Last month, I abandoned Google Chrome for Microsoft Edge on my laptop after finally hitting a brick wall.

The browser began stuttering and dragging its feet whenever I had multiple tabs open. Even after upgrading my rig and tinkering with hidden settings, the bottlenecks refused to go away.

Beyond solving my desktop headaches, Edge turned out to be an unexpectedly solid mobile browser.

I have been using it on my Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices, and so far, the daily experience beats Chrome in many ways.

The thought of going back to Google's default browser is getting thinner day by day.

The turning point

I blame Google itself

I initially tried to cling to Chrome for as long as possible. I still remember running it on my very first Android phone 14 years ago.

I was content with what it offered, and over the years, it began to feel practically irreplaceable. Yet it only took a major bottleneck to force me to look for an alternative.

While my original plan was to keep Edge confined to my Windows laptop, I eventually took it for a spin across my Android devices, including my daily driver, the Pixel 9 Pro XL.

I place plenty of the blame on wonky Windows optimization, and Google hasn't done enough to fix it after many years.

As a long-time loyal user, I reached my breaking point.

While I braced myself for missing features, Edge surprised me with its robust suite of tools and customizations.

I get access to my favorite desktop plug-ins

And get the same level of functionality

For Chrome enthusiasts, leaving Google's ecosystem usually means making some trade-offs. My biggest worry is leaving behind a library of extensions and desktop plug-ins that I regularly rely on.

To my relief, Edge holds a major advantage over Chrome on Android: native support for mobile extensions.

I have grown weary of YouTube aggressively pushing Shorts, and the native mobile app offers no straightforward toggle to purge them from view.

With Edge, I stream YouTube on the browser and installed an extension called Unhook. This strips out Shorts entirely, alongside intrusive feeds like recommendations and comment sections.

I also installed Keepa on the mobile Edge version, allowing me to track price history charts and monitor discounts at retail stores like Amazon.

Having desktop-grade utility on a smartphone display is invaluable. It eliminates the need to reach my laptop when digging through price trackers.

Beyond that, Edge includes a built-in shopping assistant that alerts me to fresh deals and price drops without installing a plug-in.

These are only a couple of standout examples from my setup. I also run third-party password managers alongside custom add-ons for Google Keep.

My experience with extensions on Edge has completely eased my anxiety about missing important Chrome features.

I am not forced to rely on Google

And it gets less of my data

Edge is not a privacy-focused browser. However, I will pick it over Chrome whenever I want to avoid Google's pervasive data collection.

Using a Microsoft account means Google collects fewer data points to feed its advertising machine.

Although Microsoft collects my personal data, Edge offers granular control to limit that tracking.

The built-in tracking tools provide flexible controls. The default Balanced mode automatically blocks third-party trackers from my unvisited sites along with personalized content and ads.

Adjusting the setting to Strict blocks the vast majority of web trackers across every website and removes targeted advertisements far more than Balanced mode.

Even better, it includes a mobile ad-blocker that mirrors the extensions on my desktop setup. This replaces the need to install a third-party ad-blocker or switch to another browser.

I cannot speak for every user's privacy tolerance, but this level of control over data collection and tracking gives me the peace of mind I need.

You can run the built-in ad blocker on Microsoft Edge mobile and an extension at the same time.

Edge is more efficient

I'm confident it won't slow down

Edge has proved remarkably dependable when juggling several dozen tabs at once.

While Chrome never ran terribly on my smartphones, Edge feels visibly snappier and more resource-efficient when handling a heavy CMS on my Android hardware, including my Galaxy Tab S10 FE via Desktop Mode.

I can keep numerous tabs active and switch between tasks seamlessly, despite my tablet having 8GB of RAM. It also avoids thermal throttling and unexpected battery issues during heavy browsing sessions.

Still, occasional hiccups crop up here and there, but performance stutters are rare across my mobile devices and especially on my PC.

Regardless, Edge makes me as confident using it, and that's a significant turning point.

I can customize Edge the way I want

Drop is a quicker way for exchanging files

Beyond better optimization and privacy control, Microsoft Edge includes several clever utilities and extensive personalization options.

The built-in Drop feature offers quicker transfer of files, images, and links across my devices without digging through browsing histories or going to the cloud app.

While I can do the same with Google Drive, having the functionality integrated natively into the browser makes file sharing painless.

And as someone who constantly customizes my Pixel or Galaxy interface, I appreciate having that level of customization inside my web browser.

I can apply custom themes from Microsoft's library or change the color palette to my liking. It also lets me swap out the app icon on my home screen. I use an 8-bit retro theme that fits right in with my arcade wallpaper setup.

It's hard to go back to Chrome

After 14 years of being tethered to Chrome, leaving Google's ecosystem took a brief adjustment period.

As a long-time Chrome user, I still miss the seamless integration with Google apps. I also had to manually move some passwords and accounts that did not import correctly into Edge.

These are minor issues compared with the benefits of more stable browsing and reduced data collection by Google.

Leaving Google's ecosystem showed me I don't need to stay completely locked into it.

If Chrome had remained better optimized on my laptop and phones and had bothered to spend much effort fixing it, I might still be a loyal user.