RIP Edge: Microsoft Reportedly Switching to Chrome

Microsoft might be turning its back on the browser business and instead considering to become strange bedfellows with an old foe.

Instead of continuing to offer its Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10, Microsoft will instead build its own browser built on Chromium, the same technology Google uses its for its Chrome browser. The move could be announced as early as this week, according to The Verge, which earlier reported on Microsoft's plans. It also means that after a long and bitter browser war between Microsoft and Google, Microsoft might be finally waving the white flag and turning to Google as a partner rather than an enemy.

Indeed, Microsoft's Edge browser was designed with Windows 10 to be an alternative to Chrome, Firefox, and others. Microsoft would often push people using Windows 10 to ditch Chrome in favor of Edge and went out of its way to try to match technologies to boost its usage and performance on the operating system.

Despite those efforts, Microsoft hasn't had much luck in putting a damper on Chrome. Google's operating system is still the most popular in the world and increasingly, Web developers have relied on Chrome for rendering engines and other technologies that optimize their websites. 

According to The Verge and Windows Central, which earlier reported on Microsoft's moves, the company would ditch the Edge browser and build a new browser built on Chromium's rendering engine. It's unknown when the browser could launch.