According to the latest data from Quantcast, only 12% of Windows 10 customers use Microsoft’s Edge browser. Google Chrome still command over 70% market share on Windows 10. Even Mozilla Firefox has a higher share (15%) than Edge. Now Microsoft has come up with a new trick to get more people using the Edge browser, which comes with a lot of bells and whistles.
Windows 10 leaked preview build serves a prompt
The Windows 10 Insider Preview build 10568 was leaked online over the weekend. The leaked preview build serves a prompt when you try to switch default apps. If you have Edge as your default browser, and you install Google Chrome and switch the default app, you are asked to “give Microsoft Edge a shot.” According to The Verge, the prompt also highlights various features of the Edge browser, such as the ability to write on web pages, a reading view, and Cortana integration.
Next, it serves an option to “don’t switch and try now.” Selecting that option opens the Edge browser without setting Chrome or Firefox as your default browser. In late July, Mozilla slammed Microsoft for making it extremely difficult for users to switch to Firefox in Windows 10. Microsoft’s latest OS now runs more than 110 million devices worldwide. Mozilla had also created a short tutorial video to help Firefox users restore the default browser settings.
Microsoft’s move could backfire
It’s still unclear whether the new prompt will appear in the public build, but indicates that the Redmond-based software giant is at least mulling the idea. But such a move could backfire if antitrust regulators find that Microsoft is abusing its dominance in PC market to push its own apps. The leaked Windows 10 preview build reveals that the software giant is doing the same thing for photos and music apps as well.
What’s more, Microsoft has made the Windows 10 update nags more aggressive to get Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to install its latest OS. Users are presented with dialog boxes that give them the option to upgrade right away or reschedule the process for a later date. There is no option to opt out of upgrading. But Microsoft said it was a “mistake,” and the company was working to fix it.
