It's no secret that Google's Chrome browser sucks the life out of your battery at an alarming rate, but now Microsoft has done some testing to show how its own Edge browser is a better choice for portable device owners. The company took four identical laptops running Windows 10 to see which of the four most popular browsers would be most efficient when it comes to battery life.
Interestingly, Chrome was the first to kill the laptop in the video streaming test at 4 hours and 19 minutes. Firefox closely followed its rival at 5 hours and 9 minutes, while Opera (running on the same tech as Chrome) managed to hit 6 hours and 18 minutes. In Microsoft's tests, it was found that Edge was best of the bunch when it came to enjoying a video online, lasting for 7 hours and 22 minutes. That's worked out to be 70% longer than Chrome.
"We designed Microsoft Edge from the ground up to prioritize power efficiency and deliver more battery life, without any special battery saving mode or changes to the default settings. Our testing and data show that you can simply browse longer with Microsoft Edge than with Chrome, Firefox, or Opera on Windows 10 devices."
As well as performing tests in controlled environments, Microsoft has also released data collected from Windows 10 PCs worldwide. The company analyzed aggregated telemetry from millions of devices, showing the results to be in line and consistent with what Microsoft found in the lab.
The company has also published an entry on the Edge Development blog that goes into detail about how engineers and developers are building a more power efficient browser. It's well worth checking out. Unfortunately for Microsoft, while the company's latest browser is certainly an efficient speed king, it still lacks some features many would consider fundamental to their web browsing experience using competitor software.
