Microsoft's newest internet browser is so good that I forgot I switched from Google Chrome

Unlike choosing macOS, Windows, or Chrome OS, where your choices are mutually exclusive, switching between web browsers isn’t quite so jarring. You can download any one of the current major browsers in the same amount of time used to read this paragraph. But which is the best? Which is the safest and most private?

To help you decide, we grabbed the latest browsers on the planet and boiled them down to their bare bones. Even if some of them could use a complete overhaul, these options are your best chance for a great online experience.

Google Chrome:

Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows and was later ported to Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. The browser is also the main component of Chrome OS, where it serves as the platform for web apps.

Most of Chrome's source code comes from Google's free and open-source software project Chromium, but Chrome is licensed as proprietary freeware. WebKit was the original rendering engine, but Google eventually forked it to create the Blink engine; all Chrome variants except iOS now use Blink.

As of May 2020, StatCounter and NetMarketShare estimate that Chrome has a 68% worldwide browser market share (after peaking at 72.38% in November 2018) on personal computers (PC), 63.58% and 65.01% respectively across all platforms. Because of this success, Google has expanded the "Chrome" brand name to other products: Chrome OS, Chromecast, Chromebook, Chromebit, Chromebox, and Chromebase.

    The browser was first publicly released on September 2, 2008, for Windows XP and later, with 43 supported languages, officially a beta version, and as a stable public release on December 11, 2008. On the same day, a CNET news item drew attention to a passage in the Terms of Service statement for the initial beta release, which seemed to grant to Google a license to all content transferred via the Chrome browser. This passage was inherited from the general Google terms of service. Google responded to this criticism immediately by stating that the language used was borrowed from other products, and removed this passage from the Terms of Service.

Chrome quickly gained about 1% usage share. After the initial surge, usage share dropped until it hit a low of 0.69% in October 2008. It then started rising again and by December 2008, Chrome again passed the 1% threshold. In early January 2009, CNET reported that Google planned to release versions of Chrome for OS X and Linux in the first half of the year. The first official Chrome OS X and Linux developer previews were announced on June 4, 2009, with a blog post saying they were missing many features and were intended for early feedback rather than general use. In December 2009, Google released beta versions of Chrome for OS X and Linux. Google Chrome 5.0, announced on May 25, 2010, was the first stable release to support all three platforms.

Chrome was one of the twelve browsers offered on BrowserChoice.eu to European Economic Area users of Microsoft Windows in 2010.

Microsoft Edge:

Microsoft Edge is a web browser developed by Microsoft. It was first released for Windows 10 and Xbox One in 2015, then for Android and iOS in 2017, and for macOS in 2019.

Edge includes integration with Cortana and has extensions hosted on the Microsoft Store. Unlike Internet Explorer, Edge does not support the legacy ActiveX and BHO technologies.

Originally built with Microsoft's own proprietary browser engine EdgeHTML and their Chakra JavaScript engine, Edge was rebuilt as a Chromium-based browser in 2019, using the Blink and V8 engines. As part of this change (codenamed Anaheim), Microsoft made preview builds of Edge available on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and macOS, in addition to Windows 10. The first public release followed on January 15, 2020.

Early benchmarks of the EdgeHTML engine—included in the first beta release of Edge in Windows 10[79] Build 10049—had drastically better JavaScript performance than Trident 7 in Internet Explorer 11, with similar performance to Google Chrome 41 and Mozilla Firefox 37. In the SunSpider benchmark, Edge performed faster than other browsers, while in other benchmarks it operated slower than Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera.

Later benchmarks conducted with the version included in 10122 showed significant performance improvement compared to both IE11 and Edge back in 10049. According to Microsoft's benchmark result, this iteration of Edge performed better than both Chrome and Firefox in Google's Octane 2.0 and Apple's Jetstream benchmark.

In July 2015, Edge scored 377 out of 555 points on the HTML5test. Chrome 44 and Firefox 42 scored 479 and 434 respectively, while Internet Explorer 11 scored 312.

In August 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 10532 to insiders, which included Edge 21.10532.0. This beta version scored 445 out of 555 points on the HTML5test.

With the release of Windows 10 Build 14390 to insiders in July 2016, the HTML5test score of the browser's development version was 460 out of 555 points. Chrome 51 scored 497, Firefox 47 scored 456, and Safari 9.1 scored 370.

Windows 10 comes with a brand new web browser called Microsoft Edge. It's got a lighter design, it's blazing fast and Cortana is baked right into it.

Edge washes away everything we hated about Internet Explorer, but how does it compare to Google Chrome, the world's most-used web browser? 

This seemed like an excellent time to see how the new Microsoft Edge stacks up against Google Chrome. When I went hands-on with Microsoft Edge after it’s launch, I was thoroughly impressed with its performance and functionality. Microsoft has brought even more features to bear since then, including the robust Collections research tool. With that said, Google Chrome is the undeniable favourite in this competition, having been the most popular web browser in the world for nearly a decade now. The stability and robust extensions found in Chrome have completely eclipsed every other option on the market for years.

