Windows 11 To Force Users To Use Microsoft's Edge Browser

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 15 November 2021, 05:11 pm

Windows 11 users, you're going to have to shelf Google Chrome (or any other browser) for specific tasks soon.

(Photo : Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
UKRAINE - 2021/06/24: In this photo illustration a Windows 11 logo is seen on a smartphone screen with a Microsoft website in the background. Microsoft has presented Windows 11, new generation of Windows operating system (OS), during an event on June 24, 2021.

According to PCMag, Microsoft is putting some measures into Windows 11 that will essentially make it even harder to completely avoid using Edge. Specifically, they're turning off EdgeDeflector in the latest Windows 11 22494 build.

With EdgeDeflector disabled, all tasks that use the link microsoft-edge:// will be forced to use Edge on Windows 11.

Even the developer of EdgeDeflector, Daniel Aleksandersen, has conceded to the change, claiming that anything he does to force its reactivation could actually break Windows 11.

It's been found, however, the blocking of EdgeDeflector has been apparently in the works for a while.

According to The Verge, the EdgeDeflector block was first noticed in an early Windows 11 preview build spotted last week. Some users thought it was a bug, but now it's been confirmed as official.

Aleksandersen is not a fan of the change.

In a blog post, Aleksandersen called out Microsoft for its alleged focus on ads and bundleware, instead of letting users be productive on the OS.

Productivity was part of the marketing speak that Microsoft used when it first unveiled Windows 11 back in June. With this change, though, some users might agree to disagree.

Edge Still Lags Behind

Some users just don't want to use Microsoft Edge, and they have their own reasons. As such, Microsoft's proprietary Windows browser retains a 3.4% market share, according to Backlinko.

This translates to around 158 million users around the world, most of them on desktop.

But this market share absolutely pales in comparison to Google Chrome. It's still the worldwide leader at 65.27%, which is roughly 4.66 billion users. Over 3 billion individual people use it, across 4 billion unique devices--be it a desktop, laptop, or phone.

Making a Case for Edge on Windows 11

Sure, Chrome leads the market. But is Microsoft Edge really that bad?

According to PCWorld, it is not all bad if you use Edge. They even say that Microsoft's proprietary browser is getting better--far beyond the joke that was Internet Explorer.

The PCWorld article enumerates some features of Edge that you just cannot find on Chrome. For one, it allows you to order your tabs vertically, like this:

This is a good option for people who get a bit uneasy looking at mountains of tabs atop their browser page. With this, you can keep even more tabs open without losing actual page titles, making the tabs you need easier to find.

Another big advantage of Edge over Chrome involves the latter's reputation of consuming way too much memory.

According to Digital Trends, Edge typically consumes around half of what Chrome does in the memory department--freeing your computer's hardware for more intensive tasks. People whose devices don't have a lot of RAM can definitely benefit from this.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce