Microsoft lost quite a bit of goodwill by forcing the Microsoft Edge browser on uninterested users – but maybe those days are coming to an end? For a possible preview of the future, check this gif of leopeva64who have a future version of Google’s Chrome web browser on their computers in addition to the 2H22 update to Windows 10.
As of March, switching your default browser in Windows 11 was already improved with just a few clicks in a settings menu, but you can see how the older Windows 10 is even cleaner than that. And with the Chrome and Windows 10 22H2 updates, you can seemingly just click the popup in the browser itself (in this case Chrome Dev version 106.0.5231.2) to set it up right away. That would certainly be nice to have in Windows 11.
If you add in the fact that rival browsers like Firefox and Opera already support the same kind of in-browser standard one-click app switching, we could be entering a new golden age where browsers can actually compete on their merits instead of begging or pushing. you around. Just click to switch browsers, as many times as you want, until you’ve chosen the one you want.
I would not do it count on it, necessarily, because Microsoft isn’t the only browser manufacturer to be pushy with prompts. And it’s not clear if this one-touch feature will work at all in Windows 11. My colleague Tom just tried it with the 22H2 update (you can install the release preview since June) and it just pushed it into the settings menu while doing absolutely nothing. It also didn’t work for me on Windows 11 21H2.
Chrome Dev is typically nine to 12 weeks ahead of the stable version of Chrome, according to Frequently Asked Questions from Google. According to Tom’s sources, Windows 11 22H2 will be released in September. Windows 10 22H2 should also be released this fall.
Correction, 6:34 PM ET: It is Windows 10 demonstrating Leopeva64, not Windows 11 as we originally wrote. We regret the mistake.
Update, 7:05 PM ET: Added that it currently doesn’t work for us in Windows 11 even with the 22H2 update.
