The Microsoft switch in code base for the Windows 10 Edge browser was quite a change in direction for the company. Provided you have received the update, your Edge browser has now been completely remodeled from the ground up. It is now based on Chromium, the same code base as Google Chrome.

To put this in perspective, this is like someone tearing their house down to the ground and rebuilding it based on a competitors plans instead of doing a remodel. What a drastic change in direction after putting all the time and effort into creating Edge in the first place.

What will this mean to the browser wars? It is hard to tell at this point. In theory it should make all web developers lives easier, but in reality we will have to see. This will only be the case if users actually switch over to use Edge instead of hanging on to Internet Explorer or move away from using Google Chrome.

We will have to wait and see. This may cause IT departments to take a fresh look at using Edge. It would simplify software installations by reducing the need to do a separate install of another browser not built into the system. This would also reduce work in keeping software up to date on operating systems. But that process is already so ingrained in the workflow for any IT department it may be completely overlooked.

Whatever happens, the browser wars are always interesting. Let’s hope this new browser change will make the life of web developers and designers a bit easier but I am not planning on it.