GOING OVER THE EDGE
Microsoft Edge (previously codenamed Project Spartan) is the new browser for Windows 10, and it’s actually functional already, so it’s time to get judging.
Getting started, there’s currently no way to move your Favorites and bookmarks from another browser, but expect that to change. The final browser will also support extensions, which developers can easily port from Chrome. Plus, Edge has a fancy new "globe" logo, but that also feels distinctly unfinished.
Where Edge is impressing us, is in terms of raw performance. Pages render super quickly. Using Sunspider 1.0.2 to test JavaScript performance, Edge gave us a score of 201ms. This doesn’t compare favorably with Internet Explorer 11, which scored 137ms. But it’s better than Firefox 37 (260ms) and Chrome 43 Beta (303ms). Not too bad, considering it’s far from the finished article. Browsing still needs work, mind you—some more-complex websites don’t work properly. While we could check Gmail, Hangouts wouldn’t load. When we tried connecting social accounts, it took three attempts to get it to work.
Many functions remain buggy. Typing in text fields can be laggy and some weird quirks exist, such as not being able to select the URL with a double-click in the address bar. Switching tabs was also a real pain, plus you can’t rip tabs off at the moment. Some extra features are also absent, such as the ability to drag files into the browser (to attach them to an email or upload them to cloud storage).
Let’s talk about the features that do work. You can find stuff and highlight specific words using Ctrl–F. Copy and paste works without issue. There’s a built-in note-taking mode, so you can save and annotate webpages, plus a reading mode that strips away the content you don’t need.
There’s a download pop-up panel that you can instigate from a downloads pop-up, or by using a button on the title bar. Similar to IE, this panel can display History and Favorites, while another view displays your Reading List. You’re able to select anything and "Ask Cortana" about what you’ve highlighted by rightclicking. This brings up a sidebar where search results appear. The Cortana integration will enable you to search and add info to your Cortana profile more seamlessly, which should be useful.
If you asked us to sum up Edge in a few words, it’d be that browsing is OK, but there are very few bells and whistles.