Edge vs Edge C

Silver Contributor

Certainly, this is not based any fancy lab testing or results, just on using the 2 for the same things on the same gear... just regular, similar use.  After a few weeks since April can comment on some observations.

This applies to Dev & Canary vs Edge in the same computer.

Edge C, in general, is overall very noticeably quicker to open, load, change pages & or do actions in or with sites & pages. Edge C takes less time & is just blatantly obviously faster, snappier & acting more 'enthusiastic' than, (current) Edge.  Not saying Edge performance is poor, not at all.  But, good as it may be, it sure does seem, comparatively, that Edge C is in a class or league of its own.

Nor are resource demands or usage being concerning, at all.

Albeit, one person's experience, only point being it's enough of a difference can't help but notice it.  Everyday, normal activity seems to show & suggest what one can expect from Edge C.

Cheers,
Drew
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6 Replies

@Drew1903  This was the first thing I noticed when trying new Edge also, keep up the good work.

@Drew1903  I browser hop between Edge Dev, Edge Canary, previous Edge & Firefox which is my current default browser. I agree with you the new Edge based on Chromium seems very quick.

@Drew1903  My impression is that Edge Chromium is fast, and faster than EdgeHTML.

 

I have two caveats, though: 

 

(1)  Impressions are one thing, data another.  I'd like to see benchmark test results comparing Edge Chromium performance with EdgeHTML, Google Chrome and Firefox.

 

(2)  Edge Chromium is in an early stage of development, stripped of Google components but not yet loaded with Microsoft components.  Results may be different after Edge Chromium is fully developed.

 

@tomscharbach 

Surely someone or lab will put forth something allegedly more 'scientific' than our on-going observations.  But, yes, will be interesting to see if & by how much it confirms what we see or not.

Actually, I considered #2 before writing the OP.  And certainly can affect things down the road.  My point, right now, was that seeing how Edge C, comparatively, is working it hints at a lot of potential for satisfying performance in the long-term. Also, although I can't cite links or articles, it's my understanding that MS is striving to have this not weighted down by stuff.  Tech being used the avoids or lessens some of the negatives one has come to expect.

A colleague in PA was asking, "It's a new Edge, not a Chrome clone, right?" As I said to him: Chromium (based) does not = Chrome (or Google).  Edge is MS & it's my impression that MS wants to keep the MS Edge identity, Edge style & approach to things like Features & functionality & methods.  Anyway, my understanding as to the 'goals' is have a new Edge including the good of Edge & Chromium whilst, excluding the bad of Chrome & google.  (Whatever one may feel the good & or bad in any of it to be)

Cheers,
Drew
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@Drew1903  "Surely someone or lab will put forth something allegedly more 'scientific' than our on-going observations. But, yes, will be interesting to see if & by how much it confirms what we see or not."

 

Benchmarks (Jetstream, Octane, SunSpider, etc.) measure browser handling of specific processes/components of websites (Javascript, WebAssembly, etc.).

 

Obviously, since Chromium-based browsers share the same DNA, so to speak, benchmarks that test handling for specific processes/components are likely to be similar across the half-dozen or so mainstream Chromium-based browsers. Equally obviously, benchmarks are more useful for comparing browsers with different DNA (e.g. Google Chrome (Blink), Edge (EdgeHTML) and Firefox Quantum (WebRender)) than for comparing browsers with identical DNA. So I don't expect to see too much difference between benchmarks for Edge Chromium and Google Chrome, although I do expect to see differences between Chromium-based browsers and Firefox Quantum.

 

Benchmarks, however, may or may not reflect real-world click-to-view speed, which is the basis on which user perception is formed. Click-to-view depends on factors not measured by standard benchmarks.

 

You will recall, I imagine, that Microsoft issued a series of ads in early 2018 claiming that "Microsoft Edge is up to 48 percent faster than Google Chrome ...", based on a selection of benchmark results. Yet user perception seems to have been (and continues to be) that Google Chrome was "faster" than EdgeHTML, and the comments in this thread suggest that Edge Chromium is "faster" than EdgeHTML, as well.  Benchmarks aren't everything.

 

It might be interesting to see whether user perceptions of Google Chrome and Edge Chromium differ at this point, and how those perceptions differ. That might or might not mean something at this stage in Edge Chromium's development. Google Chrome is tightly integrated into the Google ecosystem, and Edge Chromium is not yet fully integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem, and I expect that we'll see differences in what features/functions are baked into each browser.

 

Except for integration into the Google ecosystem, Google Chrome has few features/functions baked in, and my impression (based on the comments in this forum, among other things) that many Google Chrome users are heavily dependent on flags and extensions to optimize user experience in terms of features/functions. Microsoft might or might not follow that "roll-your-own" architecture, and everything baked into a browser affects click-to-view performance.

 

Come December or so (assuming that Edge Chromium development is aimed toward release with W10 20H1) we might have a better idea of where this is headed.

 

"My point, right now, was that seeing how Edge C, comparatively, is working it hints at a lot of potential for satisfying performance in the long-term. Also, although I can't cite links or articles, it's my understanding that MS is striving to have this not weighted down by stuff. ... Edge is MS & it's my impression that MS wants to keep the MS Edge identity, Edge style & approach to things like Features & functionality & methods."

 

We will just have to see, I suppose, but I quietly suggest that Microsoft's history has been to include features/functions in the browser itself rather than to force users to depend on "roll-your-own" flags/extension, and that the more features/functions are baked into Edge Chromium, the less likely it is that users will perceive a major difference in click-to-view performance.

 

I'm hoping that Microsoft will adopt a balanced approach, rather than follow Google's example.

 

@tomscharbach 

Yes, Tom. Can, really, take more or the most stock in & respect for 'real-world' End User experience, reaction & feedback.  Thus far E Insiders seem impressed. One hopes it points to a bright (still, likable) future for Edge & high adoption numbers.

Cheers,
Drew
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