Internet Explorer was Microsoft's main weapon on the early days of the internet. But after Google was born and created Chrome, and others browser maker bloomed out of nowhere, no, Internet Explorer slowly but surely, became an obsolete relic.
Chrome is the formidable web browser. Built on the Chromium project, it's the most popular browser ever. Microsoft had no chance of catching up with Internet Explorer, and that was why it launched Edge.
But again Edge didn't have a chance when it was using Microsoft own browser engine. Because of this, Microsoft had no choice but to join the crowd, and started using Chromium for Edge.
And things are finally coming to a change, as the the tides are finally turning, at least a bit.
According to a report from NetMarketshare, the Chromium-powered Edge is at this time, second only to Chrome.
It should be noted that Edge's achievement as the second most popular browser was first reported back in 2020, and at this time, Chrome has around 70% of the market, and Edge has a measly 8%.
But this number does not tell the whole story.
When accounting to only the number of users, the two browsers' market share is very distant. However, what's remarkable about Edge at this time, is its momentum.
According to a report from Statcounter, back in 2020, Edge was way behind Firefox, Safari and most other browsers. But in 2021, it quickly propelled itself up to become second.
Edge usage and growth are phenomenal.
Of course, Edge started from zero. And at such low level, even a small amount of growth can translate into an eye-popping percentage. But nevertheless, it's still impressive that Edge has gone from being virtually non-existent browser in terms of usage, to surpassing Mozilla's Firefox.