Although Chrome and Edge are both perfectly adequate browsers, we take every chance we get to recommend Vivaldi for Windows 10 devices. This is due to its extreme level of customization, a rich set of features and excellent security and privacy. 

If you’d like to learn more about the browser market as a whole, be sure to check out some of our other articles, such as our Chrome vs Firefox battle as well as our Firefox and Opera browser reviews.

Microsoft Edge	Google Chrome
By default, installed on all Windows-based devices.	Open source and extensible.
Improved, faster rendering than Internet Explorer.	Large extension library.
More stable both as a Windows application and when displaying web apps.	Most widely supported browser available, especially for consumer devices.
Supports more casting devices through the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) and Miracast protocols.	Cross-platform availability.
Can run extensions from Microsoft Store and the Chrome Web Store.	A bit of a memory hog.
Built-in tracking prevention and potentially unwanted program blocker.	Future of ad blockers uncertain as Google starts to inhibit them.
A Chromium-based browser that uses the Blink rendering engine.	Separate download and installation on all operating systems but Android.
A default search engine is Bing.	Built on the open-source Blink rendering engine.
Offers extensions in the Microsoft Store but tends to prioritize larger developers, making extensions from smaller developers hard to find.	A default search engine is Google.
Can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store.	Extensive browser library.
Lack of backward compatibility with Internet Explorer limits the number of extensions available.	Browse and install extensions from the Chrome Web Store.
Default home page is a Bing search box with content from Microsoft News.	Default home page is Google.com.
Displays video output on any device that supports Miracast or the DLNA protocol.	Displays video output on a Chromecast device.
Available for macOS, iOS, iPad OS, and Android, with support for Linux coming in 2020.	Runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, iPad OS, and iOS.
Download Microsoft Edge	Download Google Chrome

This seemed like an excellent time to see how the new Microsoft Edge stacks up against Google Chrome. When I went hands-on with Microsoft Edge after it’s launch, I was thoroughly impressed with its performance and functionality. Microsoft has brought even more features to bear since then, including the robust Collections research tool.

• The best Chromebooks in 2020
• Best college laptops in 2020: Best laptops for students

With that said, Google Chrome is the undeniable favourite in this competition, having been the most popular web browser in the world for nearly a decade now. The stability and robust extensions found in Chrome have completely eclipsed every other option on the market for years.

Related post from other websites: 

Microsoft Edge vs. Google Chrome: Which web browser is faster?
Google Chrome vs. Microsoft Edge: Which browser is best?
Microsoft Edge vs Chrome: Same Foundation, Different Building in 2020

Reference:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Edge#Performance
3. https://www.laptopmag.com/news/google-chrome-vs-microsoft-edge-which-browser-is-best
4. https://mashable.com/2015/07/29/microsoft-edge-vs-google-chrome
5. https://www.cloudwards.net/edge-vs-chrome/
   
6. https://www.lifewire.com/microsoft-edge-vs-google-chrome-4689177
   

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

Read More

Xiaomi officially reveals Mi 10 Pro Teardown, here’s a peak inside the device

Xiaomi officially reveals Mi 10 Pro Teardown, here’s a peek inside the device

Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has just released the official teardown video of its latest flagship, the Mi 10 Pro. The video offers a look inside the internal structure of the smartphone and also provides a brief explanation with texts and images.

Starting from the rear, Xiaomi reveals the internals of the device by removing the back panel of the device. After removing the glue that binds the rear cover to the body, two large foam rubbers can be observed at the top and bottom of the device. These primarily serve the purpose of protection from fall damage and accidents. Furthermore, a large portion of the internals is also covered with thermally conductive graphite which is found in the region that has the motherboard. Other components like NFC coils and wireless charging technology can also be seen.

The speakers of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro are housed symmetrically on the top and bottom of the device. It features a magnetic steel design and arrives with a 1.22cc large cavity, which enables a better stereo audio experience. Notably, the Mi 10 Pro’s speakers are said to have improved on the volume levels over its previous generations by 100%.

After removing the motherboard cover, the actual board and the Mi 10 Pro’s battery pack is made visible. The mainboard area uses a double layer motherboard design, meaning a smaller board being stacked upon the primary board to save space, and is found on the left side. On the right, the large 4,500mAh battery pack can be found and is housed on a middle frame, which also takes up most of the internal space. Under the battery pack, an ultra-thin optical fingerprint scanner is situated, which is used for the in-display fingerprint reading whilst saving previous internal space.

Once the rear camera cover is removed, one can also see the entire quad-camera module of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. As seen in the images, its 108-megapixel camera is the largest sensor and is conveniently placed in the middle. Other components, like LED flash and a laser focusing module, are also present that allows for better visibility and focusing speed in low light environments. On the other hand, the Mi 10 Pro sports a 20-megapixel selfie shooter on the front.

With the Mi 10 Pro, Xiaomi has adopted a unique 360-degree front and rear dual light sensor technology. In other words, the handset is better equipped in detecting light sources and the ambient lighting in its surroundings. This enables a better camera performance whilst also making the automatic screen brightness adjustment more intelligent and proactive.

