What is Microsoft Edge? The lowdown on Microsoft's Windows 10 browser

Edge is Microsoft's latest internet browser. 

It's part of the Windows 10 operating system and also available for iPhone and Android devices. Edge is coming to the iPad in due course, too. It first debuted in 2015 under the codename Project Spartan.

Here's what you need to know about it.

What's the difference between Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer? 

Microsoft Edge replaces Internet Explorer as the default browser on Windows, including laptops, smartphones, tablets, and hybrids. 

Windows 10 still includes Internet Explorer for backwards compatibility, but it's icon isn't present on any of the menus - you have to search for it. Microsoft Edge is a universal Windows app, so you'll be able to download and update it from the Store.

What does the Microsoft Edge logo look like?

Microsoft Edge's logo is stylised as a lowercase "e" and looks very similar to the Internet Explorer logo. Most Windows users know that clicking an "e" icon will open a web browser, so maintaining that letter and overall look was designed to reduce confusion.

What does Microsoft Edge feature?

Microsoft

Microsoft Edge is a lot cleaner in appearance than Internet Explorer and features a combined search and address bar like most modern browsers. 

All the usual browser accoutrements are in Edge: favorites, reading list, browsing history, and downloads are contained within a sidebar called the Hub. Edge now supports Extensions, of which there are now plenty (you can view all of these on the Windows Store). Other features include an integrated PDF viewer, Adobe Flash support, and Cortana, Microsoft's virtual assistant, which is baked into the browser.

You can right-click anything to ask Cortana for more information. 

Why is Microsoft Edge on iOS and Android? 

The idea is that you should have one continuous browsing experience across all your devices. So if you use Edge on Windows, you'll see the same book marks and other data on your mobile device.

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