Microsoft has announced a significant speed improvement for its Edge browser, with the User Interface now rendering the First Contentful Paint (FCP) in under 300 milliseconds. This metric, introduced by Google in 2017, indicates how quickly the initial parts of a website (text, images, UI elements) appear. Microsoft notes that “industry research shows that waiting longer than 300 to 400ms for the initial content can significantly impact user satisfaction.”
While this enhancement makes Edge feel faster and more responsive, FCP doesn’t reflect total page load time. These upgrades aim to attract users, as Edge currently holds less than five percent of the global browser market, compared to Chrome’s 68 percent. The improvements stem from migrating Edge’s UI to a faster WebUI 2.0 architecture, which minimizes code and JavaScript during UI initialization. Microsoft previously reported 40% faster downloads and tab creation, and has since accelerated 13 more features, including split screen and Read Aloud. Future updates will target Print Preview and Extensions.
