In a recent update shared on its Windows blog, Microsoft has announced significant enhancements to the Edge browser, particularly in terms of user interface responsiveness. The company proudly declared that it has achieved a “major milestone” in optimizing the speed at which Edge renders web content. Users can now expect the browser to begin displaying the initial elements of a website—be it text, images, or interface components—in less than 300 milliseconds.
This performance metric, known as First Contentful Paint (FCP), was first introduced by Google in its Chrome browser back in 2017. Microsoft emphasizes that research indicates waiting longer than 300 to 400 milliseconds for initial content can negatively affect user satisfaction. While achieving an FCP of under 300 milliseconds enhances the perception of speed and responsiveness, it is important to note that this metric does not reflect the total time required for a website to fully load.
The recent upgrades may entice users to consider switching to Edge, which currently holds a modest share of less than five percent in the global browser market, compared to Chrome’s dominant 68 percent. Additionally, Microsoft is poised to encounter fresh competition from emerging players like OpenAI, which is exploring the development of its own browsers to complement AI-driven web search tools.
These enhancements are part of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to refining Edge’s performance, building on previous improvements highlighted in earlier blog posts. The company has been migrating Edge to a more efficient WebUI 2.0 architecture, which reduces the size of code bundles and minimizes the JavaScript that runs during the user interface’s initialization.
Last February, Microsoft reported that features such as downloads, browsing history, and the creation of new private tabs had become approximately 40 percent faster. Since then, similar performance upgrades have been rolled out to 13 additional features, including more responsive settings, a split-screen mode that offers “near-instant navigation and reduced loading delays,” and enhanced playback for its AI-driven, accessibility-focused Read Aloud feature.
Looking ahead, Microsoft plans to unveil further performance improvements for Edge, targeting features like Print Preview and Extensions in the coming months.