The motherboard of the flagship smartphone uses an “L” shaped design with copper foils and the graphite shield. Its upper regions contain the newly developed Wi-Fi 6 chip while the middle holds the power management module and audio decoding technology. The bottom of the motherboard houses a radio frequency chip.  Additionally, this portion also features a few of the highlighting components of the Mi 10 Pro. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 865 SoC alongside the X55 5G modem is housed here. The pair of LPDDR5 flash memory and UFS 3.0 storage also enables class-leading to read and write speeds as well as fast data transfer capabilities.

With the Mi 10 Pro, Xiaomi has completely revamped its internal layout that manages to include an X-axis linear vibration motor in the compact space while still catering for heat dissipation. To protect from heat-related damages, the handset has built-in VC soaking plate, 6 layers of graphite structure, large amounts of copper foil and thermally conductive gel as well. This VC protection layer extends across the power management chip and the 5G modem, covering an area of 3,000 square millimetres.

For added protection, it had a built-in matrix temperature sensor and other temperate sensors spread across the device as well. This allows the Mi 10 Pro to accurately map heat in different regions in real-time, including the 5G modem, the processor, battery pack, charging interface and more. Through this, the AI temperature control module automatically finds a suitable temperature by controlling device’s power output and performance simultaneously. In other words, a technological marvel which one may never really notice.

Read More

JioSaavn

JioSaavn (formerly known as Saavn & JioMusic) is the Indian online music streaming service and a digital distributor of Bollywood, English and other regional Indian music across the world. Since it was founded in 2007 as Saavn, the company has acquired rights to over 5 crores (50 million) music tracks in 15 languages. JioSaavn is a freemium service; basic features are free with advertisements or limitations, while additional features, such as improved streaming quality and music downloads, are offered via paid subscriptions.

On 23 March 2018, Saavn announced a merger with JioMusic in a deal worth more than $1 billion. The merger was completed in December 2018, with Saavn being rebranded JioSaavn.

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

Read More

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro smartphone was launched on 13th February 2020. The phone comes with a 6.67-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels. Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is powered by a 2.84GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. It comes with 12GB of RAM. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro runs Android 10 and is powered by a 4500mAh non-removable battery. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro supports wireless charging, as well as proprietary fast charging.

As far as the cameras are concerned, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro on the rear packs a 108-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.69 aperture and a pixel size of 1.6-micron; a second 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 1.0-micron; a third 12-megapixel camera with an f/2.0 aperture and a pixel size of 1.4-micron and a fourth 20-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture. The rear camera setup has autofocus. It sports a 20-megapixel camera on the front for selfies.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro runs MIUI 11 based on Android 10 and packs 128GB of inbuilt storage. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is a dual-SIM (GSM and GSM) smartphone that accepts Nano-SIM and Nano-SIM cards. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro measures 162.60 x 74.80 x 8.96mm (height x width x thickness) and weighs 208.00 grams. It was launched in Pearl White and Starry Blue colours. It bears a glass body.

Connectivity options on the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g, GPS, Bluetooth v5.10, NFC, USB Type-C, FM radio, 3G, and 4G with active 4G on both SIM cards. Sensors on the phone include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, compass/ magnetometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, and in-display fingerprint sensor. The Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro supports face unlock.

As of 1st June 2020, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro price in India is expected to start at Rs. 50,000.

General

Brand	Xiaomi
Model	Mi 10 Pro
Release date	13th February 2020
Form factor	Touchscreen
Body type	Glass
Dimensions (mm)	162.60 x 74.80 x 8.96
Weight (g)	208.00
Battery capacity (mAh)	4500
Removable battery	No
Fast charging	Proprietary
Wireless charging	Yes
Colours	Pearl White, Starry Blue

Display

Screen size (inches)	6.67
Touchscreen	Yes
Resolution	1080x2340 pixels
Protection type	Gorilla Glass

Hardware

Processor	2.84GHz octa-core
Processor make	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865
RAM	12GB
Internal storage	128GB

Camera

Rear camera	108-megapixel (f/1.69, 1.6-micron) + 8-megapixel (f/2.0, 1.0-micron) + 12-megapixel (f/2.0, 1.4-micron) + 20-megapixel (f/2.2)
Rear autofocus	Yes
Rear flash	Yes
Front camera	20-megapixel
Pop-Up Camera	No
Front flash	No

Software

Operating system	Android 10
Skin	MIUI 11

Connectivity

Wi-Fi	Yes
Wi-Fi standards supported	802.11 a/b/g
GPS	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes, v 5.10
NFC	Yes
USB Type-C	Yes
Headphones	Type-C
FM	Yes
Number of SIMs	2
Active 4G on both SIM cards	Yes
SIM 1
SIM Type	Nano-SIM
GSM/CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	Yes
5G	Yes
SIM 2
SIM Type	Nano-SIM
GSM/CDMA	GSM
3G	Yes
4G/ LTE	Yes
5G	Yes

Sensors

Face unlock	Yes
In-Display Fingerprint Sensor	Yes
Compass/ Magnetometer	Yes
Proximity sensor	Yes
Accelerometer	Yes
Ambient light sensor	Yes
Gyroscope	Yes
Barometer	Yes

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

Read More