When Microsoft announced late last year it was reworking its Edge browser to be based on Chromium, many wondered how different the new Edge would be from Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers. Microsoft execs said they'd be adding some value-add in areas like smooth scrolling and accessibility[2], but didn't get too detailed beyond that. But there are a number of ways the new Edge will differ from Chrome, especially under the covers, as a Microsoft presentation slated for BlinkOn this week will detail.
Today, Microsoft released its first preview builds of the new Chromium-based Edge[3]. I've seen some Edge users lamenting that these previews look more like Chrome than the current non-Chromium-based Edge. (To be fair, Microsoft officials have said the UI fit and finish work has yet to come with the new Chromium.) Still, is the new Edge really going to be just Chrome in Edge clothing?
Seemingly, the answer is no. Thanks to @h0x0d (The WalkingCat on Twitter), a slide deck that Microsoft plans to present at BlinkOn on April 9 has gone public[4]. During the event, Christian Fortini, a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft who works on Edge will be presenting a talk entitled "Microsoft Edge: Adopting and contributing to Chromium."
Microsoft is replacing or turning off more than 50 Chromium services with Edge[5]. (The list of services being replaced or shut off is listed in the slide embedded in this post above.) Some of these are no-brainers, such as Google-specific services like Google Now, Google Pay, Google Cloud Messaging, Chrome OS device management and Chrome Cleanup. Others are a bit more surprising/interesting, such as ad blocking, Spellcheck, Speech input; Android app password