This June, Microsoft started claiming aggressively that the battery life of its Edge browser is extraordinary, especially when it comes to streaming media.
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In re-running Google’s tests, Microsoft is taking quite an aggressive approach to pushing Edge. By using the same Netflix test which is looping a streaming video, Microsoft claimed that Edge lasted for 8 hours and 47 minutes compared to a duration of 6 hours and 3 minutes shown by Chrome.
As The Inquirer pointed out, Microsoft did also run the tests with the newer versions of the browsers (apart from Firefox), but it’s the older versions that create the headline figures.
For instance, browser makers long ago gave up juxtaposing the applications on the basis of rendering speed or other performance metrics; the results had grown increasingly close and of little use even as a promotional tool.
In Microsoft’s browser efficiency test on Windows 10, Edge got a better score than both Google Chrome 53 and Opera 39. The results are nearly exactly the same: Edge lasted 69 percent longer than Firefox, 45 percent longer than Chrome, and 23 percent longer than Opera (in battery-saver mode).
The Windows company recently announced that its revamped web browser, Microsoft Edge, is the most battery-efficient browser on Windows 10.
Of course, Microsoft used this occasion to praise Edge and highlight the features that are part of the Anniversary Update, suggesting that more improvements would come in the next releases too, including the Redstone 2 update due in spring 2017.
Redmond is pushing power efficiency as one more reason for enterprise clients to stick with its Edge browser over the competition.
Second, even if other competitors want to optimize for the exact same things, they may not be able to do so because they have no idea of what exactly were the tests comprised.
The most recent battles have been fought over which browser is the most battery efficient. Microsoft’s tests are also used to take a swipe at Opera and Firefox.
Even so, there are caveats. But Microsoft has greater aspirations for Edge, and it’s working hard to make it a real browser.
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But while Microsoft is like a dog with a bone, unwilling to let the battery issue lie, it ignores one very important factor: people are looking for much, much more from their web browser than just decent battery life.
