be macOS users, who despite not clamoring for Edge should have access to Microsoft’s browser at some point.

Edge, which Microsoft trumpeted as its “modern” browser, advanced at a torpid pace. At its speediest, that tempo meant Microsoft added new features to Edge only every six months. Edge was a tortoise when compared to Chrome’s and Firefox’s update cycles.

Microsoft halted all work on IE

Microsoft called it quits on IE with version 11, the one included with Windows 10. From 10’s mid-2015 debut, IE was maintained, yes, with security fixes, but new features? Not a chance. Instead, the company devoted all its browser-building resources to Edge.

That meant Microsoft abandoned almost all of its customers to the competition. At the beginning of 2016, about 89% of all Windows PCs ran Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 or 8.1. Nearly 9 out of every 10 Windows machines, then, looked at a dead-man-walking browser if they ran IE. With IE in stasis, and Chrome and Firefox upgrading seven or eight times annually, it’s no surprise that users deserted IE for something fresher.