Sounds like Edge is going to spin down EdgeHTML, the engine that powers edge, and go with Chromium. It’s not entirely clear as I write whether the browser will still be called Edge or not. Opera did this same thing in 2013. We’ll surely be seeing much more information about this directly from Microsoft, and hot takes galore.
Probably three major categories of hot-take:
- Hallelujah, I dislike supporting Edge, this will make my job easier and make the web better for users.
- Yikes, this is bad for the web. Browser engine diversity is a very good thing for the web. See Rachel Nabors The Ecological Impact of Browser Diversity.
- This might be good in that combining forces makes a stronger team. If many teams each build a 50-meter tower, maybe working together they can build a 100-meter tower.
I’m not quite sure what to think yet, except that it’s a good reminder that businesses will be businesses.