Hacker News Reader

Then why are you confident that edge is more popular, what is the basis for this assertion?

I think they mean installed base. Every Windows 10/11 has it installed and is automatically updated every month. So Edge is the most installed Chromium browser. If Chrome’s browsing experience dips below a threshold, people can just use what’s already there in their machines.

That would make sense, but they said most used, and I find that very hard to believe. For starters, all the Windows users I know — even the most tech-unsavvy ones — avoid Edge and stick with Chrome (or Firefox).

On Android, Google Play Store says "50M+ downloads" for Edge, while Firefox (which is not a hugely popular browser on mobile) has "100M+ downloads". So it stands to reason that the vast majority of the 3 billion or so Android users stick with the default, Chrome.

"Installed" much as the Candiru fish is alleged to install itself .. zero effort or consent by the host and painful if not impossible to remove.

"Popular" isn't the right descriptor either, I have fielded many calls from relatives and aquaintainces that want "plain Windows" without the popup ads and Edge-y additions.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com