Here's how it will be Edge based on Chromium: the first online photos appear

In the past few hours, some photos of what should be the Chromium-based Edge browser on which Microsoft's dedicated team is working in recent weeks have been leaked online . According to the screenshots, the multinational based in Redmond is working on a development cycle not too different from that of Chrome, with a "Canary" channel with daily developments, and a "Dev" channel with weekly developments.

Based on what you learn from the images the new browser will be very similar to what you would expect from a software based on Chromium, only where Chrome uses the Google account for synchronization, the new Edge will use a Microsoft account . The same goes for extensions: where Chrome uses the Chrome Web Store, Edge will use the Microsoft Store . The homepage will adopt Bing by default, and not Google, while the links to the news will be those of Microsoft News.

What changes in a clear way is the Settings page, which adopts the typical style of Windows 10, both in terms of the arrangement of the elements, both for the characters used. The fact is that what appears in the photos is a browser very similar to Chrome , and probably this is not the best way to win the trust of new users: why should switch to Edge, if it is almost identical to Chrome?

The Chromium-based Edge may lose all of its distinctive features, such as modern graphics or the ability to preview tabs by hovering over them, representing a kind of involution compared to Microsoft's original vision. In addition, today Microsoft can offer unique features with its own browser, which will probably be completely abandoned with the new version.

And, more importantly, the new Chromium-based Edge will be an app not entirely cohesive with the stylistic language born and developed with Windows 10 . Many of the typical features of Edge may come back with future versions of the browser, but in the meantime the new browser will be just another alternative to Chrome (like Firefox, Brave or Vivaldi), far removed from the revolutionary plans that Microsoft had with its Edge at the launch.