Despite to be the world's number one desktop browser for some time, Ie has not been everyone's favorite browser, and the massive improvements that Google and Mozilla released for Chrome and Firefox provided users with alternatives that many embraced.

Microsoft introduced Edge browser with much fanfare in Windows 10, promising a really powerful rival towards the likes of Chrome and Firefox.

Eventually, Edge turned out to be just another failed experiment, and regardless of the pretty much significant improvements released as part of new Windows 10 feature updates, the new browser eventually didn't make a difference.

So at the end of 2018, Microsoft announced another major change in this regard, as it decided to migrate Microsoft Edge from the EdgeHTML engine to Chromium. This is actually the same engine that powers Google Chrome and a number of other browsers like Vivaldi.

Initially, switching to Chromium is viewed by many as living proof that Microsoft can't succeed in the browser market on its own. But after trying out the unofficial preview build of Edge browser, it becomes more obvious that Microsoft Edge can finally be a leading browser on the desktop and mobile.

"All Google Chrome features"

First and foremost, because it's based on Chromium, Microsoft Edge technically has all the features of Google Chrome, and Microsoft can provide its own touches to each update to specifically tailor it to match its own users list.

Quite simply, Microsoft Edge would no more lag behind rivals when it comes to features, and long-time Windows users certainly understand how important this is.

Google Chrome happens to be the key browser worldwide, and there's a good reason with this. The feature lineup plays a key role within the overall feature package, and today Microsoft Edge can score big in connection with this as well.

"Finally available cross-platform"

The Chromium engine also allows Microsoft to release Advantage on more platforms than just Windows 10.

This means the organization can significantly boost the quantity of users running its browser, as Edge would offer support for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7, but also for macOS and Linux.

Windows 10 and Windows 7 are presently the world's most popular desktop operating systems, and regardless of the latter reaching the end of support in January next year, it's still a widely-used platform around the globe. So there's without doubt that by making Edge on Windows 7, Microsoft not only that wins more users, but it can also convince some to upgrade to Windows 10 and enjoy the benefits of native integration.

Much like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge can also be available on mobile, and Microsoft releases updates for Android and iOS versions on a regular basis.

"The world's largest distribution platform"

One of the biggest advantages over Google Chrome is that Microsoft Edge would take advantage of the largest distribution platform around the desktop.

It's Windows itself, and Microsoft not just that will offer you Edge because the default Windows 10 browser, but it'll also encourage users running older versions from the OS to replace Ie (or other browsers) using its new app.

Windows 10 has end up being the number 1 desktop operating system after it were able to overtake Windows 7 some time ago, and the target for Microsoft is to take it to 1 billion devices worldwide. What this means is Microsoft Edge would come pre-installed on 1 billion devices, even though not everybody would stick to it, the chance to target this type of large audience is big.

Microsoft is projected to produce the new Edge browser later this year, but a preview build is going live every day now. An unofficial Microsoft Edge version is already up for grabs if you want to try it out.